Writer in Portland, Oregon

I can write anything that comes my way, and I have 10 years of experience editing and writing technical publications. I have produced knowledgebase articles for accounting software; state achievement tests for students to practice with; microbiology research manuscripts; details of Tax Court decisions; articles on the effects of new federal health care laws; and even a history of the bed pan. I am also an enthusiastic user of The Chicago Manual of Style. PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS WRITING AND EDITING • Maintained the Ajera (accounting) software knowledgebase (KB), a repository including how-to’s, workarounds, and solutions for Ajera’s client base and for internal use. • Wrote the Ajera KB style guide, including the specifications for writing KB articles. I have edited, written, and revised over 150 articles in a clear, easy-to-follow style while clarifying ambiguities. • Documented the process for submitting articles and their path to publication in the KB both visually (as a PowerPoint flowchart) and as a set of instructions. • Researched and wrote white papers and blog articles in a clear, persuasive style for publication on the Axium web site for the marketing department. SKILLS • Writing and editing • Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint • SQL, HTML with CSS, HTML 5 WORK HISTORY SOFTWARE TECHNICIAN, AXIUM SOFTWARE, PORTLAND, OR May 2012 – March 2014 • Wrote and edited KB articles for Ajera users and for internal use. Wrote with the intended audience for the articles carefully in mind, and provided clear solutions free of technical jargon. • Maintained the Ajera KB database in Salesforce by editing, revamping, and writing articles addressing nonstandard issues with Ajera not covered in the help documentation. • Provided technical support by phone and by e-mail to users of Ajera project management and accounting software. Answered questions and solved problems in a pleasant manner, appropriate to users’ level of experience with the software and technical know-how. Resolved technical and accounting software issues in a timely fashion. • Scrupulously documented all cases in Salesforce. SUPPORT ANALYST, SAGE SOFTWARE, BEAVERTON, OR May 2006 – Nov 2009 • Provided technical support by phone and by email to users of Sage Timberline Office accounting software. • Resolved technical, General Ledger, Accounts Payable, and Payroll issues in a timely fashion. Carefully documented all cases in SAP. • Wrote KB articles on nonstandard topics not covered in the help documentation. TECHNICAL SUPPORT EXPERT, STREAM, BEAVERTON, OR Jan 2005 – May 2006 • Provided expert-level support to users of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe FrameMaker, and Adobe Acrobat Pro. Clients included technical writers, photographers, and graphic artists for the Cartoon Network. • Provided tutorial support to users to teach them how to do specific tasks in the software, including how to update technical manuals and perfect graphic designs. Carefully gauged users’ levels of experience and delivered lessons accordingly. LANGUAGE ARTS EDITOR, RENAISSANCE LEARNING, VANCOUVER, WA June 2000 – Jan 2002 • Developed test preparation content in the form of practice state achievement tests used nationwide by school districts training their students to take the tests. Content included tests mimicking the language arts areas and reading comprehension passages the students would find on the actual tests. Developed web sites for use by students to train for the tests. • Tested the software for quality assurance on a variety of platforms. Tested on a number of platforms for technical problems and issues with the content. Wrote detailed reports for all problems found. • Trained 12 Indian employees in the essential duties of the job. Company decided to replace the existing editors with the 12 employees, who moved back to India to do the work. EDUCATION M.A., ENGLISH – UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, DUBLIN, IRELAND I wrote my thesis on Ulysses by James Joyce and Moby-Dick by Herman Melville as exemplars of the anatomy literary tradition in which books take the form of pseudo-medical anatomies in attempts to contain all that is known between the covers of a book. B.A., ENGLISH – BOSTON UNIVERSITY, BOSTON, MA