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Résumé |
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EMPLOYMENT
September 2006 - Present - Instructor, ITT Technical Institute
- Teach Written Analysis and English Composition I & II
2005 – Present – Contract Business Writer/Editor, W. Kent Jessee & Associates
- Create and edit training materials for Fortune 500 clients, including McDonald’s, AutoZone, CVS Pharmacies, 7-Eleven, Wells Fargo, ALZA, Del Taco, Jiffy Lube, Old Navy, Safeway, Chevron, and more.
- Projects include interactive lessons, quizzes, Power Point presentations, brochures, newsletter articles, and poster content.
2005 – Present: Writing Coach/Developmental Editor
- Assist authors with developmental editing, coaching, copyediting, and proofreading of works-in-progress.
2002 – Present: Editorial Director, SmartWriters.com
- Direct, design, write and edit award-winning Web site for professional writers.
- Coordinate 100+ pages of content; write articles on the business and craft of children’s publishing; interview authors and editors; work with freelancers.
- Named one of the 101 Best Web Sites for Writers by Writer's Digest, 2003, 2004, and 2005.
- Administer the annual Write It Now! Competition for children's writers, including coordinating intake of entries, reading and judging entries, and arranging for established authors and editors to act as final judges of those entries; earned a new nickname: The Fairy Godmother of Children's Publishing.
1999 – 2004 – Technical Writer, Designer, 2-Tier Software, Inc.
- Converted complex technical information into a user-friendly manual of concept-to-launch instructions, including screencapture graphics of a Web site-in-progress; helped design a template Web site builder for professional writers.
- Assisted dozens of small business owners and professionals design and optimize their Web sites for best commercial appeal and productivity. (See Web Design list below.)
2003 – Contract Technical Writer, Gateway Computers
- Wrote three chapters and created screencapture graphics for their book on PC Security; chapters included general Internet security, email functionality, and safeguarding children and individual privacy.
2003 – Contract Copywriter/Editor, Saber Consulting, Workforce San Diego
- Rewrote 400+ pages of Web site content focusing on consistent voice, grammar and mechanics.
- Consulted on ease of navigation and consumer usability.
2002 – Ongoing - Guest Lecturer, Web Site Design and Online PR
- Presented workshops on Web site design and online promotion before audiences of 50 – 200 for regional and national professional organizations.
- Provided expert technical assistance and advice to participants in multiple sessions, including writing effective content copy and getting sites ranked higher in search engines and drawing more site traffic. (Complete list below.)
1994 - 1995 - Teacher, Ormond Beach Middle School, Ormond Beach, Florida
- Taught 8th grade Language Arts and Writing Workshop to approximately 130 students, including three Gifted classes.
- Created exciting thematic teaching units involving writing, reading, and learning about new subject matter; introduced new writers and literature to my students; inspired students to explore themselves and the world around them and create works representative of that exploration during the year.
1991 - 1993 - Assistant Director, United Methodist Christian School
- Assisted the Director in running the preschool, wrote the weekly newsletter, helped out in the classrooms and on the playground, and pretty much anything else that needed doing.
1986 - 1990 - Social Worker, State of Florida Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services, Palatka, FL
- Assisted clients with preparing and submitting their applications for financial assistance, including gathering and organizing paperwork, liasing with medical facilities on their behalf, and following up to make sure their needs were taken care of.
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WRITING
Scripts Completed
- Ghosts Under 12 Stay Free - Family Feature - 116 pp. - Teenagers must help rescue a young girl's ghost from a 100-year-old hotel destined for destruction or her spirit will be lost forever, but first they have to get past the malevolent spirit of the nanny who killed her. Set in a small north Florida beach city.
- Transitional Man - Romantic Comedy - 110 pp. - A young socialite divorcée makes a new best friend online, only to find out her new "girlfriend" is a man. Set in Florida and Hawaii.
Industrial Scripts Produced
- How to Avoid Foreclosure in California, produced by West Coast Home Buyers, 2005.
Fiction Completed
- Ghosts Under 12 Stay Free - Midgrade novel - The novel adaptation of the movie above; currently agented and being shopped to publishers. 3rd Place Winner, Children's Category, Writer's Digest Fiction Competition, 2003.
- Dani's Gift - Picturebook - A young ballet dancer tries to help her teacher heal after an accident, and ends up helping many others heal as well; currently agented and entered in the Writer's Digest Fiction Competition, Children's Category.
