Meet Stephanie Slagle

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephanie Slagle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Stephanie, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?

Writer’s block is a familiar friend of mine. I started writing books when I was a young child, and I have encountered numerous moments where my creativity got stuck. What helps the most is reading other books, watching movies, traveling if possible, and seeking out interesting stories and places everywhere I go. Searching for the spark in the mundane that will give me a glimpse into a scene with one of my characters. Lately though, I admit writer’s block has been getting the best of me as I am now a stay-at-home mom in addition to being a book editor, and so I don’t have as much time to devout to my own creative ideas. I hope that will change as my son gets older. For now, I find fulfillment in the creativity I use to help other writers take their books to the next level.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I have a strong background in the publishing industry, as I have also published a YA sci-fi trilogy (the Extraction series) and interned for literary agents. Nowadays, I edit books of all kinds–fiction, self-help, and memoir. I specialize in genre fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers) for adults, as well as young adult and middle grade fiction. I work with my clients to give them big-picture feedback and help take their stories from good to great, and I also offer nitty gritty line editing to polish their work on a sentence level. I love helping my clients find creative solutions to add more twists and turns to their plots and push their characters into deeper and darker situations.

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?

The three things that helped me the most in my journey were persistence, improving my grammar skills, and reading, reading, reading. Persistence was necessary because I started trying to get published when I was very young, only twelve years old. I received hundreds of rejections along the way and wrote three books before I landed an agent and a publishing deal when I was nineteen. From there, I had to persist even more as I started my freelance editing business and sought to grow my clientele. My love of reading helped me find my niche in terms of the subject matter I specialize in, and improving my grammar skills helped me become an excellent copy editor.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

My parents have always supported me in my writing and editing journey, but the most impactful thing they did for me was foster my love of reading as a child. My mom read to me from the time I was very young, and she made me entranced by books. And then I was much older, my parents also supported me by allowing me to continue living at home while I went to college and wrote and published my first novels. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stephanieslagle.com
• Twitter: https://x.com/Steph_Slagle