Miriam Axel-Lute
mjoywords (at) mjoy (dot) org
Summary:
I've been an editor and journalist for more than 10 years. I read style guides for fun and reflexively copyedit every piece of text in my vicinity. I am comfortable with both AP style and The Chicago Manual of Style. My particular interests include politics, city planning, the environment, womens health, and sexuality, but I always enjoy learning about new topics as I edit.
Experience:
Freelance Editor, Editorial Consultant, and Freelance Writer: 1999present.
As part of my freelance work, Ive completed a wide range of copyediting projects, from magazine articles to multiauthor online collections to books. My clients include large and small publishers, individuals, and nonprofits. In the fields of urban issues, housing, and community development I also research and writing. For more information, see my clients and projects page.
News Editor, Metroland: August 2003May 2006.
At this weekly newspaper, I was responsible for the news and lead feature sections. This included editorial planning, writing articles, managing staff, and editing. I worked with staff writers to improve their writing skills, did substantive edits on their first drafts, and shared responsibility for copyediting and proofreading all parts of the paper.
Project Director, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board: June 2002July 2003.
As part of the senior staff of this nonprofit, I handled all the communications needs of the office, including writing and editing an e-mail newsletter for supporters and press, writing profiles of the organizations successes, webmastering, and grant writing.
Managing Editor, Shelterforce: March 2000March 2002.
I managed the editorial and production process from beginning to end for this national community-development magazine. Because the magazines articles were often written by nonprofessional writers, this involved a heavy editing load. I was directly responsible for editing the entire content of the magazine and created its first in-house style guide.
Assistant Publisher, Shelterforce: September 1998March 2000.
Editorial Assistant, Shelterforce: June 1997September 1998.
Education:
Mediabistro: Fact-finding seminar, 2002; Copyediting seminar, 2003; Humor Writing for Journalists, 2003; Online copyediting class, 2007.
Pratt Institute: Graduate classes in urban planning, 19982000.
Oberlin College: BA in environmental studies and biochemistry, 1997.
References available upon request.
