Editorial Freelancers Association
Member Profile
Joanne Crerand
Editing words is like pruning flowers. To bloom, a flower needs all the strength
of the plant. No energy can be wasted on superfluous foliage, fading petals, withering
stems. Trim and deadhead to vitalize the emerging flower, the intended voice.
Initially, I worked as a technical writer, creating instructional manuals for manufacturing software applications and then, training materials for corporate sales and administrative applications. When technical writers started becoming programmers I jumped ship, graduated from the Radcliffe Publishing Course, and moved into the publishing field. After a brief stint in magazine production, I spent three years at a mail-order publishing house, copyediting professional scientific and engineering books. I was promoted to production manager and oversaw an annual list of sixty books during the transition from traditional to desktop publishing. Moving on to the role of project manager at Editorial Services of New England, I worked on books for a variety of Boston publisher clients. When I moved out of the city, I transitioned to freelance copyediting and writing, and at the same time, earned my master’s degree in English from Northeastern University. I copyedited academic titles for university presses and book packagers and general interest books for a regional publisher. For two years, I contributed articles on environmental sustainability for an educational product directed to a corporate audience. Taking on another role, I became the children’s librarian at an independent K–8 school. There, I gained broad familiarity with elementary and middle school literature and curriculum. I also copyedited all and wrote some marketing and communications materials for the school. A willing victim of funding cuts, I have returned to freelance work with a wealth of experience in academic, technical, general interest, and children’s literature, instruction, and promotion. In the summer, I grow, arrange, and sell flower bouquets at a local farm market.
More information: View PDF file
Years in the field: 28
Years freelancing: 14
Joanne Crerand
Editing words is like pruning flowers. To bloom, a flower needs all the strength
of the plant. No energy can be wasted on superfluous foliage, fading petals, withering
stems. Trim and deadhead to vitalize the emerging flower, the intended voice.
Initially, I worked as a technical writer, creating instructional manuals for manufacturing software applications and then, training materials for corporate sales and administrative applications. When technical writers started becoming programmers I jumped ship, graduated from the Radcliffe Publishing Course, and moved into the publishing field. After a brief stint in magazine production, I spent three years at a mail-order publishing house, copyediting professional scientific and engineering books. I was promoted to production manager and oversaw an annual list of sixty books during the transition from traditional to desktop publishing. Moving on to the role of project manager at Editorial Services of New England, I worked on books for a variety of Boston publisher clients. When I moved out of the city, I transitioned to freelance copyediting and writing, and at the same time, earned my master’s degree in English from Northeastern University. I copyedited academic titles for university presses and book packagers and general interest books for a regional publisher. For two years, I contributed articles on environmental sustainability for an educational product directed to a corporate audience. Taking on another role, I became the children’s librarian at an independent K–8 school. There, I gained broad familiarity with elementary and middle school literature and curriculum. I also copyedited all and wrote some marketing and communications materials for the school. A willing victim of funding cuts, I have returned to freelance work with a wealth of experience in academic, technical, general interest, and children’s literature, instruction, and promotion. In the summer, I grow, arrange, and sell flower bouquets at a local farm market.
