JULIE ARMSTRONG

Julie Armstrong is finally in the place she has worked toward since stepping into her first journalism class.  She now owns her own freelance editing company in Hazel Park, Mich., and works part-time as a copy editor at the Detroit Free Press.

Armstrong attended Eastern Michigan University from 1990-1994, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in journalism and a minor in linguistics.  This degree was the perfect fit for her.

“Ever since I was young my Grandma made me look up anything I didn’t know, and I became obsessed with words,” Armstrong said. “I always have a dictionary or Thesaurus within arms reach.”

Before even setting foot in a classroom at Eastern, Armstrong walked into the Eastern Echo office, and was hired on the spot as a reporter.  She wrote five stories before school started.  She eventually became editor, and created the Echo Stylebook while she was there. 

“Even though I got good grades, I still went out and partied, mostly with Echo people,” she said. “We were our own little fraternity.”

Hard work and persistence pays off in the journalism world and Armstrong is a living example.  She knows the key to getting a job is showing how much you want it.  That sense of determination helped her land two internships while she was in college.  She also worked part time for the Ann Arbor and Monroe News, and was able to set up a full time job before she graduated. 

“When I first started looking for work, there were no jobs available,” Armstrong explained, “But I just kept knocking on doors and telling people I was interested, and finally a position opened up, and they thought of me.”

She has experienced many facets of journalism.  Reporting for five years with Automotive News Weekly gave her a chance to “get in the trenches,” as she calls it.  She realized that reporting was not the road she wanted to go down, and was drawn to the job of editor.  But reporting had allowed her to see both sides of the news, and gave her the edge she needed. 

“It became really tiring to write all of the negative stories,” Armstrong said. “Reporters have hearts, too.”

After college, Armstrong gained experience with Crain Communications, both as a reporter and editor with numerous trade publications, and as a copy editor at the Macomb Daily. 

Armstrong’s next challenge was starting her own freelance company in January 2005. 

“I’m not going to lie, the first six months were stressful,” she said, “Almost all I did was networking and letting people know I am here.”  But it paid off.  She now has numerous full-time clients.

Her company does everything from editing independent authors and children’s literature to writing brochures and automotive newsletters.  After establishing her business, Armstrong found it necessary to escape the workload, so she took her first well-deserved vacation in March. 

“It is good to be busy, but stressful!”

In today’s tight economy, many large companies contract out their editing work, and she’s perfectly positioned to take it. 

“Doing a quick, clean, careful job is what my clients appreciate,” Armstrong said, “Basically just taking someone else’s work and fixing it.”

Armstrong has considered graduate school, but decided it is not right for her at this point. 

“As long as you have a degree, talent and ambition, people will hire you,” she said.

Armstrong is now reaping the benefits of her experience and aggressive, hardworking attitude in the newspaper and print advertisement industry.    

And her obsession with words has come in pretty handy, too!