About Words for a Better World
Janet Jones Bann
My cat is gray
With a white spot on his chin.
Whenever I open the door to my house,
He always walks in.
by 8-year-old me
Perhaps my first-ever epiphany was writing that poem in 2nd grade and realizing that magical words in books could be created by someone like me. But even then I knew that third line was problematic; I just didn’t know how to fix it.
Fast forward many decades, and I enjoy helping other writers uncover their stories and fix the small and larger problems that inevitably appear in early drafts. It’s my past coming full circle: I spent 10 years as a writing/English teacher at the community, high school, and college levels. I’ve studied writing throughout my life – in college including two years with the amazing Adrienne Rich; for one year of grad school before life put me on a different path; within the community of romance/women’s fiction/mystery writers for 20+ years, including nearly 200 workshops, 10 writing conferences, and many online courses.
In 2018 I brushed up on mechanics with a certification course in copy editing. I’m a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and take part in ongoing professional development. In July 2023 I was certified as a fiction book coach by Author Accelerator.
In the fiction realm, I’ve copy/line edited novels, short story anthologies, and a novella. I’ve helped writers develop novels and short stories. I’ve done proofreading, but I prefer editing and generally won’t proof books I edited. Last year as part of my book coach training I began to do manuscript evaluations.
My own writing has appeared in several small literary magazines, newspapers, and a poetry anthology. A handful of poems were honorable mentions in Writers Digest annual contests. Portions of my in-progress novel, Home at Last, finaled in a few Romance Writers of America chapter contests. Along with my three wonderful critique partners, I’ve just completed writing a series of columns, A Discovery of Writers, for the DIY MFA platform.
Why Words for a Better World?
Social justice is one of my passions. In my 20s I thought I’d become a writer but was drawn even more to activism as the route to that better world: first antinuclear/disarmament work, then advocacy for unhoused families and individuals. The latter included running a nightly streetcorner dinner program, an outreach center for emergency needs, and a small shelter, as well as creating a nonprofit and leading the first group in the country to get specially designated federal land on which we built a 30-unit transitional housing program for unhoused mothers and kids. I lived there for my first two years as director. A few years later I handed the program to someone else but continued for 25 years to work in social service and advocacy organizations, primarily through writing and program development.
I’ve changed paths now to focus on my own writing and on launching this business to support other writers.