- Sing a Song of Sunflowers - Picturebook - A mother and daughter spend a full year in the garden enjoying each season's flowers as they come, and growing together.
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EDITING - Includes Developmental Editing, Copy Editing and Proofreading
- February 2002 - present - Editorial Director, SmartWriters.com
- Crossed Out - selected chapters - by Kim Rapier
- The Bugler and the President's Son by Lois Feister-Huey - developmental editing
- Lt. Brooks and Pearl by Shelley Beuche - developmental editing
- The Pylons Revolt by Dawn Coleman - developmental editing
- Tell My Heart How by Camille Winbush - developmental editing
- Mist Upon the Pond, a poetry collection by Sandra McBride, DogEar Press, September 2005.
- Alpaquita and Rainbow Mice, by Rosalie Avendaño Simrock
- Tulip, Lovey-Dovey Duck, and The Boys and Otis, by Deb Cleveland
- The Legend of Zoey by Candie Moonshower, Delacorte, January 2006.
- Over the River by Barbara Mark - being shopped to publishers now.
- Sand Castle Legends, SCBWI San Diego Chapter Newsletter, 1998
- 12 Secrets Your Boss Can't Tell You by Kawika Ohumukini, Colony Enterprises, 1998; Second Edition, Colony Enterprises, September 2005.
- Shaura Moon by Rudy Young.
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EDUCATION
- MA in English Education from the University of Central Florida; 3.96 GPA; 1994.
- BA in Sociology/Anthropology, Auburn University; 3.0GPA; 1986; Double minor in History and Journalism. Included advanced coursework in field archaeology and museum archive procedures.
- Extension Courses in history and illustration, University of California, San Diego.
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AWARDS AND HONORS
- January 2007 - Tales of the Cryptids selected as an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
- October 2005 - Honorable Mention, Writer's Digest Fiction Competition for my picture book, Dani's Gift (39th out of 100 HM's, 18,000 entries overall).
- www.SmartWriters.com, of which I am Editorial Director, was named one of the 101 Best Web Sites for Writers by Writers Digest in 2003, 2004, and 2005.
- October 2004 - My Web site was named one of the Top Ten Writers' Web Sites by Writer's Digest. (See image at the bottom of the page.)
- October 2003 - Third Place, Children's Category, 72nd Annual Writer's Digest Fiction Competition for Chapter 1 of GHOSTS UNDER 12 STAY FREE.
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WEB DESIGN (partial list)
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SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS AND OTHER SPECIAL GIGS
- January 26 - 28, 2007 - Guest speaker at the SCBWI Ventura-Santa Barbara Professional Writers Retreat, Santa Barbara, CA, where I presented a 1.5-hour workshop on Website design and online PR, including a segment on creating and publishing book trailers.
- June 21 and 23, 2006 - Guest Author at Explorer Elementary Charter School, San Diego, CA, where I presented workshops for the second grade classes about my new book, TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS: MYSTERIOUS CREATURES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT EXIST, co-authored by my good friends Kelly Milner Halls and Rick Spears, and coming out from Darby Creek Publishers September 1, 2006.
- March 28 - 30, 2006 - Guest speaker at Orange County SCBWI's annual Palm Springs Retreat, where I presented on entering competitions and online PR, and filled in for RA, host, and friend Fran Rusackas, who was called away on a family emergency
- Spring 2004, Spring 2005, Spring 2006 - Administrator (Chief Cook and Bottle Washer) of the SmartWriters.com Write It Now! Competition, an international competiton for children's writers and illustrators with over a 1,000 entries across six categories.
- Summer 2005 - Adminstrator of the first-ever W.I.N.: Shorts Competition for children's short story writers
- April 2, 2004 - Moderated Career Breakfast (Break with a Pro) at the 2004 Journalism Education Association Conference, San Diego, CA.
- March 26 - 28, 2004 - Palm Springs Writers' Retreat - presented workshops on creating a winning manuscript for writing competitions and grant proposals, and how to get one's book reviewed, plus a breakout session on self-publishing.
- December 6, 2003 - Orange County Illustrators Day special workshop on creating an online portfolio for promoting their work to editors.
- October 11, 2003 - Special Guest at Orange County Writers Day where I got to speak with writers over lunch about their special publishing concerns and addressed their individual questions about domain names and online PR.
- September 14, 2003 - "Technology Solutions for Your Branch," presentation during American Association of University Women officers luncheon, Laguna Hills, CA.
- August 14 - 18 - "What aSite!" and "How to Get Your Buzz On" workshops at the annual conference of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, LA.
