What I’ve Done

My clients have included writers (Neal Stephenson, Justine Larbalestier, Cassandra Clare, Linda Stone, Richard Bitner), publishers (HarperCollins, Hill House), businesses (Bauman Rare Books, DiseaseTrak), and nonprofit organizations (Chronic Disease Fund).

Here are examples of some of the services I’ve performed for clients:

• For Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle novels, I searched for 17th-century illustrations, maps, and paintings which were used as cover art or reproduced in the books, and I obtained official permissions from multiple sources to use the materials for publication. I compiled a list of the countries, cities, and landmarks mentioned in the text and found a cartographer to create a series of original, customized, and historically accurate maps in period style for publication in the novels.
• I created the family trees of the 17th-century European royal familes for Quicksilver, the first novel in Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle.
• As part of the promotional campaign for Quicksilver, I translated/encrypted messages into John Wilkins’ 17th-century “Real Character” symbolic language. Todd Garrison’s essay “Cracking the Code” describes how he finally solved the cryptographic puzzle I created for the original Baroque Cycle website.
• I am doing research on New York City in the 1930s for YA author Justine Larbalestier.
• I coached Richard Bitner through the process of rewriting his first book and I edited his nonfiction manuscript. His self-published book was bought by a New York publisher and released in July 2008 under the title Confessions of a Subprime Lender. Bitner and his book have received major media attention, most notably an appearance on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.
• I’ve written and edited a wide range of content for print and the web, including website text, advertising copy, business documents and publications, training materials, press releases, email newsletters, and catalogue copy.
• I’ve consulted on the development and redesign of websites, publications, and marketing materials.
• I’ve researched funding opportunities and written grant applications, templates, supporting documentation, and website text for nonprofit organizations.
• I created a timeline to highlight and connect significant events in modern history, business, and culture with information I compiled from numerous sources.
• I wrote a user manual for a custom small-business computer program.
• I’ve done extensive bibliographical, literary, and historical research of rare books in many different fields.