We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kayla Henley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kayla below.

Hi Kayla, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on is developmental edits for Dr. Isabella Sarto-Jackson’s “The Making and Breaking of Minds” (Vernon Press 2022). This has been one of my most daunting projects to date. The book took a pedagogical approach in its coverage of topics like epigenetics, neuroplasticity, the history of brain science, the microbiology around memory storage, and how all these aspects of neuroscience contribute to one’s mental and emotional health through one’s social interactions. As a developmental editor, it was my job to ensure these topics were organized and presented in a manner that would be accessible to the everyday reader, regardless of their academic familiarity with the subject; this involved trimming redundancies and moving content in order to streamline arguments. This was one of my most meaningful projects because it covered an array of subjects for which I have great interest. Additionally, Dr. Sarto-Jackson’s arguments about how trauma affects the development of the brain—as well as how, contrarily, positive social interactions can cultivate resiliency where previous trauma existed—is something I am deeply passionate about, and it was exciting to be part of an important piece of academic work whose primary focus was pedagogical in nature rather than strictly academic.

Kayla, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Kayla Henley and I am a freelance book editor. I originally got into this field tangentially, as it was my passion as a child to be a writer, and I went so far as to earn a BA in creative writing from the University of Denver. After graduating, I was unsure how to advance my writing career, and thus stumbled upon the field of editing by chance. Some friends of mine were starting a business in my hometown that aimed to partner freelancers with self-published authors to help authors self-publish their books, and they needed an editor. I didn’t know anything about editing, but I had strong writing skills and was intrigued by the job description. Thus began my work as an editor. I quickly found I had a knack for it, for despite my love of creative writing, I am quite analytical and have more of a left-brained skillset that lends itself well to jobs that require attention to detail and organization. Editing allowed me to apply my knowledge of creative writing in a systemic manner to enhance an authors’ work while maintaining the integrity of their voice.

I worked this job for a few years, and in 2020, I started my own business, Henley Ink, LLC. Over the years, I’ve found my niche lies in developmental editing, which focuses on the big picture edits of a book such as point of view, voice, plot and character development for works of fiction, and organization, voice, and cohesion for works of non-fiction. Developmental editing allows me to be a test reader and offer feedback on the macro level before focusing on micro details like spelling and grammar during copyediting. After working within this field for four years, I went back to school to complete a Certificate in Publishing from the Denver Publishing Institute in 2022. It was a fruitful experience that expanded my skillset that hitherto had been primarily self-taught.

My job as an editor is not to change someone’s voice or story simply for the sake of making it “better,” but to enhance what is already on the page while maintaining the author’s voice and style. Ever since I was a child, I have loved stories. I believe we all have a story and should have access to tell that story. I believe in the power of storytelling and the crucial need for diversity in storytelling, which is one of the reasons I love working with self-published authors. Seeing the joy and pride on authors’ faces when they finally have their published book in their hands—a book that at one point had only been a mere idea—that they can now share with the world is why I love my job.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn when I first started out as an entrepreneur was being risk-averse due to perfectionism. I was less willing to try new things, be they business strategies or making new connections, unless I was 100% sure they would work. This led me to closing myself off to potential opportunities due to fear. I let perfect get in the way of good. It took one experience for me to realize how much more fruitful it is to be open minded and allow paths to unfold before you rather than worrying so much about perfectionism.

In the winter of 2021, about a year into my business, an acquaintance I had recently met learned about what I did and mentioned his sister was recently retired from the sales department of WW Norton & Company, an independent publishing company, and asked if I’d have any interest in being connected with her. My first instinct was to turn down this offer because I did not know what could come of such a connection, given her experience was in sales and mine editing, and I felt unsure of myself. However I went against these instincts and instead chose to have an open mind and an attitude of curiosity; after all, it couldn’t hurt to have a conversation. In the end, we had a great chat, and though nothing came of the connection in terms of working together, she informed me about a course held in Denver, CO she had helped teach every summer called the Denver Publishing Institute that she thought I would find beneficial. This graduate course hadn’t even been on my radar. I was able to apply and get accepted to the course within a couple of months, and I graduated from DPI in the summer of 2022. The experience gained from this course was invaluable!

I had no idea that saying yes to connecting with someone adjacent to my field would lead me to going back to school. Had I held on to my anxiety and perfectionism and turned down the offer to connect, I would have missed out on an incredible opportunity to further my education. The lesson I took away from this is to keep an open mind and take risks. You never know what connection is going to lead to the next step in your professional journey.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Something I often come across as a creative is this pressure to fall into a binary system of either “making it” in your creative field or letting your creative passions just be “hobbies.” There is a middle ground. I’ve come to find what works for me is a combination of having a day job that provides stability while leaving room for my professional creative work. Your journey is your own, and it’s okay to have a job that pays the bills while also carving out space for your creative endeavors. As long as you are creating that space, that’s all that matters!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.henleyink.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/henleyink/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayla-henley-771883161/