Archive for the ‘Editing’ Category

In the Workplace with Kathryn Houghton

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Name: Kathryn Houghton
Titles: Web Designer and Technical Writer for Eastern Washington University; Web Editor for Willow Springs
Websites: http://kathrynhoughton.com
Location: Spokane, WA

Kathryn Houghton

Tell us about your educational/professional background.
I graduated with a degree in professional writing from MSU in 2008. While at State I worked as a writing and digital consultant at the Writing Center and as an editorial assistant for Fourth Genre, MSU’s literary magazine of nonfiction. Currently I am a graduate student at Eastern Washington University (EWU) studying fiction writing.

Tell us about your current job.
I hold two different positions right now. I work as a web designer and technical writer for Online Learning at EWU. Online Learning basically encompasses all of the online courses and the resources required to maintain them, and so I spend a lot of time working in Blackboard LMS or making updates to the various websites that fall under the umbrella of my division.

My other position is web editor for Willow Springs, EWU’s literary magazine of poetry, prose, and interviews. I am responsible for updating and maintaining the Willow Springs website, which can mean anything from fixing typos and updating staff lists to creating new graphics and contacting authors for featured content. Since this position is also part of the management team, I also get to work in some other areas such as manuscript screening and copyediting.

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In the Workplace with Amy Nalette

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

Name: Amy Nalette
Title: Associate Acquisitions Editor
Website: www.pubint.com
Location: Chicago, IL

nalette_pomo

Tell us about your educational/professional background.
I double majored at MSU in Spanish and Professional Writing. I plan to pursue a master’s degree next – hopefully soon!

Tell us about your current job.

Publication’s International, Ltd. (PIL) is a privately owned Children’s Book Publishing company in the suburbs of Illinois. We create two different types of Children’s books: Electronic books (with all sorts of buttons that play sound effects, music, voices, etc.) and Quiet books (your typical storybooks without any sound component). We create books that feature licensed characters.

So for example, we work with Disney to create books featuring the Disney Princesses, Cars, Finding Nemo, High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, etc. (the list goes on and on).  Additionally, we work with Sesame Street, Nickelodeon, HIT Entertainment (Thomas the Tank Engine), Marvel, Dreamworks, and more.

My title is Associate Acquisitions Editor, but being an acquisitions editor at PIL is quite different than a typical publishing company. We do not accept outside manuscript submissions from anyone, because we create everything ourselves in-house. We have teams of editors, art directors, production editors, sound designers, animators, etc. that are assigned to each project. Every acquisitions editor in my department is assigned a different licensor that she works with daily. I am the acquisitions editor for Disney! Well, actually, since Disney is our biggest account, we had to split it in half. So I am responsible for all of Disney Quiet Books and another girl is in charge of Disney Electronic Books.

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Caught on tape: PW @ MSU

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

The Viva PW website recently published video interviews with Dànielle DeVoss, Director of Michigan State University’s Professional Writing (PW) program.

The videos cover:

  • skills developed in core PW classes
  • types of careers available to PW students
  • types of media a PW student will use
  • what distinguishes PW from other writing-based majors
  • how PW alums have found their training useful

Check out the videos to see not only what MSU’s PW program offers students, but also to get some excellent language on what professional writing is and why professional writers are essential.

For example, one of the videos includes a great quote from Marissa Hayes, MSU PW alum, about what professional writers do:

“Professional writers can efficiently communicate both onscreen and in print through writing, design, and style. Professional writers have the ability to thoughtfully support their decisions and methods through clear and concise interpretations and explanations. Our experience with visual and document design, rhetorical principles, web authoring, and a range of writing in different contexts makes us more cultivated professionals.”

Head over to the student-produced Viva PW site for more information about professional writing skills and careers.

In the Workplace with Lauren Fox

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

Name: Lauren C. Fox
Title: Assistant Editor
Location: Chicago, IL

Tell us about your educational/professional background.
I studied in the professional writing major, editing and publishing track, for four years at MSU. I also worked as a copy editor for The State News for a year before being promoted to copy chief, which I loved doing for a year and a half, and was recognized as Copy Editor of the Year in May 2007. I moved to Chicago to intern at Venus, Chicago Agent and Miami Agent magazines before being hired as News Editor for the magazines.

