About Me

Katherine Harper, Ph.D.

If you're reading this, you already know that my name is Katherine Harper. I live in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and since 2013 I have worked as an independent editor, indexer, writer, and researcher for clients across the United States.


I earned my bachelor of arts degree from the College of Wooster, a small, high-quality liberal-arts college in north central Ohio. Some years after that, I enrolled at Bowling Green State University, intending to obtain a master’s degree in English. Instead, I emerged five years later with a Ph.D. (It’s a long story.) Since then I have written a number of articles and book chapters on literary themes, but have used my advanced degree for purposes other than teaching.


One of my published works is a booklet to introduce beginners to the world of grant prospect research and proposal writing. Get Those Grants! is available in print and e-book formats through Lulu Press. All sales proceeds benefit the Editorial Freelancers Association.

My work life has always included some mixture of editing, academics, and nonprofit development. I’m good at finding potential funding sources and writing proposals that result in grants, and that’s how I made my living at a multi-client Cleveland consultancy (four years), Kenyon College (four years), and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (six years). But working with text has always appealed to me even more. By the time a foundation makes a decision, months may have passed since I wrote the proposal. With editing, my progress is visible on the page in front of me and, as the days go by, I can watch the manuscript becoming stronger and stronger.

So what might all of this mean for you?


  • If you represent a business, retaining me can result in brochures, correspondence, and web copy that are clear and concise and provide consistent messages.
  • If you work for a nonprofit group, I can provide you with details about targeted foundation prospects or draft proposal text that can be updated and used year after year.
  • If you're a graduate student in the humanities or soft social sciences, hiring me to critique or edit your thesis can potentially trim weeks or months off your acceptance time.


Every writer benefits from the services of a good editor. I'm available on a project basis or exclusively by the day, week, or month. Please contact me today for a free project quote.