Finding Her Editorial Voice

For Allison Janicki, editing embodies the ideal fusion of her two seemingly opposed strengths: a love of creative expression and an eye for meticulous detail. “Being able to work in a creative industry while having the skills to know when a comma is misplaced or when there’s a double space—those two sides of my personality blend so beautifully,” she says.

This professional calling might never have materialized if not for a timely discovery of the Editing certificate at the UChicago Professional. After graduating from college with an English degree, Janicki found herself working at a public library—what she initially thought would be “a neat summer job” that continued on for a few more years.

“I always thought it would be a good fit for me to work in publishing and editing, but I didn’t really know how to get into it,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to move to New York to work for a Big Five publisher or get a master’s degree.”

The program opened up what Janicki calls “a whole new world” of editing. While she had enjoyed reviewing peers’ work in college, the certificate provided formal training that transformed her approach. From the fundamentals of technical editing—mastering the distinctions between en dashes, em dashes, and hyphens—to deeper analytical skills in developmental editing, each course expanded her editorial tool kit. “Before taking the courses, you edit just on what you think sounds right,” she says. “But having legitimate tools and knowing the reasons why something is wrong—that was totally different.”

Taking one course at a time while balancing two part-time jobs, Janicki found the program both challenging and manageable. “I had to work evenings and weekends,” she notes, “but the pace worked well.”

Her growing expertise soon paid dividends at work. When she started at the publishing company as a production assistant, Janicki mentioned she was pursuing the Editing certificate. Within three years, she had risen to become an editorial manager. Today, she works as a project manager at a book consulting company while maintaining her own freelance editing business. There she applies her skills across multiple types of editing—from developmental work on fiction manuscripts to technical copyediting and proofreading across various genres. The variety suits her perfectly: each project allows her to engage both the creative and analytical skills she honed through the program.

When she first learned about UChicago’s program, the timing couldn’t have been better. She had just landed a part-time position at a local publishing company and was eager to develop her skills. “It was kismet,” she says. “It really instigated my love of publishing and editing.”

Grateful for the program that helped advance her career, Janicki has remained actively involved at UChicago. Now in her second year on the Professional Development Certificate Programs Student Advisory Board, she helps organize workshops and webinars for the community. The role allows her to build her professional network while giving back to a program that helped launch her career. What began as a hope to become a better editor has evolved into something far more significant: a transformative career path that continues to open new doors.

For those looking to advance in the field of editing, Janicki emphasizes how the program bridges a crucial gap between formal graduate education and purely on-the-job training. It offers the credibility of the University of Chicago while remaining accessible to working professionals—providing a focused path forward without the extensive time and financial commitment of a full graduate degree.