Brennah Hale

Full name:

Brennah Hale

Where did you attend undergrad and what degree did you receive?

I attended the University of Nevada, Reno, and received my Bachelor’s in English: Writing and a minor in French.

When will you graduate from the Ooligan program at PSU?

spring 2019

What is/are your favorite genre(s)?

memoirs and dystopian novels

Who is your favorite author?

Lauren Oliver has a special place on my bookshelf. However, I just recently discovered Joan Didion, and she is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Did you always know you wanted to be involved in publishing?

I actually fell in love with publishing after writing a few poems for a class assignment. After, my mother encouraged me to submit them to publishers. Because of this, I came across Eber & Wein Publishing. They were in search of amateur poets with original pieces. I took the leap and sent in two of my poems, which were later published in Eber & Wein’s anthology of amateur poets. The feeling of being recognized and honored for a written piece of art was incredible, and I immediately knew it was something that I hoped to grant to other future authors. Thus, I knew I would later pursue a career in the publishing industry to fulfill this dream.

What drew you to the Ooligan program?

I was born and raised in Nevada, and I desperately wanted to leave my home state and journey onto something new. Once I made the decision to continue my education as part of a graduate program, I began researching the different universities and colleges in Oregon. Portland State University grabbed my attention with its focus on the arts and its connection to downtown Portland. Ooligan is very unique in that it offers students hands-on experience in the publishing industry, and once I learned about it, it was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up.

What are you looking forward to most about this internship?

I’m really looking forward to getting to shadow an editor on a daily basis. This will be an amazing opportunity to grasp what an editor does, how they find their clients, how to identify the right pay, and even how to know what sort of edits will be the right fit for each manuscript. I’m also interested to find out more about author and editor relations.

What do you like most about editing?

My favorite part of editing is working on a manuscript with the goal of helping turn an author’s work into its best possible version. There’s nothing more fulfilling than knowing that you’re there to help an author succeed.

What do you like least about editing?

I would have to say my least favorite part of editing is telling authors to cut a portion of their work, whether because it doesn’t fit into the text or because it simply doesn’t add anything of value to the text. It’s hard to tell authors that something they’ve taken the time and effort to write should be taken out completely.

What is the one thing that always catches your eye while editing?

One of my pet peeves while editing is when sentences repeatedly start with the same word. Repetition in general seems to always catch my eye, but when multiple sentences begin with the same word over and over, I almost always fixate on the issue.

If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be?

Next to editing, my passion is writing. I would absolutely love to write and edit for a nonprofit journal or magazine. The nonprofit sector in publishing is a strong interest of mine, and my dream career would be to work in that area in some capacity.

What is one interesting fact about you that has nothing to do with editing or publishing?

I grew up with chickens as pets, and since childhood they’ve been my favorite animal. My apartment kitchen is decked out in farm and chicken themed accessories. I even have chicken shaped salt and pepper shakers!