Jo-Ann Langseth
170 Budlong Farm Rd.
Warwick, RI 02886-8362
(401) 738-4347
(401) 480-2103 Cell
jo-ann@langseth.com
Work Experience
2002 – 2010 – Freelance Web Editing
In recent years I have been engaged as a Web editor for a
variety of business and personal sites.
I edited all copy for Los Angeles-based
NaturalhealthLink.com. I also provided
online editing for MicroStrategy’s Strategy.com. My Web site, www.copyedit.org, attracted these clients, along
with many others who were seeking, in particular, a strong
writer/editor/proofreader who also specializes in health, self-help, and
metaphysical topics. Recent projects
have included the rewriting of Change
Your Aura, Change Your Life (WisdomLight Books, 2003) and the copyediting
of Your Birthday Sign Through Time
(Atria Books, 2002). I also edited and wrote portions of Love Signs &
You, an 864-page astrology guide to romantic love, with histories of the
love lives of famous couples (The Five Mile Press, 2003). During my fifteen years of work for Merlyn’s Pen: The National Magazine of
Student Writing, I frequently wrote and edited its Web pages. In a major
change of pace, I edited How to Write Killer Sales
Proposals, formerly titled Request for Proposal: A Guide to Effective
RFP Development (Addison-Wesley).
1987 – 2002-- Senior Editor, Merlyn's
Pen: The National Magazine of Student Writing, East Greenwich, RI
All editing, proofreading, and restructuring of stories and poems for
publication in this national, teen-written magazine was performed by me. I also
assisted in the selection process, making final decisions with the publisher
and writing encouraging critiques on many of the 15,000 yearly manuscripts.
Accompanying the magazine and its spin-off anthologies were teaching guides and
promotional direct-mail pieces, authored by me. For several years I also served
as director of the Merlyn's Pen Mentors in Writing Program, a semester-long
writing tutorial for students in grades 6 - 12, conducted via mail and e-mail.
1987 – 1998 -
Associate Editor, Body, Mind & Spirit
magazine, Island Publishing, Providence, RI
As Associate Editor of this national (circ. 300,000) New Age magazine, I edited
and proofed all copy, suggested and wrote celebrity interviews (Thomas Moore,
Caroline Myss, Ali MacGraw, Fritjof Capra, Deepak Chopra, Betty Eadie) and
articles featuring a range of alternative-health topics. Best received were my insights into the
psycho-spiritual dynamics of homeopathy (an original theory) and my wildly
popular "bowel series" (“The Shocking Truth About Your Colon – And
What You Can Do About It”), which sparked close to 300 responses. I also contributed book reviews, health
briefs, and ghostwritten Letters from the Publisher.
Previous
Experience -- News Editor, Aetna Life & Casualty, Hartford, CT
During my four years as editor of Life NEWS, I had sole responsibility
for finding, developing, and writing all stories for the Life Department's
monthly eight-page newspaper. Editing, proofing, directing photographers, and
laying-out (manually—these were the ‘70s!) were other exclusive duties: the
publication was "my baby" entirely. Topics included new products,
sales campaigns, accolades and seminars, company acquisitions and policies, and
agent interviews. What had previously been a nuts 'n' bolts "house
organ" became, under my leadership, an eagerly anticipated read - crisp,
compelling, and sprinkled with subtle witticisms.
Proofreader, R.
R. Bowker Publishing Co., New York City
I proofread Books in Print and
occasional news releases.
Teacher, P.S.
123, New York City
An exhilarating year of teaching second-graders in Harlem.
Along the way, I have also written features for newspapers (The Hartford Courant, Insurance
Times, The Norwood Bulletin, and AAA publications); edited and
assembled student-fiction anthologies for Merlyn's
Pen; copyedited and proofread Astro
Digest, a national astrology magazine; edited a series of "Supermarket
Nutrition" books for New York-based CCN Publishing; edited American Silversmith magazine and
newsletter; edited Web content for NaturalhealthLink.com and Strategy.com;
proofread for What Is Enlightenment?
magazine; and line-edited three books for Roaring Lion Press about Peter
Ragnar, a present-day mystic and sage.
Education
College of Mount Saint Vincent, B.A., English/Psychology
See my copyediting Web site http://www.copyedit.org/
Deep Homeopathy Clip http://www.copyedit.org/DeepHomeopathy.html
Soul Mates Clip http://www.copyedit.org/SoulMates.html
I am the mother of three
happy, healthy, and kindhearted children.
12-1-2003