Skills & Areas of Expertise
Project & Product Management
Deadlines are my best friend. I have experience overseeing high-priority projects at publishers and media companies. In past roles, I have collaborated with offshore developers and vendors, managing quality assurance rounds and confirming requirements. I am used to juggling multiple tasks and prioritizing accordingly.
While my experience has revolved around books, my approaches and strategies to executing products can be transferred to virtually any industry. I have a keen understanding of the user from the design and content perspective, given my lengthy tenure in digital book development. I worked with editorial teams and drove design as a product owner for digital books.
Web Design & Development
My master’s work included web development, which delved into wireframing, risk analyses, information architecture, content strategy, and design. In these courses I created websites by hand through trial and error and online resources. (Thanks, Google!) I am extremely proficient in HTML and CSS and have worked with content management systems (e.g., WordPress, Drupal). I am comfortable with markup and teaching markup to individuals who may need a hand in getting their content to the web.
Creating websites is a hobby of mine. This very site turned into an approximately weeklong passion project, which was mostly coded from scratch with the aid of some online resources and templates for reference.
Public Speaking & Education
I always tell people I’m a lifelong student. I grew up with the belief that education is the key to success. That said, coming from a family of educators, it seems that teaching is in my blood. When I can, I teach ebook development as an adjunct at Emerson College — my alma mater — and give presentations at local events and conferences. I have presented or participated in the following conferences internationally: Digital Book World, IDPF Digital Book (at Book Expo America), AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs), PePcon, the Future Publishing & Accessibility Conference, and ebookcraft. I have also delivered webinars on technical concepts, such as digital workflows and ebook quality assurance.
I have also organized events that seek to educate the general public on various areas of publishing as well as coding. In September 2012, I spearheaded a day-long workshop with industry veterans that focused on the basics of HTML, CSS, mobile design, metadata, and ebook development. The event had nearly 60 students and was held free of charge.
I am president of Bookbuilders of Boston, an industry organization dedicated to networking publishing professionals in New England. We have held panels on independent bookstores, freelancing, and other relevant topics.
Ebook Development
The bulk of my professional experience stems from developing ebooks. As a thought leader in this space, I am considered an expert in ebooks and their formats. My master’s project was an EPUB and Kindle file of a graphic novella I illustrated; I was responsible for all content, coding, and QA. Following that, in professional capacities, I have worked on hundreds of ebooks at and with various publishers at all levels of complexity.
Because I have worked on ebooks from concept to distribution, I know how to immediately discern whether content is meant for a digital platform. I am essentially a freelance consultant available to help you figure out how to make a great ebook — or any piece of content destined for the web.
Graphic Design & Illustration
I have been drawing cartoons and comics since I was four.
Illustration has always been a hobby of mine. I am now exploring turning that hobby into a facet of my overall career. Professionally, I was responsible for pivotal character design on a budding animated series. For this show, I drew the initial concept art for 10+ characters.
Recently, I am exploring another casual hobby of mine — sketchnotes — at a professional level. At conferences, I tend to jot notes alongside caricatures and doodles of breakout sessions and keynotes. In March 2016, I will serve as the official sketchnote artist for ebookcraft and Tech Forum in Toronto.
Editing (Copyediting & Proofreading)
My editing skills (copyediting, proofreading, and plain editing) has been endorsed, collectively, over 150 times on LinkedIn. I am a phenomenal resource for a second eye in reviewing content, teasing out meanings, removing ambiguities, and eliminating errors. I am a proud English major and hold a master’s degree in writing & publishing. I have experience as a writing tutor for both undergraduate and graduate students. And I am constantly silently editing web content. I can perform editing in Adobe Acrobat, XML, or just plain paper with a pen.