Meet Miranda Darrow

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Miranda Darrow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Miranda, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I always wanted to write and work with books and authors, but I’d say I found my purpose slowly and incrementally after a series of “safer” choices over decades. In grade school, we had an assignment to each make a book showing what we thought our future careers might be. In my book, I listed a teacher, a writer, and a lawyer. I’ve done all three now but didn’t pursue my dreams of writing and helping authors by editing their novels and teaching writing classes until I was in my forties. In college, I had a double major in English (my passion) and pre-law, the safer choice. I had good grades and test scores, so I was encouraged to go to law school. There were more jobs in law, better pay, more stability—so I did. I’ve been a practicing attorney for the last 29 years.

The first half of my career, I was in the private practice of law at law firms which left no time for writing and very little for family or friends. I still read at least a book a month and joined a book club with other women lawyers. Fifteen years ago, I took a job in-house at a non-profit, trading salary for more regular business hours and a job that actually had PTO and vacations (unlike the law firms I’d worked for). My kids were young, I didn’t do too much socially, so nights after the kids were in bed (or mornings before they were up) was my time to read, write, and be creative. Our youngest son was diagnosed with a serious health condition (cystic fibrosis or CF) which requires daily treatments. The same year, our older son was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Finding a babysitter so my husband and I could do anything together without our kids was impossible, so we did family activities and then my husband and I both had our solo pursuits.

All our trips were with our camper so we could control our environment. I spent my free time writing and taking writing classes. My husband connected with his friends through sports, fishing, and his part-time job. I needed time apart too, so I joined writing groups and started attending writing conferences, actual time alone. As a writer, I reviewed other writers’ manuscripts as a critique partner and they gave me feedback on mine. I enjoyed reading other writers’ manuscripts and offering feedback, so much that I started taking classes in editing, developmental editing, book coaching, copyediting, book mapping, I loved it. I finally found my purpose: helping other writers with their books, as an editor and coach/teacher. Rather than just going to writing conferences, I started presenting at them.

At first, my goal with editing was to cover my conference costs and other writing expenses. My satisfied clients recommended me to other writers and I built a business. Now as my kids are teens I’m expanding my business while still working my day job, nights and weekends. I haven’t taken a full day off in I can’t remember how long, but it’s good because I’m building something, a business that lets me do what I love.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve been offering editorial and book coaching services for years for fiction authors and some non-fiction, including narrative non-fiction, memoir, and some prescriptive nonfiction. My clients include award-winning authors of women’s fiction, suspense, mysteries, speculative fiction (including fantasy and science fiction), romance, and historical novels. There’s detailed information about my editing services on my website: www.mirandadarrow.com

This year, I am excited to launch a series of writing craft books and online classes. These resources combine my experience as an editor and as a corporate attorney and take an “executive summary” approach to complex writing topics, simplifying the topics into quick and easy resources with checklists, charts, and humor. The first is The Six-Step Revision Process: Revise Your Novel from First Draft to Final, available on Amazon and directly from my website. The first online class, on the same topic, will be available in November: just in time for authors who finish writing a novel during the November novel writing challenge. I’m also available to speak to writing groups and at conferences, both online and in person.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the three qualities that have served me the most in my journey to following my calling and launching my business are:

1. Resilience – I’ve been the primary (and often sole) breadwinner for my family for decades because my husband has taken primary responsibility for our kids, which was an enormous responsibility when they were younger. As a family, we rolled with the changes, adapted, and made the best of every situation. In one support group meeting with other CF parents, we talked about the toll that a serious health diagnosis of a child can have on a family and the divorce rate for CF families. The families in the group talked about how something like that could drive a couple apart or bind them together. For us, it gave us a common purpose and the goal of giving both our sons the best lives we could. As a couple, we supported each other in pursuing our own goals and interests, including my editing and writing education business. None of this would have been possible if we had responded to life’s challenges with a defeatist attitude or stayed locked into what we thought our lives should have been rather than embracing reality. My advice to others facing a setback is to let go of what could’ve, would’ve, should’ve and embrace the now to succeed from where you are.

2. Willingness to Learn – I’m in my fifties and I’m learning how to promote my business on social media. I am working with a social media assistant who is helping me produce YouTube videos, one a week, talking about editing and the writing life, and promoting it on other social media platforms. I’m learning as I go, growing a newsletter list with weekly newsletters, participating in group promotions, and learning how to set up online classes. There are so many new skills to learn. Not everything works right off the bat, which brings me back to resilience. I tell my boys that my goal is to learn something new every single day. A growth and learning mindset has served me well.

3. Determination – I will likely be working until both our (now teen) boys are through school and employed in jobs that cover health insurance, we hope, or are too old for us to cover them. That means I’ll continue to be hustling and working nights and weekends in hopes that my editing and author education business can be my full-time job, even if that doesn’t happen until I’m past “retirement” age. I might be hitting my stride right about then. Don’t give up on your dreams just because you’re 40 or 50 or 60 – keep striving, keep going for it.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

My ideal clients are people who have a story to tell and who want help to get it to sound as good on paper as it does in their heads. My ideal clients are open-minded about the process, willing to learn and try new things, and who enjoy a good (or terrible) pun and funny animal memes.

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