This week on Sign My Book, I sit down with Jessica Lancaster—journalist, editor, writer, and founder of Musings & Company, a boutique studio for freelance editing and book cover design. Jessica shares her path from corporate sales to a newsroom, then into indie publishing—where she now helps authors polish their manuscripts without changing their voice and create genre-accurate covers that sell. We dig into what to look for in an editor (and what to avoid), how anthologies really work, and practical ways to protect your story’s tone from AI “help.”

We also get tactical: Jessica explains how to test an editor with a free 1,000-word sample, why tracked changes matter, how to join cozy mystery anthologies, and the nuts and bolts of cover design (from eBook to paperback spines and audiobook squares). Plus—her realistic time strategy while homeschooling, editing, designing, and still writing: 10 minutes a day, voice notes, and week-over-week progress.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• From Fortune 500 sales to journalism editor to freelance book editor & cover designer

• How to choose an editor: free sample edits, tracked changes, fit, and why AI won’t replace humans

• Getting into anthologies (especially cozy mysteries): submissions, fees, and acceptance

• Musings & Company (Editing + Cover Design): https://musingsandcompany.com

• Jessica on Instagram: https://www.instragram.com/writingwithjessica

• Writer’s Digest University: https://www.writersdigest.com/university