Catherine E. Oliver—the “CEO” of Oliver Editorial—has been editing professionally since 1985. Her forte is helping authors clarify their writing by clarifying their thinking, and vice versa. The people who hire her tend to keep coming back, often with more difficult or complex projects. Clients and colleagues have referred to her as “the best editor we had,” “a master,” and “my curve-ball person.”
Specializing in technology and trade nonfiction, Catherine has edited hundreds of computer-related books and numerous bestselling books on business, marketing, and leadership. She has had the pleasure of editing books about such thought-provoking subjects as being a Purple Cow and a Linchpin, developing Tribes, and getting through The Dip (Seth Godin), staring down internal resistance so you can Do the Work (Steven Pressfield), building a company so you can make it Anything You Want (Derek Sivers), and making sure that what you build is Meaningful to the people you serve (Bernadette Jiwa).
Before starting her own business in 1995, Catherine played a key role in building the publishing division of Logical Operations, a technical training and publishing firm. Her work in setting editorial standards, editing hundreds of instructional guides, and training new editors had, in the words of the former publisher, “MUCH to do with the success of [their] book business.” From 2008 to 2012, she also worked as a staff editor at Axzo Press, a technical publishing firm in Rochester, NY.
Catherine earned a BA in English from Oberlin College and is still grateful for her liberal arts education. Her religion professor once told her that she has a gift for abstract thought*—something she likes to remember when she’s looking for the piece of paper she had in her hands just three minutes ago.
When she’s not reading for business or pleasure—preferably with her cat nearby—she can often be found getting in over her head with her latest landscaping project. At the family place on Keuka Lake, she has built a lumber retaining wall and a brick and bluestone path, and in her backyard, she has built a small brick patio and a dry-stack stone wall. Having run out of room in her own yard, she is now eyeing her next-door neighbor’s backyard (and wondering why “backyard” is one word, instead of two words like “front yard” and “side yard”).
As you can see, she shows off her landscaping projects every chance she gets.
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The patio, just big enough for two lawn chairs.
It was the first of several projects that started with “How hard can it be?” and ended—much, much later—with “Oh.” |
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The dry-stack stone wall, built entirely from scavenged rocks.
The potentilla and one of the rose bushes have filled out since this photo was taken. The small tree is a lace-leaf Japanese maple, which is now a little bit taller and a lot wider. |
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View of the stone wall and garden beds from the office.
The grass strip around the wall occasionally serves as a racetrack for Luna, the exuberant Black Lab next door. |
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Patio and part of the stone wall and surrounding gardens.
The big stick on the patio is for playing tug-of-war or fetch with Luna. She chews through sticks pretty fast, so there’s always a supply in the back corner of the yard. |
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Miss Lexi, enjoying the shade from the potentilla (she always has her leash and harness on outside). |
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A hellebore (Lenten rose) and bluebells in early spring. The flowering groundcover is sweet woodruff. |
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