Portfolio:
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Experience:
WORK HISTORY
July 2007-present
Freelance production/chief sub-editor and writer. I have been working on project management roles recently, for various EMAP and CMPi titles. These roles have required web and content management experience, and have been a great platform to use my web knowledge and experience. I am also the founder and editor of www.MothersWhoWork.co.uk.
April 2006-July 2007 Reed Business Information (Production Editor – promoted from deputy production editor – ICIS Chemical Business and ICIS Chemical Business Americas)
ICIS’s production desk consisted of myself and three reports: a trainee layout sub, a chief sub-editor and layout sub-editor. There is also a deputy art editor, whose work I oversaw. While enforcing the global style guide, I also manage the workflow of both weekly magazines, pushing through copy from writers, coaching and mentoring the subs’ on the production desk, laying out pages using Indesign, and sending pages to print. I also produced the weekly flatplan, so having a good relationship with the sales and marketing departments was essential.
Once the production cycle was complete, and after the copy has been search engine optimised, both magazines are uploaded on to the web. Keywords and finding out ways to make our content go to the top of the search engine list is something else that we were working on before I left, so I am aware of the importance of websites like Technorati, Digg and De.licio.us in raising website popularity, as well as the importance of structuring copy to ensure high rankings on search engines.
July 2005-December 2005 (Editor, T2R)
T2R was a monthly urban lifestyle magazine, aimed at young trendsetters who want to be seen in the right places with the most up-trend style, the content covered music, fashion and travel. This was a freelance editing role that involved coordinating freelance writers and driving forward T2R’s editorial strategy.
July 2004-April 2006 Lexisnexis Butterworths/Reed Business Information (Senior sub-editor, IRS journals)
I worked in a team of four subs with responsibility for managing the production cycle of 13 journals. These fortnightly and monthly titles covered a range of subjects from health and safety, pensions, to occupational health and HR. Effective time management was therefore a must, along with good communication skills. I managed Industrial Relations Law Bulletin, European Industrial Relations Review and IRS Employment Review (specifically the employment trends and employment law sections). Managing a title meant chasing copy, setting up the page layouts in Indesign, drawing graphs in Illustrator, subbing the copy, sending pages to press and approving pages for print.
November 2003–July 2004: Freelance chief sub-editor/sub-editor/writer
During this period, I took the plunge to work as a freelance sub-editor and freelance writer. Some roles were more involved than others. At Gardens Monthly, for example, I worked as the chief sub-editor, with the added responsibility of managing a horticultural journalist and producing the Great Gardening Gear section. Other titles I have worked with include: Retail Week, Mirror (Sunday magazine, Practical Parenting, Woman’s Weekly, Mother & Baby, Amateur Photographer, Teachers, Cosmopolitan, Essentials, New Civil Engineer, PR Week, Family Circle, Inside Soap, Black Beauty & Hair, Black Beauty & Hair Professional, Glamour, Star, Wedding & Home, Woman & Home, 25 Beautiful Gardens, Pride, BBC Good Homes and Flowers.
November 2002–November 2003: B&M Publications (Deputy editor, Builders’ Merchants News)
A monthly magazine for the said industry, this position required close liaison with PR agencies and the sales team. Aside from the everyday editorial duties, I also represented the magazine at events, attended press briefings abroad and helped produce the annual awards ceremony. Along with diary events, I also wrote informative features and newsstories, often interviewing high-profile people in the industry – from CEOs, to managing directors and board members. Within the first three months of joining the magazine, I had introduced a careers development section, which had a positive response from readers and advertisers alike. Other duties included: subbing; interviewing key industry figures for news and feature articles and commissioning features.
April 2000–November 2002: The Children’s Society (Editor, Rights)
Production of a quarterly magazine, leaflets and posters; editing and managing magazine content; production and design; dealing with printers; commissioning; picture research and editing; and managing a designer and freelance writers.
December 2000–May 2003: Spirit Communications (Editor, Roots)
Roots was a bi-monthly magazine for the Ghanaian community, which I edited on a freelance basis. Managing editorial team of freelance writers; commissioning, editing, writing features; subbing copy to house style; attending press briefings; working with PR agencies; and working closely with subcontracted designers and printers.
Education and Training:
Reed Business Information in-house training: Podcasting, Making Your Brand Work Online, Search Engine Optimisation, First Line Management, Better Sub-editing, Sharpening Your Subbing Skills, News Writing, Subbing and English Grammar, Media Law, Headlines and Page Furniture, Indesign CS2 Advanced, Illustrator and Photoshop CS2.
2005 NCTJ: Media Law
2002 Morley College: Practical Journalism
2002 Birkbeck College: Feature Writing
2002 Maple Academy: Professional Proofreading
1997–2001 London Guildhall University (now London Metroplitan University): BSc (Hon) Psychology
1990–1997 Virgo Fidelis Independent School for Girls
‘A’ Levels: Biology, Chemistry, English Literature and Maths;
GCSE’s: Biology, Chemistry, Classical Studies, English Literature, English Language, French, Information Systems, Maths and Religious Studies.
SOFTWARE SKILL S
I have excellent working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite software (Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator CS2), along with good working knowledge of Dreamweaver. At Reed Business Information, we use a tailor-made content management system, which incorporated Adobe Incopy. I also have excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office software and can use Dreamweaver, HTML and PHP.
References available on request:
yes