Résumé

Experience

UpGuard

Manager, Technical Editorial (April 2023–August 2023)

  • Managed a team of technical writers to create product documentation and marketing content for a third-party risk management product.
  • Designed procedures for documentation creation and revision with Product Managers, Customer Success, and other stakeholders
  • Implemented content management process using Markdown and Git for improved workflow and maintenance

DigitalOcean

Manager, Technical Editorial (July 2022–February 2023)

  • Managed a team of three technical editors working with external authors to create quality tutorials on engineering and software development topics.
  • Increased unique views of tutorial content 60% year-over-year.
  • Coordinated planning and implementation efforts with technical writing and developer advocacy teams.

Acquisitions Editor (June 2019–June 2021), Senior Acquisitions Editor (June 2021–July 2022)

  • Researched topics in the developer space and drafted content plans for creating extended series of tutorials for DigitalOcean’s community content.
  • Identified external authors to write series content, negotiated contracts, coached authors through refining outlines and drafts, and monitored series once approved.
  • Managed intake for DigitalOcean’s Write for DOnations program, evaluating submissions, working with authors to revise outlines and drafts, and coaching them through the process.

Pragmatic Bookshelf

Senior Acquisitions Editor (August 2018–June 2019)

  • Researched key topic areas for new products, identified talent, and developed new book proposals through the acquisitions process.
  • Coordinated proposals and acquisitions process for all incoming unsolicited proposals.
  • Wrote marketing copy and back cover copy for all published books. Coordinated marketing efforts including Amazon and YouTube content.

Managing Editor (October 2017–August 2018)

  • Managed team of nine freelance editors working on approximately 30 book projects.
  • Performed weekly checks and periodic reviews to ensure editorial quality and consistency.
  • Performed onboarding and process troubleshooting for all new authors.

O’Reilly Media, Inc.

Development Editor (August 2013–June 2016)

  • Developed book content for clarity, organization, technical accuracy, audience, market, and brand integrity. Focus on programming language titles: C#, JavaScript, Python, Rust, and Go.
  • Acquired developer-focused content for publication as books, video, free reports, webcasts, conference sessions, and blog posts.
  • Created development editor guidelines for use by new and existing O’Reilly editors

Microsoft Corporation

Vendor Technical Writer (June 2010–June 2012)

Freelance Writer and Editor

March 2001–December 2022

  • Provided development editing services to leading technical publishers, including O’Reilly Media, John Wiley & Sons, Pragmatic Bookshelf, Wrox, Apress, and Osborne/McGraw-Hill.
  • Presented four-day training seminar to technical writers at Microsoft, November 2008, focusing on best practices in the publishing industry, and applying those to technical writing.

IDG Books Worldwide (now John Wiley & Sons)

Foster City, California and Indianapolis, Indiana Senior Project Editor (August 2000–March 2001)

  • Set editorial policies and supervised revision of team style guide.
  • Recruited and managed freelance development editors and copyeditors. Development Editor/Project Editor (March 1999–June 2000)
  • Developed book content for clarity, organization, audience, market, and brand integrity.
  • Maintained schedules for submission, editing, art, media development, and proofreading. Copyeditor (April 1998–March 1999)
  • Line-edited books in the networking and certification fields.
  • Trafficked books through the page proof revision process.

Education

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Graduate Certificate in Computer Science, May 2003

Pennsylvania State University

Bachelor of Arts in English Literature with honors, May 1994

Publications

Learning C# 2005, Learning C# 3.0, Jesse Liberty and Brian MacDonald, O’Reilly Media

Learning ASP.NET 2.0 with Ajax, Learning ASP.NET 3.5, Jesse Liberty, Dan Hurwitz, and Brian MacDonald, O’Reilly Media

Conference Presentations

Verbs, Not Nouns: Writing Documentation Users Want to Read, All Things Open 2022, CodeMash 2023 and 2024, Kansas City Developers Conference 2023, THAT Conference 2023

Continuous Learning for Developers, All Things Open 2019, THAT Conference 2021, CodeMash 2023

Networking for Introverts, CodeMash 2024