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    James Richards

    James Richards

    Copywriter, editor, content writer

    London, United Kingdom

    English speaking

    Journalist and copywriter – creative, accurate, fast. University of Oxford, Masters Degree in Professional Writing. Building a portfolio in off/online copywriting and marketing...Read moreJournalist and copywriter – creative, accurate, fast. University of Oxford, Masters Degree in Professional Writing. Building a portfolio in off/online copywriting and marketing collateral. My USP is communicating your USP.

    Six years' experience as sub editor and writer of B2B and B2C articles, producing content and re-writing copy. Comfortable using SEO-optimisation and social media platforms, he is a competent and original copywriter. First-rate proof-reading skills, headline writing, etc.

    PROFILE
    James is a writer and editor with six years’ experience in magazine publishing. He has worked at a variety of high-quality consumer and trade publications including Icon magazine, Marie Claire and FM World; he is a specialist at adapting content to both B2B and B2C audiences. James holds a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford (BA Hons 2:1), a Masters in Professional Writing from London Metropolitan University, and a Certificate in Copywriting from London College of Communication.

    As an arts critic, his reviews have appeared regularly in South London Press, Islington Gazette, Pink Paper and on Whatsonstage.com. He is known for his engaging, lucid style, which has personality as well as being informative. He has strong artistic interests; his operatic musical theatre work Gutter Press, which he also directed and produced, received a four-star review in the Times newspaper. He also co-founded London Poetry Systems, a mixed media performance night, which has run in Oxford and London for six years.

    CORE & IT SKILLS
    Creative writing, professional writing, copywriting, marketing, editing, proofreading, digital media, SEO, design commissioning, process management, problem solving, production management

    Has proficient or advanced skills in Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Office suite, Twitter, YouTube, Final Cut X, in-house CMS system, Adestra, Mac OSX, Google Analytics and Photoshop

    2013 - online copywriter for charity Legasee. Working with the director to re-write and originate copy across the site, including the archive pages, legal/copyright sections and education pages. Using SEO best practice to maximise visibility of the page to Google search engine. Producing clear, concise and grammatically correct copy to direct visitors to the site.

    2010 – present FM World, Redactive Media Ltd: Sub/Assistant Editor (part-time) (London)
    As a sub / assistant editor at industry-leading trade publication FM World, James is responsible for sending a 50-page magazine to press every fortnight. Here, James maintains uncompromising standards of accuracy as a proofreader and copy-editor, and works closely with the editor and other key stakeholders (design, photography desk and production) to manage the production process.

    He employs a wide range of digital technical skills, such as laying out pages using Adobe InDesign, uploading content to the website using the CMS, video capturing and editing and using Final Cut X. He assists in managing freelancers, handles media enquiries and works independently of the editor with the art department to make design decisions and commission illustrators.

    Working with copy on a daily basis, James has sophisticated editing skills; constantly making judgement calls in terms of appropriate vocabulary, sentence length, and voice, his is able to maintain the tone of a contributor, while increasing the grammatical accuracy – and readability – of the copy. When writing for the magazine, he is able to quickly absorb any subject matter, and structure a piece in an intelligent and readable way. He edits news, features, legal pages, and opinion pieces, both on and off-line.

    Assisting the digital team, he uploads content onto the magazine website, and helps to build and send the FM World Daily – an e-newsletter featuring news nibs, hyperlinks and images – using Adestra. He has attended training workshops in the use of social media, video editing and capturing, SEO optimisation and Google Analytics.

    2012-2013
    Man in a Room: Writer (London)
    James is currently writing a cross-media theatre piece, Man in a Room. In development since September 2012, the show has been workshopped in Oct 2012, and Jan 2013. Director: Claire Moyer.

