About Me

Julie R Butler
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.

To see my featured online work, go to my portfolio, Julie R Butler on Contently.com.

Qualifications Profile

Content Source Writer, Helium Inc. / RR Donnelley, March 2013 – present

Clients:

·         CreateSpace
·         MiDealer Solutions
·         Ask.com

Content Source Editor, Helium Inc. / RR Donnelley, April 2012 – present

Clients:

·         CVS Pharmacy
·         Ask Jeeves
·         CreateSpace
·         dexknows.com
·         Ask.com

Blogger, Writer, 2007 – present

Editor in Chief, Writer, Expat Daily News Latin America, November 2010 - July 2012

[Most of the articles from this site have been relocated to Expat News and Information]

Editor in Chief, Writer, Expat Daily News, January 2011 - April 2012

Writer, Copy Editor, Escape From America MagazineMay - December 2011

Other locations where you can find my writing online:

Julie R Butler on Medium.com (Writer’s platform, January 2015 - present)

Connectively Speaking (Philosophical, culture, current events blog, September 2010 - present)

we fear what we don’t understand (Sociopolitical blog, September 2008 - present)

The Eco Guide (Tips for fighting climate change every day, mid-2015)

Truthout.org (News analysis, August 2012 – December 2013)

Julie R Butler on Smashwords.com (My books, available in a variety of formats)

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.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...