Tell us about your current job.
In July 2007, I was hired at Associated Publications Inc., where I continue to work as one of two assistant editors of three national magazines: Complete Woman, Sophisticate’s Black Hair and Sophisticate’s Hairstyle Guide. I mostly write content for the magazines, but also do a great deal of editing and securing material via PR and salon contact. I have interviewed various celebrities and their stylists, such as Amanda Bynes (actress) and Cassie Ventura (singer/actress). Some of my favorite pieces are about fitness/diet/exercise, such as how to get bikini-ready in 30 days and an in-depth look at organic food.

What does a typical day look like for you?
Work starts at 8:30 a.m. every day. I typically get into the office and read/respond to emails for about a half hour. After that, it’s nearly impossible to set a schedule. Since I have three different editors, one for each magazine, they likely will call me at least 10 times throughout the day to ask for celebrity photos, updates from PR agencies on different stars and status/progress on my story assignments.

Between that, I generally work on researching and writing stories. I share an office with the other assistant editor and the associate editor, so the three of us work hard but also are friends, so we take time out to talk during breaks. This is the time when we get ideas for stories, as we discuss our weekends, love lives, sex, etc. Anything goes, and everyone shares. I break for lunch around noon, come back and get back to writing. Some days I have five interviews, while some days I have none. Some days I have to write five stories, while some days I’m so bored I organize my files and alphabetize transcripts. It varies greatly from day to day. The office closes at 6 p.m., and the work day is done. We keep such long hours because we have to be in contact with both New York and Los Angeles for PR firms, celebrities and stylists.

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In the Workplace with Lisa Shaw

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

Name: Lisa Shaw
Title: Copy desk intern / fact checker extraordinaire for Coastal Living magazine
Website/Blog: www.lisamarieshaw.net
Location: Birmingham, AL

 Lisa Shaw

Tell us about your educational/professional background.
I graduated from Michigan State University in 2007 with a major in Professional Writing, emphasis in Editing and Publishing, and specializations in English and Journalism. I also have a certification in book publishing from the University of Denver Publishing Institute.

Tell us about your current job.
Fact checking is a lot of what I do, which can be best explained in this video: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/eae26bb96d.

What does a typical day look like for you?
Google searching, and lots of it. Verifying facts on company Web sites, Visitors Bureau and Chamber of Commerce sites, etc. For stories that focus on families and their homes/businesses, I will call whoever the writer has listed as a contact person to verify name spellings and other details.

Researching and writing a story (roofing products for coastal environments, anyone?) also requires usually a day or two of Googling and phone calls. I also work with our market editor quite a bit, which means calling in products for photo shoots and then re-packing and shipping products back to companies after we’re done with them. Occasionally I write rejection letters and handle PR and reader queries.

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Must-read for editors

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

I enjoy when something on my RSS reader makes me sit up and take notice, and that’s just what happened today when I came to “The Cure for Content-Delay Syndrome” at A List Apart.

Pepi Ronalds, who has studied professional writing and editing, writes about the crucial role that an editor can play when it comes to developing online content. She makes a business case for engaging editors early on in a web project as they can deal with multiple authors/writing styles, help manage the project, and much, much more.

If you are still trying to find the words to describe what you bring to the table as a professional writer, then this article is a wonderful source of language about what editors do and how they do it. Ronalds even touches on “specialist web editors” who have editing skills and knowledge of web issues, which provides even more ways of defining what a professional writer has to offer. Able to save money through project management? Now that’s something that corporations can understand.

In the Workplace with John Phillips

Monday, May 12th, 2008

Name: John Phillips
Title: User Interface Designer/Developer
Website/Blog: www.tridea-design.com and www.jwphill3.com
Location
: Royal Oak, Michigan

John Phillips

Tell us about your educational/professional background.
I graduated from Michigan State in 2005 with a degree in Professional writing, where I gained a strong understanding of web usability, designing/writing for the web, and project management. After graduating, I worked Marketing & Creative Services in the University Relations department of MSU. There I was a lead designer on many large scale web initiatives including the MSU and Admissions sites.

Tell us about your current job.
Right now I currently have two jobs: my full time job is working at Campbell-Ewald as a user interface engineer. I work on a team with other developers planning/building and maintaining our marketing sites for the clients of CE. In the evenings I run my own web design/development company, Tridea Design, with two colleagues from MSU: Andrew Sautler and Tyler Smeltekop.
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Blogroll Call

Monday, April 7th, 2008

Are you a professional writer, editor, or designer? Do you blog about it? If so, brag about it! Post your blog URL in the comments and we’ll add you to the beyondwords blogroll.