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IntroductionI have always written. That seems to have been a life-long constant. Of course, before that, I read. Everything. This did not prepare me for a lot of things, but did instill an awareness of shades of meaning, phraseology and structure that has remained to this day.
The majority of business and professional people are poor writers. This is in no way an indictment, but simply a statement of fact. Not to mention that writing is not their business … something else is. The service I offer here is to provide professional quality writing support to individuals and organizations with a need for written materials that are well organized, clearly and concisely written, and cleanly formatted. Types of documentsMy track record includes developing and preparing many types of documents and other written communications for either hard-copy or electronic delivery via a site on the world wide web, private intranet, CD-ROM or e-delivery. Among them are:
Formal educationB.A., magna cum laude, 1974, Western Washington University. Major in psychology, minor in English. M.A., 1977, University of New Mexico. Major emphasis in psychology with minors in statistics and experimental design, and in Public Administration. Continuing educationMy continuing education has largely focused on learning or further developing skill sets that applied fairly directly to the work scene. The Information Mapping® series provides a methodology of developing reference materials and documentation that has become a worldwide standard, and is a preferred tool for technically oriented projects. Developing Procedures, Policies and Documentation – Information Mapping Inc., Waltham, MA. Strategies for Developing High-Performance Documentation – Information Mapping Inc., Waltham, MA. Effective Reports, Proposals & Memos – Information Mapping Inc., Waltham, MA. Structured Writing for Policies and Procedures™ – Performance Technology Associates, Beverly, MA. How to Plan, Develop and Evaluate Training – Dr. Ruth Clark, clark Training, Phoenix, AZ. How to Design Effective Computer-Based Training – clark Training, Phoenix, AZ. How to Plan & Conduct Needs Assessments and Evaluations – clark Training, Phoenix, AZ. How to Apply Cognitive Principles to Training Design: Advanced Techniques for Trainers – clark Training, Phoenix, AZ. Mastering the Art of Instructor-Led Training – Eileen Mager, Center for Effective Performance, Atlanta, GA. How to Market Training Programs, Seminars & Instructional Materials – Don Schrello, Ph.D., Schrello Direct Marketing, Long Beach, CA. Corporation Fundamentals Workshop – Nevada Corporate Headquarters, Inc., Las Vegas, NV. Advanced Corporate Strategies Workshop – Nevada Corporate Headquarters, Inc., Las Vegas, NV. Employment and businessThe Colson Company, Chicago, IL. Direct Sales Rep., then Regional Sales Manager, then Sales Manager of subsidiary company. These experiences taught me the fundamentals of interviewing, how to establish and build rapport, and to effectively communicate information to co-workers, trainees and client groups for whom I frequently conducted hands-on workshops and sales training exercises. Center for Performance Technology, Phoenix, AZ. Founder, President. Exclusive distributor for instructional design seminars owned by Dr. Ruth Clark (see client list below for more). Seminar bookings were supported largely by direct mail which we created in-house and professional conference presentations, also developed in-house. CPT Training & Development, Phoenix, AZ. Provided hands-on design and development support to client organizations wishing to outsource projects. My role was to train staff and proof and edit materials, provide marketing and sales support, and pitch in to write materials. Performance Technology Press, Phoenix, AZ. Operated a subsidiary small press that published and distributed instructional design texts and manuals to university bookstores and via direct mail and catalog outlets to training professionals. Partial client and project listClark Training & Consulting, Phoenix, AZ. Worked as a marketing and communications consultant to overhaul their seminar manuals and to develop and implement a marketing plan. I edited and revised the seminar manuals, workbooks and other content for a series of five instructional design workshops for this fledgling seminar business, then developed direct mail pieces to support marketing. The company is now a major supplier of instructional design training. American Honda Motor Co., Torrance, CA. Created a five-day workshop teaching electrical troubleshooting skills to motorcycle technicians that was translated into five languages and rolled out worldwide. It has since been used by Honda as a model of training design for other contractors. Key to its development was use of protocol analysis, wherein expert performers are recorded and the stages of their problem solving work process analyzed. Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA. Worked, along with other staff of CPT Training & Development, as in-house contractor supporting Intel’s College of Quality. We developed custom technical training materials for classroom and electronic (desktop) delivery in Intel divisions worldwide, proofed and edited documentation prepared by Intel staff, prepared PowerPoint presentations for senior management to deliver, and developed several workshops which were handed off to Intel University. