We recently connected with Christine Bode and have shared our conversation below.

Christine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The most significant risk I’ve ever taken was becoming my own boss.

I worked as an administrative assistant in law, architecture and engineering, city government and medicine for twenty-five years before I started a part-time business as a social media manager and marketer, primarily for musicians, in 2008. I worked full-time and on my business part-time for four years before I took the leap and started working full-time under the business name Scully Love Promo.

In 2006, I made friends online with a woman named Paige O’Neill, the social media manager for one of my favourite bands, The Waterboys. I have been a huge, lifelong music fan, and I thought, wow, what a great job! I want to do that! So I started on MySpace and then taught myself everything about doing business on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And let me tell you, being self-employed is more than a full-time job, but the rewards make all the hard work and fluctuating income worth it.

In 2007, I met a recording artist, Maple Blues Award-winning Ann Vriend at a local concert, who blew me away with her talent. I told her about my new business, and she took my business card, saying she would need me. Six months later, she called and hired me, and I worked with her for ten years. Paige was responsible for helping me land my second client, a bestselling British author, Anna Pasternak.

I worked as a social media manager and marketer for musicians (and several authors and entrepreneurs) for ten years. I was blessed to work with dozens of recording artists, including Grammy, JUNO, Canadian Folk Music, Canadian Country Music, and Maple Blues Award winners from Canada, the US and the UK. It was a dream job, and I especially loved seeing my clients perform in concert.

After the first few years, I was fortunate to rarely have to look for work because I was constantly referred by my clients and other music industry professionals who had heard of me. However, sadly, when the pandemic hit, the music industry was one of the first industries to take a beating. As a result, I lost three-quarters of my clients, who had also realized that a return on investment with social media marketing was becoming more challenging than ever. After watching The Social Dilemma and reading about the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, I felt sick about social media and taking my clients’ money to wrestle with rigged algorithms. It was time for a change.

I am a book girl. I have read about 1,000 books and have edited on the side for an independent publishing company called Publish and Promote for ten years. However, because I was suffering from social media burnout (it is real!) and the pandemic essentially wiped out my business (except for a few clients I still work with), I decided it was time to pivot and make copyediting my focus. So in November 2020, I closed Scully Love Promo and opened Bodacious Copy, providing services as a copy editor, proofreader, book reviewer and Twitter marketing strategist. Twitter is the social media platform I enjoy the most, and although there is much more I could say about the evil of Big Tech, I won’t.

Nevertheless, I already had copyediting and proofreading experience through my administrative career and various courses. In addition, I was a self-taught social media marketing specialist (who continues to learn from the best—Mari Smith) and a book reviewer for HarperCollins Canada and Simon & Schuster Canada for several years. So it was a natural progression for me to amalgamate the things I’m good at and interested in for Bodacious Copy.

My new business continues growing, and I have edited over forty books. My most recent project was for a bestselling fantasy fiction author I met on Twitter, and I couldn’t be more excited for the spring release of P.L. Stuart’s latest book, Lord and King, the third book in a seven-book series called The Drowned Kingdom Saga.

Life is good, and every day I work for authors and musicians, I can be proud of what I have achieved and enthusiastic about what is yet to come! 

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I specialize in copyediting for fiction and nonfiction authors and have a keen eye for grammar, punctuation, clarity, fluidity and style. My clients appreciate my ability to help them refine their writing and present their best-written work to the world by accessing the soul and spirit of their words and emphasizing them with uncommon magic.

My love of language has always influenced me. A voracious reader since the age of five, I read—every day—and am hyper-aware of what first-class copy is. In addition, I am a published poet and know a lot about how to listen to words. I also wrote reviews and articles for various online entertainment magazines for years. So, I understand how to create impact through written communication to engage audiences and ensure each project receives my best effort.

For first-time writers and self-published authors, I help them to understand the difference between copyediting and proofreading. Copyediting is the most crucial component of the publishing process, but proofreading is a different task. Knowing the difference will save them money. We discuss whether they require line editing, content or stylistic editing, copyediting or proofreading services. I can also help them create a traditional marketing plan to sell their books and a social media marketing plan emphasizing Twitter marketing. I can teach them about best practices for social media marketing and what is currently most effective for reach and engagement. And for published authors looking for honest book reviews to help increase their ranking on Amazon and Goodreads, I provide affordable package rates with competitive turnaround time and share the reviews on my social media to an audience of almost 19K followers.

I am most proud of being able to run my second successful business as an entrepreneur with integrity, working for people whose artistry and talent I admire, despite having health issues over the past several years. I have never missed a deadline and receive excellent reviews for my work. Every day, I put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. My to-do list may be four pages long, but I never stop getting things done, and Bodacious Copy continues to grow.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe it is my integrity. I am consistently honest and loyal and will go above and beyond to help a client with almost anything they ask of me. I am not in this business for the money, although I need to make a certain amount to pay my bills. I have never over-charged. I provide a detailed account of how my time is spent and always look for the most cost-effective solutions to meet the client’s budget. I also help to promote them on my social media sites at no extra cost (except for my book review packages—I wrote book reviews for years for free, but as I get older, I realize the value of my time). Finally, I am continuously among their biggest fans.  

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and a creative is helping to shine a light on talent in the arts, turning people on to someone they didn’t know about, and bringing them even a little happiness. When someone raves about an author or a musician I recommend, that is my bonus income. My life mission is to support the arts in any way possible because they have helped me cope in the face of adversity. We learned during the pandemic how valuable the arts are—music, literature, performing arts, film and fine art—for making a difference in how we view the world, cope and even overcome challenges. We learned how hard it is to go without seeing live music or attending a play, comedy show or museum, and many of us probably read more books than ever before. It’s also essential to have a joyous escape from reality in this time of constant negative news and doom-scrolling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bodaciouscopy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodaciouscopy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinebode/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bodaciouscopy
• Other: My Bodacious Blog: https://bodaciouscopy.wordpress.com/