Rita Hess “pretended” to read the newspaper long before she ever understood the words on the page. When she was old enough to actually grasp the content, she formed an insatiable appetite for language that she never quite quenched. Not realizing she could turn that passion into a sustainable income, Rita earned a comfortable living working in other industries for years before finally returning to her first love: words.
At 40 years old, Rita attended a writing workshop and heard the speaker say, “If I can do this, so can you!” Naively believing that statement, she bought a computer, went online, and sold her first article as a freelancer within weeks. In the years that followed, hundreds of her articles were published in print and electronic formats.
One of Rita’s clients eventually hired her for an editing gig, and it immediately became apparent that Rita the Writer had found a new niche. Clients loudly praise (and quietly curse) her attention to detail and ability to find even the tiniest inconsistency.
Rita works from her home office in northwest Oklahoma (yes, they do have Internet there!) but admits that most days, she would rather be cruising the Caribbean. Her short-term goal is to survive “mean-o-pause” without killing her husband Mike.
