Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México
(303) 872-8211 (via Skype) ~ julierbutler at yahoo.com
Freelance Writer and Editor
I have nine years of diverse experience as a
freelance writer, copywriter, and editor that includes sociopolitical
commentary; overseeing, writing, and producing original content for two popular
daily lifestyle and information websites for expatriates; and content editing
and copywriting in a high-volume, fast-turnover workflow system. I’m familiar
with both the AP Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of
Style. I’m adept at collaborating and communicating. And I bring a broad
spectrum of interests and knowledge to bear on the wide range of projects I’ve
worked on during my writing and editing career.
From February 2014 through April 2016, I gained
vast experience editing and writing marketing copy to assist independently
published authors in promoting books across all genres.
Qualifications
Profile
Content Source
Writer, Helium Inc. /
RR Donnelley, March 2013 – present
Clients:
Content Source
Editor, Helium Inc. /
RR Donnelley, April 2012 – present
Clients:
Blogger, Writer, 2007 – present
Editor in Chief,
Writer, Expat Daily
News Latin America, November 2010 - July 2012
Other locations where you can find my writing
online:
The contents of my South America travel and
living blog, Because the World is Round… (April 2009 - January
2011), have been included in my book Nine Months In Uruguay: Past,
Present, Progress and my soon-to-be completed book, Impressions
of Argentina.
In addition, I authored and self-published the
books:
No Stranger To
Strange Lands: A Journey Through Strange Coincidences, Connective Thoughts, And
Far Flung Places
No Missing Links,
And Other Essays
Secrecy, Democracy,
and Fascism: Lessons from History
I also have an essay published in the philosophy
anthology What
do You Believe? (2009,
Outside the Box Publishing)
Education and Skills
Formal:
May 1988, BA in Philosophy: Values and Social
Policy, University of Colorado Boulder
My college experience includes several years of
electrical and computer engineering that gave me an invaluable understanding of
the scientific method, higher mathematics, and physics as well as an eye for
intricate detail. Rounding this out with courses in philosophy has provided me
with a broad foundation of knowledge that has continued to nurture my
wide-ranging interests.
August 2014, Data Driven Journalism MOOC: Doing
Journalism with Data First Steps, Skills and Tools, European Journalism Centre
September 2015, The Age of Sustainable
Development, Columbia University’s Earth Institute
October 2015, Learn to Code for Data Analysis,
Open University
January 2016, Big History: Connecting Knowledge,
Macquarie University
Informal:
Other strengths include Spanish skills gained
over more than twenty years of travel and living in Latin America; the
flexibility and adaptability that is necessary for an alternative, slow-travel
lifestyle; entrepreneurial skills honed through fifteen years as a jewelry artist
and merchant; and the ability to learn new skills such as basic webpage design,
word processing with Microsoft Word, text formatting to make my books
accessible on many different reading devices, and more recently, coding in
Python and basic data analysis.
My writing, journalistic, and editing skills have
largely been gained through on-the-job learning, beginning by experimentation
with writing in a variety of genres, teaching myself about online and
electronic publishing, and building relationships with publishers.
As editor in chief of Expat Daily News
Latin America and Expat Daily News, I was responsible
for producing original content to be posted every day, five days a week. This
commitment gave me a great deal of writing and editing experience, taught me
discipline, and allowed me to hone my investigative and fact-checking skills. I
was also working with the editor of the online publication Escape From
America Magazine, writing articles that included a series of
interviews from which I gained invaluable journalistic skills.
Working as a content source editor for Helium
Inc. / RR Donnelley has afforded me the opportunity to familiarize myself with
both the AP Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style as
well as to communicate with writers and participate in a workflow system. And
by also becoming a writer for the same organization, I have gained experience
in building constructive editor-writer relationships.
In addition, I have been taking advantage of
online learning opportunities to augment my skillset. In preparation for
delving more in depth into the issue of climate change, I have completed
courses on science literacy, sustainable development, and Python coding for
data analysis.
Background
After graduation from college, I worked in the early
childhood education and health food sectors in Boulder, Colorado, and then
Honolulu, Hawaii, where I met the man to whom I am now married. Soon after our
meeting, I joined him as crew on a private sailboat based in Ventura,
California, and went on to work alongside him as a contractor for Schonberg
Controls, a company specializing in custom computerized stage lighting and
motion controls for big-name music videos and concert tours.
We then spent fifteen years as merchants and
jewelry artists, traveling throughout Central America, Mexico, and North
America. This gave me the opportunity to meet and communicate with many people
from all walks of life in a wide variety of cultural settings. I also designed
and implemented a website for our business, which involved technical skills, an
eye for digital design, and the ability to write inviting product descriptions
and other informative text.
I launched my writing career in 2007, when I
completed my book No Stranger To Strange Lands and began to build up a body of writing. After relocating to South
America in 2009, I gained experience in writing, editing, and electronic
publishing by working on various blogging projects, with several articles
published both traditionally and online as well as self-publishing several
e-books.
Blogging lead to an invitation to take charge of
the of Expat Daily News and Expat Daily News Latin
America websites and then becoming a regular writer for Escape
From America Magazine. In April 2012, I began working on my first project
as an editor with Helium Inc. / RR Donnelley.
I have a number of articles published in the
“SpeakOut” feature section of Truthout.org, all of which were
entirely written and edited myself. Unfortunately, a steady freelance gig involving
book marketing copy prevented me from having the time for much thoughtful and
creative writing elsewhere in recent years, although I have, from time to time,
posted articles to my blogs. I also wrote a few articles for the Eco
Guide in mid-2015.
I am currently available as a freelance writer or editor.
