Editor

Dr. Tamira Butler-Likely

Dr. Tamira Butler-Likely has over 15 years of experience editing and proofreading fiction, nonfiction, essays, children’s books, academic and scientific papers, and dissertations. She holds a PhD in biology and biomedical sciences and is proficient in several style guides, including APA, MLA, AMA, and AP, with the Chicago Manual of Style as her preference.

Fiction and scientific documents are where she spends most of her time today, and where she’d most want to be known—a combination that reflects both her scientific training and her love of story.

A project she’s proud of: One manuscript arrived choppy—sentence structure with very little flow, and scene transitions that landed abruptly. By the end of the edit, the readability had improved significantly and the transitions moved seamlessly from one to the next.

Tamira emails clients at the start of a project to confirm work has begun, then again at the halfway point to reconfirm the completion timeline. If something in the text needs an immediate decision, she’ll reach out directly; otherwise, she leaves comments in the document for the author to review once all edits are complete.

Tamira’s list is currently open to most fiction and nonfiction projects, with two exceptions: she does not take on religious texts or manuscripts over 100,000 words.

In her free time, Tamira enjoys cooking, reading, and traveling with her family.

In Their Words

What clients say about working with Tamira.

“I chose WordWiser Ink because I make it a point to support Black-owned businesses whenever I can, and the experience more than lived up to that decision. Communication and efficiency stood out immediately—Tamira is so sharp that I’ve stopped double-checking her edits altogether. I just accept the changes and publish. Easy as pie.”

Anthony Martin Owner, Hiero Media Company

Beyond the BIo

Favorite candy

Ferrero Rocher.

Biggest weakness

Chocolate—see above.

Movies you could watch over and over

The Fifth Element and The Shawshank Redemption.

Favorite way to stay fit

Workouts on the FitOn app and dancing.

Longest road trip you’ve been on

St. Louis, Missouri, to Columbia, South Carolina — 747 miles.

If you could live anywhere for a year

One week in every country in Africa.

Best piece of advice you’ve received

Focus more on the solution than the problem.

Meet the rest of the team.

Every editor at WordWiser Ink brings their own specialty to the table.

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