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Are you an indie or self-publishing romance author who has:

  • Struggled with making your writing clear and flow easily?

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  • Worried that missed grammar mistakes or typos will get you bad reviews?

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  • Feared that readers will hate your book?

Then you’re in the right place.

Hi! I’m Jacqueline Duczek (she/her)

My passion is helping indie and self-publishing romance authors edit and publish swoonworthy books that are clear, error-free, and worthy of 5-star reviews.

Becoming a published author of a romance novel—or let’s be real, a whole series—is your biggest dream.

You’ve read every craft book you can get your hands on (Romancing the Beat and The Emotion Thesaurus are your best friends). You follow beat sheets like Save the Cat religiously—even if you’re a pantser like me. Maybe you’ve even taken some courses on fiction writing or how to write sex scenes.

 

You care about your story. About getting the characters and plot right. You’ve read and reread your manuscript so many times that the words have lost all meaning. The content of your book feels perfect. But when you think about trying to figure out where the hell the commas are supposed to go, the dread creeps in. Or maybe you’ve got a handle on commas, but you switch between past and present tense like you’re in a time-travel romance and can’t figure out where you are anymore.

 

Maybe you’re dyslexic and you can’t tell why spellcheck has that red squiggly line under a word because it looks right to you. Or maybe spelling was just never your strong suit and trying to figure out how to spell “restaurant” gives you nightmares (which is especially terrifying because your heroine is a chef).

​Whatever your particular grammar struggle, you know you need help. That’s why I’m here.

I’ve been obsessed with punctuation and grammar since elementary school. I was that annoying kid who always pointed out people’s grammar mistakes and knew the “right way” to use commas. (And tbh, the way that comma placement can completely change the meaning of a sentence still fascinates me.)

 

I got to a point where I could instantly recognize when something was “off” about a sentence even if I couldn’t tell you the specific rule it was breaking. I became the go-to proofreader for my sister’s homework assignments, my friends’ writing projects, even people’s emails and résumés. It didn’t matter what it was. If it needed to be proofread, I would happily look it over.

So why do I only work with romance?

When I was 15, my best friend showed me fanfiction for a book series we were both obsessed with. It was the first time I'd seen anything like it, and it literally changed my life. Soon, I was reading every fanfic I could get my hands on, exploring new fandoms, and even trying my hand at writing my own fanfiction. And through it all, my favourite fanfics to read and write were the ones where people fell in love.

 

Eventually, I found my way to romance novels and discovered they have all the things I love about fanfiction (except for the fandom aspect, of course). I get to read about people falling in love in fun and interesting ways; experience new cultures, genders, jobs, and kinks; and feel all warm and fuzzy for a few hours. Plus, romance writers are some of the most creative, talented, and hard-working people I’ve ever met. You care deeply about the romance genre and your craft, and you have so many brilliant ideas that you want to share with the world.

 

But it wasn’t until I saw an ad for a proofreading course that I realized I could combine my love of grammar with my love of romance novels and become an editor. So, I took that proofreading course (because intuitively knowing grammar isn’t enough; I needed to understand it to actually help people). And a few short months later, The Meet-Cute Grammar Geek was born. 

Now, I help romance authors like you navigate the complicated world of grammar while maintaining your unique author voice.

So, whether you need a deeper dive into your words and grammar (copy editing) or a final polish to make sure everything’s perfect (proofreading), I’ve got you. And if you need a little help with the story elements instead, I do that too (beta reading).

Fun Facts About Me

  • Over the years, I’ve been in dozens of fandoms (CSI, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Leverage, to name a few). Currently, my fandoms range from the most mainstream (yes, I’m just as obsessed with Kpop Demon Hunters as everyone else) to the more niche and obscure (the Hatchetfield musicals, anyone?).

 

  • My favorite romance and fanfiction tropes are friends to lovers, fake dating, mutual pining, and there was only one bed. Combine them all together if you want me obsessed with your book.

 

  • Asking me to pick my favorite author is like asking me to watch a horror movie without hiding behind my hands: terrifying and nearly impossible. But if I have to do it, then I’m cheating and picking more than one—and hiding my face in a pillow instead. (Those authors are Cathy Yardley, Cat Sebastian, and E.J. Russell btw.)

 

  • You can pry the Oxford comma from my cold, dead hands.

 

  • I’m incapable of writing without adding a million parentheticals, em-dashes, and asides to every other sentence. (And no, I don’t use AI. I just have ADHD.)

 

  • If it's possible to be a nerd about something, I probably am. Video games, board games, jigsaw puzzles, anime, D&D… The list goes on.

Ready to see how we can work together?

Education

A completion badge with text that states General Proofreading Theory & Practice.

  • The Keys to Effective Editing by Jennifer Della'Zanna

  • Certificate of completion in General Proofreading: Theory and Practice

  • Before You Hit Send Self-Editing Course by Angela James

  • How to Write Love Scenes by Roni Loren

  • Fearless Romance Writing: The Beginner Course by Roni Loren

  • Romance Writing by Priscilla Oliveras

  • Wicked Good Fiction Bootcamp by Suzy Vadori

  • I've Always Wanted to Write Fiction by Shelley Singer

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