Josh Bicknell | Tutor, Writer, Editor

Welcome! My name is Josh, and I am a certified secondary English teacher turned business owner, operating under my LLC, Next Generation English and doing business as The Lit Guy: A Next Generation English Project (details below.) My roles include both professional freelance writer/editor of which I am building on seven years of professional experience, and language arts or reading and writing private tutor. I have my BA in English from the University of Missouri in Columbia and am certified in TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language). I taught for five years in the classroom and tutored for ten years both privately and at local colleges and secondary schools. Additionally, I've worked for publishers and managing editors - from poetry anthologies to literary magazines, and worked closely with doctoral candidates, undergraduate students, professors, and creative writing instructors and students from institutions such as UCLA, the University of Houston, University of Texas, University of Missouri, University of Florida, Liberty University, and of course, Lone Star College right here in Houston. My method of teaching is built on years of instructional practice in Houston’s top school districts, and I place particular importance on the essential skill of building meaningful relationships with students by giving them choice and ownership of their own learning. I do not teach the same way I teach in the classroom, though. Otherwise, students wouldn’t need me one-on-one! Instead,I focus on a mix of proven learning skills for intervention and appropriate probing questioning to push students past the “I don’t know” answers to thought-provoking questions. Every student (and adult) has the ability to think critically, the skill which language arts is founded upon. They only need to be asked the right questions with a trusted partner who is invested in their education, and in turn they will gain the confidence and ability to think through the "process of thinking" and writing (or reading) critically and purposefully themselves. Specifically, I teach 6th-12th grade, college, and adults in: reading comprehension (basic to advanced) and literary analysis/literary theory, writing/composition, and intensive, rigorous test preparation, both online through Zoom and in-person. For editing/writing: My area of expertise is in both academic editing and copywriting as well as line editing for fiction and non-fiction, or content/substantive editing. I will guide you as much as you need along the way in terms of understanding the editing process, and you will have total agency and choice in all final decisions. My goal is to maintain an author's distinct voice and message while enhancing the power of their voice by illuminating it through appropriate adjustments to word choice, sentence structure, and content to produce compelling writing at the level of the sentence, paragraph, and page. I also offer basic copyediting and proofreading as well as developmental, large-scale editing and manuscript reviews. I am currently an active member of the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) and the National Association of Independent Writers & Editors (NAIWE), as well as the National Freelancers Union. Overall, I believe in lifelong learning, and I love that I always learn something new from every client or student I work with. A bit of humor, lightheartedness, and building a meaningful (no matter how short-term) relationship is the key to any success. *Coming in 2022: The Lit Guy: A Next Generation English Project - Courses and Community for adults 21 and up, with a focus on relevant, real-world application of communication skills, career and interpersonal-related solutions, and critical thinking/reading/writing in a post-Covid environment. Generationally-themed (and cocktail optional, but recommended.) Pre-register at thelitguy.com. Courses start early 2022.