Santa Barbara Writing and Editing

Areas of Expertise

"I wish to acknowledge the expertise of my editor, Ms. Catherine Viel, who has worked carefully and unstintingly on this manuscript." --Bernard W. Bail, MD, author of Irmgard's Flute and other titles

Writing / Ghostwriting
Developmental Editing / Rewriting
Substantive / Content / Line Editing
Copyediting
Web Content
Business & Marketing Writing / Editing
Technical Writing / Editing
Proofreading

Portfolio

Nonfiction Books
Fiction (Genre / Mainstream Novels)
Articles
Short Stories
Newsletters / Brochures
Marketing / Ad Copy
Manuals / Workbooks
Website Copy

Career Background / Experience

"My heartfelt gratitude goes to my editor, Catherine Viel. . . . Catherine's encouragement, patience, and expertise helped bring more life to my words in a nonintrusive, gentle way. You are a joy to work with." --Susan Smith Jones, PhD, author of Be Healthy~Stay Balanced and other titles

2001–present
Writer and Editor, WriteCat Communications, Santa Barbara, California

Professional writer and editor with over twenty years’ experience. Thorough, accurate, alert; respectful of client deadlines. Expert electronic and hard copy editing; adept with style sheets and publishers’ guidelines. Consummate command of style and reference resources (Chicago 16 et al.). Copyediting certificate from University of California, San Diego. Professional ghosting.

Writing. Published writer (e.g., Ink Byte online writers’ zine). Writer/participant in many writers’ groups, conferences, classes. Extensive client-directed writing experience.
Developmental editing. Analyze manuscript; determine areas for comprehensive improvement. In collaboration with author, reorganize and/or rewrite text; restructure, expand, or reduce overall content to promote a logical, cohesive, compelling work. Ensure documentation/references are apt and complete.
Copyediting (substantive / content / line editing) and proofreading. Provide in-depth editing of manuscript content. Ensure that syntax, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage conform to applicable style manuals and publishers’ guidelines. Provide sensitive, intelligent, and valuable feedback. Work closely with author to ensure polished final manuscript. Proofread prepress material.

1998–2001
Technical Writer, Pacific Capital Bancorp, Santa Barbara, California

Created and copyedited comprehensive policies and operational procedures used by personnel at forty bank branches throughout California.
Analyzed, copyedited, and proofread policies, memoranda, correspondence, and other material created by management and staff.

"Catherine: I truly appreciate your skilled editing, patience, experience and dedication to our book. Your knowledge, guidance and light touch in this editing process brought out the best in me as a writer." --Jean Kubelun, PhD, coauthor of Life as a Mother-in-Law

1996–1998
Technical Writer, Medtronic PS Medical, Santa Barbara, California

Wrote text and designed layout for complex documentation accompanying a variety of manufactured medical devices, working in conjunction with internal and external compliance, regulatory, engineering, and marketing personnel.
Managed documentation approval processes and multilingual translations of Instructions for Use and product labels.
Ensured that properly formatted, consistently error-free electronic and graphic files of Instructions for Use, product labels, and other marketing materials were provided to outside printer vendors.

1994–1996
Freelance Writer and Editor

Computer Skills

"Without Catherine's skillful, sensitive, supportive guidance throughout the editing process of our book, we would not have rated 5 stars on Amazon.com; 3 maybe. She nudged, encouraged, and stretched us as writers well beyond our own expectations...and with such a gentle hand. She is a marvel." --Olivia Slaughter, PhD, coauthor of Life as a Mother-in-Law

PC and Mac proficient
High-speed cable Internet connection

Areas of expertise include:

Microsoft Word
Track Changes onscreen editing
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Illustrator

Education / Certification

Copyediting certificate, UC San Diego
Bachelor of Arts, Literature, College of Creative Studies, UC Santa Barbara

Languages

Spanish and French coursework
Extensive experience with layout and proofreading of non-English text, including Central European languages, Greek, and Japanese
Demonstrated competency with translation and localization processes

Professional Affiliations

Editorial Freelancers Association
Society for Technical Communication, Senior Member
Bay Area Editors' Forum
Small Publishers Association of North America

Download a pdf of this résumé here