- June 18 - 21, 2003 - Guest speaker, "Women in Charge" Technology Panel, American Association of University Women national convention, Providence, RI.
- April 26, 2003 - "Professional Sites, Personal Style: Web Strategies for Writers," SCBWI Mid-South Regional Conference, Nashville, TN.
- April 5, 2003 - Technology Workshop, AAUW Job Alike Training, Miramar Community College, San Diego.
- March 29, 2003 - "What a Site! Web Sites that Work" SCBWI Writers Retreat, Palm Springs, CA
- March 2003 - Judge, The Loft Career Initiative Grant - press release
- August 2 - 5, 2002 - "Professional Sites, Personal Style: Web Strategies for Writers," SCBWI National Convention, Los Angeles, CA.
- December 18, 2001 - "Web Site Design and Promotion for Writers," iUniverse.com. Transcript
- May 17, 2001 - "Creating a Professional Illustration Website" - Illustrating Children's Books Class, University of California, San Diego (Professional Arts Certificate Level 3 Course)
- September 26, 2000 - "How to Use Your Writing Website as a Promotional Tool" - American Online Children's Writers Workshop. Chat Log
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| Tales of the Cryptids: Mysterious Creatures That May or May Not Exist, by Kelly Milner Halls, Rick Spears, and Roxyanne Young, Darby Creek Publishing, September 1, 2006 |
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PUBLISHED WORKS
- TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS: MYSTERIOUS CREATURES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT EXIST, as Investigated by Kelly Milner Halls, Rick Spears, and Roxyanne Young, Darby Creek Publishing, September 1, 2006.
- Monthly articles and reviews published in the Smart Writers Journal, of which I am Editorial Director.
- ”Buzz: Fine Tuning Your Online PR Machine,” 2005 CHILDREN’S WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET, F&W Publications, October 2004.
- "What a Site!" and "Ruler of Your Own Domain," 2004 CHILDREN'S WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS MARKET, F&W Publications, October 2003.
- www.Workforce.org - Copywriting and consulting for Saber Consulting on their overhaul of the San Diego Workforce Partnership Web site, August - October, 2003.
- PC SECURITY, Chapters 7, 8, 9, Gateway Computers, 2003. (co-wrote text with Kelly Milner Halls, and produced all graphics)
- "A Site of One's Own: How to Create a Writer's Web site and Promote Yourself," (reprint) The Writer's Handbook, 2003 Edition, Kalmbach Publishing.
- "Best of San Diego - 2002," San Diego Union-Tribune, August 19, 2002.
- "Reading Lessons: Giving a Child the Gift of a Book Could Pay a Lifetime of Dividends," San Diego Union-Tribune, November 20, 2001.
- "Best of San Diego - 2001," San Diego Union-Tribune, August 10, 2001.
- "A Site of One's Own: How to Create a Writer's Web site and Promote Yourself," (reprint) The Writer's Handbook, 2002 Edition, Kalmbach Publishing.
- "A Site of One's Own: How to Create a Writer's Web site and Promote Yourself," The Writer, June 2001.
- "Best of San Diego - 2000," San Diego Union Tribune, August 18, 2000.
- "Virtual Lockbox: A Real Estate Professional's Guide to Website Security," Realty Times (Realtor.com's online magazine), March 2000;reprinted in REALTOR, San Diego Association of Realtors Magazine, April 2000 .
- "The Round Table" (column), The Marketing to Kids Report, November 1999 - February 2000.
- "Searching for a Hero" Uptown Marquee, December 1999.
- "HELP WANTED: GUARDIAN ANGELS, Voices for Children Demand Justice," Uptown Marquee, December 1999.
- "Cyber Santa," San Diego Union-Tribune, November 23, 1999.
- "Best of San Diego" (U-T Reader's Poll), San Diego Union-Tribune, September 3, 1999.
- "Iceberg! Sinking (and Saving) Titanic, Queen of the Seas," Kids' Wall Street News, Aug 1998.
- "Buried Treasure in the Heartland," KWSN, Fall 98.
- "Brother Jonathan's Golden Secret," KWSN, Spring 99.
- "Oh, Betty" Personal Essay, Betty Crocker's Favorite Recipes, January 1999.
- Assorted articles and illustrations, Sand Castle Legends, 1996-1998.
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| October 2003 - My novel, Ghosts Under 12 Stay Free, places 3rd in the Children's Category of the Writer's Digest Fiction Competition |
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