Racheal Yocum
Racheal (Breeden) Yocum graduated from AU in 2016 with a degree in English and currently serves as a Professional Advisor for Graduate, Online, and Adult Studies. Yocum’s excellence in her position was recognized with the Dick Obrecht Outstanding Staff Member of the Year in 2023. I interviewed Yocum and share her responses below.
HD: Could you describe your journey from your undergraduate major to your current job? How did your experience in the department prepare you for your work life?
RY: Being an English major, we take so many literature courses that force us to read books or stories that we otherwise may never have picked up. For example, I was not looking forward to some of my classes focusing on older literature (Lit. of Early England and 17th -Century Literature come to mind); however, being in these courses showed me that getting out of my comfort zone was a good thing and helped me to find joy in literature that was not my "go to" genre.
HD: Do you have any favorite memories from your time in the department?
RY: When I was taking my screenwriting class and my German film course with Dr. Maura Grady, I was able to work with her interviewing people who were visiting either the Mansfield Reformatory or the Christmas Story house in Cleveland about the impact of the films on their lives and why they loved them. I think those interactions pushed me outside of my comfort zone and led me to want to continue to talk to people about the cultural impact of art.
I also think that my time with Dr. David Fitzsimmons in his Grammar and Usage course really helped cement the importance of understanding grammar in everyday life. He would always tell us, "As long as you know the rules, you can break them--just be ready to defend yourself." We learned how different publishers (e.g., Little, Brown, Blue Book, etc.) use different schools of thought in terms of grammar rules.
HD: You have come to be involved in the publishing world. Could you describe these experiences and their impact on your life?
RY: The positive experiences I had in the department reading and talking about literature and culture led me to start reviewing my favorite books online and helped me start to work with publishers as an Advanced Reader for books. I am lucky enough to work with most of the big publishing houses as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) reader. This means that publishers will send out lists of books that are set to be published in the next few months and I apply for ones that sound interesting to me. If I am accepted, I am either sent a digital file (eARC) or a physical ARC (also called a Galley Proof) and have an expectation to read and review before the book is published. I also work with a lot of smaller independent (indie) authors to read and promote their work to my following on Instagram & Goodreads. This entire process has led me to read authors and books I probably never would have otherwise and helped me to connect with fellow readers around the world to discuss novels and publishing. Because I felt the benefits of being out of my comfort zone in my undergraduate classes, I find myself reading and applying for books outside of my normal genres of reading and really enjoying pushing my boundaries.
For ARC reading, I actually started by applying on a website called Netgalley. This allows readers to submit applications for digital versions of books, both by indie authors self-publishing and major publishers. After being accepted for a few books and posting about them on my social media, I received a few messages directly from indie authors asking if I would be interested in their ARCs or currently published novels and reviewing them in exchange for a copy.
After about six months of this, I had amassed over 1,000 followers on Instagram. Macmillian and Simon & Schuster had posted on their socials that there were open spots on their permanent influencer teams. The only requirements were having read & reviewed their books previously and having at least 1,000 followers on our social media of choice. We had to give links to reviews across multiple avenues (Goodreads, Amazon, social media, etc.) and prove we had the required following.
Once they had received my information and I got my approval email, I sought out other publishing houses and applied for their teams as well. I am proud to say I am working with every major publishing house, and a number of imprints, except for Berkley. This is one of the hardest ones to be accepted for, but I plan to reapply soon now that I have surpassed 2,000 followers.
A lot of what I have been able to accomplish is because of how hard I've put myself out there and applied for books. I always say the worst that can happen is someone will say "No," and I carry that into my work with publishers. I now consistently receive at least one book a week from a publisher, whether that is a published book or a physical ARC, but just last week I received five books! I'm still a "small" account, but I absolutely love getting to help authors in this way and pushing myself out of my comfort zone, both with my reading selections and with my outreach to publishers and authors.
I also work part time as an editor assistant for the Online Journal in Nursing (OJIN). This was a job that only came about because of a connection I made through my current role as an academic advisor at Ashland University. The lead editor, Dr. Jackie Owens, was a faculty member with our College of Nursing & Health Sciences and, because of our working relationship, knew I had a background in editing and writing. She was looking for a new assistant to help with some of the citation checking and communication with authors. I've been doing this for almost a year, and I love getting to flex my brain in a different way with this style of work. Studying grammar here as an undergrad has helped me with my flexibility in knowing when something is grammatically incorrect versus a stylistic choice by an author when working in OJIN.
