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RESUME
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David Speranza
SUMMARY
Creative, detail-oriented writer/editor with proven skills in a range of disciplines, from writing product copy, feature articles, reviews, and screenplays to editing fiction, websites, and textbooks.
PUBLISHING EXPERIENCE
B&H PHOTO AND VIDEO, New York, NY August 2009 - May 2011Web Writer - Professional Video
Wrote product descriptions for company's website, with a focus
on
bringing accuracy and a larger industry context to current professional and
consumer video equipment. Also contributed long-form articles and reviews
1 2
to newsletter/blog, targeting both novice and professional users.
FREELANCE COPYWRITER/EDITOR July 2008 - July 2009
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B&H Photo & Video - wrote advertising and newsletter copy with a focus on video products; updated all video sections for company's Winter 2008 catalog; contributed product descriptions, 800-word article to company's 2008 Student Buyers Guide, articles 1 2 to 2009 Guide; wrote three 1,500-word camera reviews for online newsletter; shot and edited 3-minute demo video for online camera review.
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Wrote pop culture reviews (1 2) for Popshifter.com; edited literary novels All Man's Land and Spurius, by David Laszlo Conhaim; copyedited nonfiction book proposal, produced promo video for Cultural Communications; edited annual report for Arcus Foundation.
BILL SMITH STUDIO, New York, NY December 2007 - July 2008
Interim Managing Editor
Managed over a dozen writers and editors, on- and off-site, for SRA's Imagine It! California ELD program.
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Hired freelance writers, editors and proofreaders for various assignments, providing guidelines, templates and daily instruction for Grade 1 and Grade 3 teacher's guide and student workbook.
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Wrote and revised manuscript for student reading selections, activities, glossaries and frontmatter/ backmatter; created new bookmaps to accommodate client needs.
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Supervised team of five on-site proofreaders.
Covered wide range of K-12 educational materials, including textbooks and ancillaries in all subjects, both English and Spanish; copyedited in-house materials and helped develop company's Intranet site.
FREELANCE
COPYWRITER/EDITOR, New York,
NY
January 2007
- June 2007
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Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios - Rewrote company website for style and effectiveness, copyedited Arcus Foundation annual report, conceived and wrote UNFPA poster copy for United Nations.
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Cosimo, Inc. - Wrote back-cover copy (summary + author bio) for dozens of public domain books.
MACMILLAN/McGRAW-HILL,
New York, NY
August
2004 - November 2006
Executed a wide range of copyediting and project management for company's Editorial Services Group, utilizing InCopy, MS Word, and traditional proof pages.
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Oversaw style and content, from manuscript to final proof, of primary grade textbooks designed for national and state-specific use. Subjects included Science (teacher’s edition), Social Studies, and Reading.
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Collaborated with editorial and design departments to ensure that Chicago and house styles were followed and national/state standards conformed to.
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Honed in on problems and inconsistencies in style, text, or processes and tracked down or devised solutions.
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Assisted coworkers with new technologies, including Adobe CS2, K4 file management, and Excel.
CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS, New York, NY 2003 - 2004
Assistant to Photo Editor, Domino magazine (2004)
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Tracked photographer portfolios, conducted photo research, brainstormed titles during magazine’s startup.
Corporate Sales Assistant (2003)
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Supported three sales directors handling company's largest accounts, including L'Oreal, Estée Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, and Proctor & Gamble.
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Handled correspondence, expenses, and heavy phones in high-pressure publishing environment.
OSMIO, INC., New York, NY 2001
Supervising Editor, Web Page Content
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Oversaw input and updating of web content for corporate meal-expensing service; also devised style and standards handbook and trained new hires.
FREELANCE WRITER/EDITOR, Prague, Czech Republic 1994 - 1996
The Prague
Post/Velvet Magazine,
Features Writer
Wrote profiles, celebrity interviews, reviews, and columns for
city’s leading English-language periodicals.
For The Love Of
Prague, Editor
Edited content and wrote introduction for book of memoirs by
Oscar-winning animator Gene Deitch.
The Prague Revue,
Associate
Editor
Solicited manuscripts, worked with authors, and edited content
for international literary journal.
THE LUCHART GROUP, Wilmington, NC 1988 - 1989
Advertising Copywriter
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Wrote copy and pitched concepts for a range of clients, from retail outlets to industrial manufacturers.
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Generated radio spots, newspaper ads, product brochures, annual reports, and slide presentations.
OTHER EXPERIENCE
Freelance Photographer/Videographer (2001 - present): Produce headshots, music videos, and promotional photos/videos for independent NYC companies and performers.
Freelance Film Technician (1989 - 2002): Worked in numerous capacities (production assistant, set dresser, sound playback, videographer) on music videos, feature films, and industrials in New York City.
Screenwriter, Dark Confessions (1997): Feature film produced by North American Pictures, a Prague-based Czech/Canadian production company. Other screenplays include Occupational Hazards, Clean Break, and Love Amok.
EDUCATION
Temple University, Philadelphia, PABachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, Radio-Television-Film
AWARDS AND HONORS
Semifinalist, Nicholl Fellowship (2004): Screenplay Clean Break finished in top 30 out of a record 6,073 entries.
3rd Prize Videomaker Magazine/Panasonic Short Film Contest for Accessorizing (2001)
TECH SKILLS
Advanced: Win XP/Vista/7 Sony Vegas MS Word WordPerfect PremiereIntermediate: Adobe InCopy Photoshop Lightroom Mac platform Excel
Basic: PowerPoint Quark Org Plus Extra! HTML