    2009-2012
    Gutter Press: Librettist, producer, director (London)
    Over three years, James wrote and produced the operatic musical theatre piece, Gutter Press. The show was performed at Tête-à-tête Opera Festival, Riverside Studios, London in 2009, 2010, and the Actor’s Church, Covent Garden, May 2012. It was given a four-star review in the Times. James wrote the libretto, developing the extremely specific and challenging skill of writing libretto ‘on-note’, for much of the piece. He also worked with the assistant producers to develop a strong brand identity; the voice of the show was cheeky and ‘in-the-know’, with Heat magazine-style irony. This was established in Tweets (@Gutter_Press) printed marketing material (flyers, posters, theatre programmes) and the website copy (gutterpressproductions.co.uk), specifically aimed at our target audience (18-25 year-olds).

    2009-2010
    Icon, Marie Claire, Shortlist, MPP Publishing: Freelance Sub-editor and Journalist (London) James established a reputation as a reliable and hard-working freelancer at several top consumer and trade magazine titles. He wrote headlines, checked facts, proofread, and wrote news stories and features. His broad general knowledge helped him to develop effective relationships with a variety of established stakeholders.

    2008-2009
    C. Hoare & Co:Online Copywriter, Telephone Banking Operator (London)
    James was appointed to the role of telephone banking operator, at C. Hoare & Co., the oldest private bank in the country. He was commissioned to write copy for the online banking pages. He worked closely with the digital team analysing the UX and customer journey of site visitors through the various site pages, particularly, the online help pages. He worked with the marketing team to ensure the organisation’s identity was represented in the copy, through consistency of voice and terminology, paying particular attention to the customer demographic. In doing so, he helped make a success of the bank’s transition project from a branch and telephone-based service to fully operational digital platform.

    2008
    Movement Design Bureau, London Researcher: Blogger (London)
    Working for think-tank Movement Design Bureau, James was exposed to some of the leading minds in water development, open source software and cutting-edge transport design. He wrote blogs, researched tech sectors and wrote briefings for the director. He became adept at emerging social media platforms, including Twitter. James also represented the organisation at major international conferences, such as Digital Life Design, for networking and business development, and met with key stakeholders: design, development and social media experts.

    2008-present
    London Poetry Systems: Co-founder, performer James co-founded a mixed-media poetry collective, London Poetry Systems. The event, featuring some of the country’s most promising artistic talent, has taken place regularly in London and Oxford since 2008.

    EDUCATION
    MA Professional Writing, London Metropolitan University, (distinction dissertation), 2008
    BA (Hons) Philosophy, Politics and Economics, 2:1 Somerville College, Oxford University, 2004
    Certificate in Copywriting, London College of Communication, 2013
    Workshops
    One-day film-making course, 2013, Raindance Films tba.
    Book, Music, Lyrics (BML) – member of the musical theatre writing workshops, BML, book and lyric strands, 2009-2012. Funded by Arts Council England.
    Soho Theatre – attended playwriting workshop 2008

    INTERESTS
    James is a playwright, poet and musician in his spare time. He is well-informed and widely read, with a growing social media presence on his blogs and Twitter. He enjoys swimming, cycling, the outdoors, museums, galleries, theatre and travel.

    REFERENCES
    References available on request.

      5.0
      (3)
      £30
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    editingproofreadingCopywritingjournalismmarketing writingblog writing

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    • Portfolio (4)
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    Copywriter for Canvas Events
    • Adeleby Adele C.
    • Posted: 16 Jul 2013
    • 3
    • 26 Jul 2013 Adele C.
      Adele C.
      London, GB

      Great work, friednly and easy to contact. Flexible and dilligent in his work.

    Native Speaker - Content Writer Health and Finance - With Some personality
    • Michaelby Michael D.
    • Posted: 15 Jul 2013
    • 0
    • 18 Jul 2013 Michael D.
      Michael D.
      Sofia, BG

      Thanks James. nice job.

    • 18 Jul 2013 Michael D.
      Michael D.
      Sofia, BG

      All good so far. James did his first job for me and it was submitted on time and well done.

    Beauty copyrighting
    • Elenaby Elena H.
    • Posted: 10 Jul 2013
    • 1
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