Let not others define who you are.

Learn More About Me 

Hei! I’m Scharla and I live in Ontario, Canada with my husband and children. We enjoy outdoor adventures and living between two great lakes with plenty of green space allows some room to roam. Because of our extraordinary times, we switched gears and are taking some uncommon roads. I reunited with an old love—the written word—and as a family, we started sailing. I reunited with another old love—water. I’m so happy when we’re out there on the water. It’s peaceful and a great place to clear my head, write and work!

About my love of words: There’s something to be said about stretching the mind beyond the current commonly used vocabulary, and one day I’ll know what that is. I loved writing when I was young and stopped when I joined the working world. I let go of many of my hobbies then, as I often worked two full-time jobs. Things changed after meeting my husband but not because of him. I made the decision to take better care of myself (my overall health) and that required significant growth.

About my love of water: I was born on the tropical island of Trinidad and my favorite place to go as a young child was the beach. One particular beach, I loved because the coconut we drove through was so thick it blotted out the sun over the road and it seemed to go on for miles. I was a kid so things were always bigger than actuality. It was probably just a kilometer or two. But I really don’t know now. I didn’t grow up there and when I did return as an adult to that beach, most of the coconut was groomed and much else had changed. Clearly even I had evolved. But my love of the sea, the ocean, a lake, river, waterfall, even a pool or a pond, remained.

Since I’m home, homeschooling and working from home too, I decided to start writing again. I had time to and the characters in my head weren’t leaving me alone. There came a moment that I thought I was missing pieces and searched for more. I looked into Proofreading and Copyediting and it turned out I had actually been proofreading and copyediting for friends, family, work and myself for at least fifteen years without realizing I was doing so. I gained a few new tricks with my studies and polished my skills. I’ve since done courses and work on developmental, content and line (stylistic) editing and manuscript evaluations to round out my editing abilities.

So, What’s My Background?

I left a career in hospitality management to raise my children and to support my husband in his business endeavors. His business was growing and I needed to be present for my family. I work with him as a deal administrator (and I say that in my very best “Gru” voice impersonation). Many of my previous positions were heavy handed in service to others in one way or another – at the front desk of a hotel, spotting errors in billing, handling receives, identifying concerns in dwellings, serving coffee, making breakfast, ensuring the edges and fronts of high end kitchens were ready for finishing, finding the troubles of websites, researching information for various reports including statistics, handling receivable accounts—I can go on. Even if you think some of these probably do not pertain to a customer, you’d be wrong. They all do and in several of them I had the privilege of writing and editing materials. Even in recent years in my current office before starting my editing business, I edited advertising/marketing materials. All my positions have provided their own unique sets of documents to scrutinize and ensure they were as accurate as possible and yes, some were more challenging than others.

What Made Me Want to Edit and Proofread for Others?

I bought a book recently and noticed a spelling mistake on the spine. A couple recipe books had disorganized measurements and spelling issues. Another book I picked up had more than just copy editing or proofreading concerns! Now, without taking away the success of those who put these to print, it drove me crazy and I felt a little embarrassed for the writers. I understand that not everything and no one is perfect but these little things can cause big ripples.

Before my foray into editing education, I used spelling and grammatical errors as metrics when looking at websites as proof of legitimacy, or if I wanted to engage with whatever I was looking at. I’m not talking about social media posts from friends. Goodness, spellcheck gets the best of all of us on social media (especially when you have multiple language keyboards on your devices). I’m talking about businesses and even as a writer, you are engaged in business.

If I’m using spelling and grammar as metrics, someone else is too! Imagine if someone (who does not do this for a living) used this as their metric to determine if they would buy your book (or a second book), buy from your website, or worse yet, if it threw your business contract negotiations into unwanted kerfuffles (it has been known to happen). Finding these tiny things in published and print form, I realized how important it is to have your work edited and proofread. The investment of a proper edit and proofread to have your work create the impact that you’re looking to make is so worth it.

I have a gift of being able to identify patterns and troubleshooting and the ability to rectify them. It’s an odd super power but it’s all mine. And hey, I’m perfectly human and I choose to approach much of life and all its intricacies with humor, playful wonder, honesty and compassion. I extend that compassion to those who I connect with, work with and hope they get my quirky sense of humor. That bit aside, I found a new place where my talents can help others. So, here I am.

Why the Octopus?

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth... To Proofread Oceanside. I wanted something catchy that was somehow ocean related (because I love them), tied to me and a good memory.

The name and a number of characteristics or traits of an octopus describes a bit of me. I lead with heart and octopuses have three. If I lived in the day of Aristotle he’d probably think I’m simple like he thought of the octopus. But I am playful, curious, intelligent and great at problem solving (traits of an octopus too). I love puzzles of many kinds. Fun facts: I enjoy reading blue prints, maps, architecture and music has a magical way of lighting my soul (no joke, it’s next level). I prefer walking to running and how funny, an octopus prefers to crawl than to swim. I like to think it gives them a chance to take in more of the world where they live, which is how I like to experience things. But really it’s so they don’t get winded which is why I also like to get out there and go for a hike.

Octopus arms seem to have minds of their own and therefore they always look like they’re doing many things at once. Sometimes, that’s certainly me and I get things done. And yeah, I move in mysterious ways too (code for: bad dancer).

Octopuses have existed for millennia and with that existence comes wisdom, longevity and a willingness to grow and evolve. I believe growth (including personal growth) is essential to life. I’ve always stood out for one reason or another even if I try to blend in. So, I’ve embraced my quirks and I ride the waves just as I am. Because of this, my true nature shines.

One of my favorite memories I have was looking into tide pools on the west coast of Canada with my kids when they were younger. All the different species in so many pools and not one octopus was spied! It turns out, it is difficult to see one in a tide pool but it doesn’t mean it’s not seeing you. It was fascinating to see the locations of these pools and the tides. The landscape seemed so different from what I was familiar with (tropical). But the best part was watching my children’s wonder as they explored. It’s one thing to be excited about something new but watching children discover is completely mesmerizing. So, they gave their opinions in picking the name and I ran with it.

Say Something, Anything.

There’s a lot of nostalgia around the word “author”. I love it. Nowadays, writers come in so many forms and I love it even more. From bloggers, novelists, short story writers, poets, advertisers, marketers, site developers, copywriters, columnists, script writers, the list goes on! It’s incredible and half of the people who do these things probably don’t and won’t think of themselves as an author, but they are! Having your message expressed through a well written and edited work really makes the difference to any reader. Your style and voice is what makes your work uniquely yours and connects you to your audience. Never discount your own voice. I seek to ensure that in working with me through either or both, the editing process and coaching, that your voice is fully expressed in your composition.

I have a history of looking at details, so you’ll find I’m very thorough. I have proofread/edited training materials, websites, blog posts, professional communications, contracts and advertising/marketing materials over the years. I always enjoy learning new things (so please don’t hesitate to at least have a conversation with me), connecting with writers and helping them with their process. I enjoy reading a variety of non fiction works as information editing comes naturally to me. But I also enjoy reading fiction (fantasy, romance and comedy).

I’m always learning new skills and, well, there’s more from me on the way which I will incorporate into the services I offer. I’m growing an arm (octopus humor). But in the meantime, be brave, drop me a line and introduce yourself.

Keep Writing,

Scharla Flynn