Jan K., The Proofer

(Mrs.) Jan Kovarik

I have been a freelance proofreader since 1995. I’ve worked on a variety of projects including grade-school texts, a carpentry instruction manual and other training materials, self-help books, medical newsletters, survey and product research transcripts, and accounting research-related academic journals. Before 1995, I worked as a corporate accountant for a national manufacturing firm, and had a total of 20 years in the accounting field.

Along with my husband, Jim, I have had the opportunity to travel around and live in many different areas of the country. We’ve lived on the East Coast, West Coast, in the Midwest, the Northwest, and the South on work assignments that stemmed from my husband’s employment as a subcontracted health care worker.

We’ve had the time and opportunity to visit many of this country’s great National and State Parks while enjoying camping, hiking, and backpacking. Our crowning achievement of our outdoor activities was a two-week backpacking trek through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and crossing the Great Western Divide, ending with an ascent of Mt. Whitney. Of all the Parks we’ve visited, Yellowstone National Park captured our greatest respect for the majesty of Nature.

We are now settled in Florida and our outdoor activities center around the water: the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the many beautiful rivers and natural springs with which Florida abounds. We sail, snorkel, and scuba-dive whenever possible.

We own a modest sailboat that has a cabin just big enough to crawl in and sleep. We've overnighted in Sarasota, the Keys, and on the St. John's River. On several occasions, we’ve had the good fortune to snorkel with manatees in their natural environment. We also enjoy scuba diving the reefs in the Keys, and thrill to the brilliantly colored waters and the wonder of the vivid sunsets that can only be found in the tropics.

When work and other hobbies permit, I continue to work on writing my own fiction novel that is based on the Civil War---my private passion.

I am originally from New Jersey, where my parents still live in the only house that I called “home.”