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. Developed and taught a two-credit-hour course to teach the fundamentals of the design of experiments in the social sciences and the statistical analysis of data. The course was required of undergraduate psychology majors. Following rollout and two semesters of evaluation, the course was handed off to regular faculty. Metal Boat Society, Inc., Vancouver, WA. Developed an HTML-based front end to showcase a comprehensive collection of back issues of the society's flagship print publication, the Metal Boat Quarterly. The collection is distributed on CD-ROM through an online Ship's Store. Performance Sailing Yachts, Bellingham, WA. Developed a comprehensive operations manual to provide a task-based framework for day-to-day operations of the business. Interviewed officers and staff, re-wrote job descriptions and procedures and laid the groundwork for a structural reorganization of the company. Stayed on as temporary director of operations until one of the partners was able to return from a leave of absence and assume the duties. Villa de la Reyna L.L.C., Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico. Prepared the organizational overview, Articles of Organization, an extensive Operating Agreement and other supporting documentation for a property development company engaged in building and marketing a series of fractional ownership properties in a Mexican vacation destination on the Sea of Cortez. Black Dog Bar & Grill, Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico. Designed logo, menu and promotional pieces and created an extended series of spreadsheets to enable owners to track cost of goods and services and create "what if" scenarios to use in projecting profit and loss. Buzzards Bay Press, alive and well in hyperspace. More fancy than fact, BBP has published a cookbook that includes historical favorites from, yes, Buzzards Bay, although perhaps not the one that comes first to mind. It has also published a totally unprofitable line of note-cards. Currently there is a Buzzards Bay South newsletter that goes to a select group. Web page authoringWeb work is a somewhat different animal. Users are able to interact with the content displayed on web pages in a very different way than with hard copy documentation, and the writing techniques and development process differ accordingly. The Metal Boat Society, Vancouver, WA, is a non-profit membership association of folks involved in, for the most part, home-building, restoring or simply maintaining metal boats. With a worldwide membership, the group needed a web presence to facilitate member communications and interaction. Sandy Allen, Realtor®, Palm Springs, CA, uses this site to showcase the range of her listings in this high end market, and attempts to draw browsers in for a closer look. Hacienda del Mar, Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico, is an upscale bed and breakfast located in a popular resort area along the northern Sea of Cortez. The website attempts to capture the ambiance and style of the Hacienda in order to draw prospective clients. e-write L.L.C. is the organizational shell for my work, most of which is done online. It includes some simple Flash headers and an assortment of presentation and document styles to give the viewer a feel for how they might work in another application. The site is based on a custom page template in which content is embedded in hidden tables. It will soon feature an online area where clients can upload files and review work in progress. A neighborhood association with no known principals. Located on Clear Lake in northern Iowa, Buzzards Bay does not appear on maps, but is nonetheless well known to inhabitants. This “for fun” site simply tries to capture the “feel” of the area and provide a point of reference for locals. Development toolsMost writers and developers use a fairly standard tool set, and I claim no special distinction here, except that I generally know the software tools very well, and probably better than most. Software tools and coding sets that I use frequently include:
Naturally, I have at least a nodding acquaintance with a long list of others, and am able to obtain and learn new/other tools according to project requirements. A word about training and documentation projectsI must own having some biases when it comes to the methods to be used for conveying information. I tend to use specific methods not only because I know them, but because I’ve followed the research, and I know they work! See the sidebars "Reference-based Training" and "Documentation" for more ... My pitchI can provide excellent quality organizational or reference documentation, training materials, desktop publishing support, or web page authoring in a timely and cost effective manner. Rates are reasonable and less than you might expect. If a project does not seem a good “fit” I will be upfront about that, and if possible share contact information for anyone else I know of who might be a better resource for you. I might add that I’m a fan of Dr. Stephen Covey’s work and try to bring his principles into play in the workplace, especially the focus on “win-win” outcomes. Most of my work is done online from my home office but I am also available for onsite project work, project supervision, and review of in-house generated or contractor supplied work. Contact information
Summer:
Winter: eFax: +1-815-425-9112 Skype: steve4820 Email: steve@e-write.biz
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Writing has been, for me, more a means to an end than
an end itself. I.e., it has served me very well as a
tool in business and as a means of communication and
expression. That I enjoy it is a fringe benefit.
user guides, reference, and troubleshooting guides
MS Office suite
document development with InfoMap™ template
