Objectives & Goals

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• to secure a full-time position in which I might practice my passions for ghostwriting, organizing and rewriting, researching and fact-checking, and editing—in any combination!
• to apply my two ultimate goals:  (1) helping writers say what they want to say to the audience they want to reach and  (2) allowing readers to concentrate on intended messages, not on grammatical errors, sloppy logic, and misleading cues

Life Achievements & Career Highlights

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• selected to represent my home Church of the Brethren congregation at an annual UN junior peacemakers' conference in NYC
• awarded the annual MC President's Choice Scholarship
• chosen by director of MCHS to serve as live-in caretaker of NCR-Founder John H Patterson's homestead carriage house
• recognized by trolley advocates, city planning office, and MCHS for contributions to Dayton's successful Save Our Trolleys campaign
• earned praise from author-educator John Hope Franklin for "negotiating delicate terminology" during development of THJH's African-American-themed issue
• honored by NC Governor Jim Hunt, DCR Secretary Jeff Crow, and renowned state historian Jerry Cashion for furthering the understanding of state history through educational programs and publications
• researched and ghostwrote material for Cobblestone, Facts on File publications, and Time for Kids
• selected to serve as author and North American liaison/location manager for Anova Books, Ltd, during production of Orlando, Then and Now, a history of Orlando
• served as Orlando-area group leader of the Florida Writer's Association

Skills & Assets

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• the ability to provide content appraisals, substantive reviews, copyedits, and proofs for written materials
• the ability to brainstorm, refine, focus, and enforce objectives, deadlines, and budgets and to establish and manage editorial schedules
• the ability to apply rules in standard style manuals, house style guides, and respected grammars and texts to ensure grammatical sense, logic, and consistency
• the ability to research, ghostwrite, and rewrite as needed
• the ability to employ established readability guidelines to assist in reaching general audiences
• the ability to adjust style, format, and content to fit the needs, interests, and knowledge of a target audience
• the ability to work in teams or individually to establish and then meet goals and objectives

Recent Projects

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the-freelance-editor.com
Owner/Proprietor
Orlando, Florida
1997–Present

• A Walk Through Life   (personal memoir)
• Modeling a Successful Practice: A Guide to Ophthalmic Staff Development  (a procedural training manual for technicians)
• Where Egrets Flew   (young adult historical fiction)
• The Crystal of the Pyramids   (murder mystery/thriller)
• The Last Dog in the World   (science fiction/fantasy script proposal)
• “Love Thy Neighbor”   (short story)
• School’s in: Federalism and the National Education Agenda   (published dissertation)
• “Union-Leaders in a Culture of Change”   (unpublished dissertation article)
• Prison to Paycheck   (self-improvement guide)
• KQP International Lifestyle   (Web site)
• A History of Fashion, from A to Z   (nonfiction, in progress)

Practical Experience

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State Museum of History
Historical Publications Editor
Raleigh, North Carolina
1992–2000

• led production of Tar Heel Junior Historian, a biannual state history magazine, from conception through distribution
• worked with classroom teachers and curriculum standards to develop activities for student readers
• coordinated Crossroads, a tabloid school newsletter
• reviewed, edited, and proofed materials such as audiovisual scripts, exhibit labels, books, guides, brochures, articles, reports, grants, and activity sheets for exhibitions, education programs, and special projects
• created “Editorial Guidelines to Staff,” a series of informational memos to assist writers in preparing museum-related copy
• served on and chaired publications committees and advisory boards

Freelance Library Services
Owner/Proprietor
Orlando, Florida
1987–Present

• provide research assistance to clients
• develop and maintain in-house research facilities and resource centers for small businesses and organizations
• provide summaries, annotations, bibliographies, and indexes for clients as contracted

Montgomery Co. Historical Soc.
Publications Director
Dayton, Ohio
1987–1992

• edited and designed the society’s newsletter, brochures, and journals
• researched background information for articles, exhibits, and tours
• assisted curator with cataloging and indexing
• maintained local clippings collection
• created and updated membership database

Dayton & Montgomery Co. P. L.
Reference Librarian
Dayton, Ohio
1980–1987

• assisted librarian/curator in managing local history collection
• edited monthly newsletter of new titles
• guided and assisted walk-in patron research
• researched answers to call-in patron questions
• organized special collections to ease patron use

Education & Training

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Manchester College
North Manchester, Indiana

• graduated:  Major, School Media Services (a K–12 English education degree with a concentration in library science);   Minor, Journalism
• worked in Funderburg Library as a circulation/reference assistant
• served as staff member, then editor of Oak Leaves, the campus newspaper

NC State University
Raleigh, North Carolina

• developed and began coursework designed for Masters in Liberal Studies degree with a focus on the role of instructional and educational design in readability
• completed some research and early drafts for required final written project (degree not completed)

“On-the-Job” Learning and
Continuing Education

• finished coursework in HTML and XML coding
• attended classes and seminars in project supervision and quality management