CopyStrands

Updated November 2011

Freelance Writer & Editor

Courtney Shannon Strand, owner of CopyStrands—an eco-friendly, freelance writing and editing business—helps small- to medium-sized companies with their writing and editing needs in an affordable and timely manner. Her passion for words propelled her through a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and landed her an enchanting job at InStyle magazine working in their copyediting department after she discovered grammar errors in the final paragraph of their cover story about a famous celebrity. For over 12 years Courtney has edited and written copy for books, catalogs, magazines, and websites. She is self-taught in HTML, blog designs, and Content Management Systems (CMS). Courtney’s work has appeared in InStyle magazine, ELLE magazine, Northwest Runner magazine, Eddie Bauer's catalogs plus About.com, AOL City's Best, and CTQ Media's websites. Courtney believes in staying on top of industry trends. She earned a Certificate of Editing in 2011 through Mediabistro's year-long intensive course for editors. Feel free to visit her resume or portfolio.

Timeline

Freelance Writer and Editor

CopyStrands.com
Jan 2, 2007 - Current
Windridge Consulting: Copyedit marketing articles using knowledge of Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS). Proofread hiring and coaching blog posts for publication. Propose rewrites for flow without changing meaning of text while tracking changes in Word. Prep Sportswear: Creatively concept, write and copyedit website copy, email copy, search engine optimized (SEO) product copy for sportswear gear and product page metatags. Increase customer click through on email campaigns with compelling headlines. Work closely with art director. Snelson Co.: Wrote and implemented website metatags. Designed newsletter template. Currently compile and copyedit quarterly newsletter.

Senior Marketing Copywriter & Editor

Dri-Eaz Products, Inc.
Apr 4, 2005
Researched, wrote ads, web copy, e-newsletters, emails, trade magazine articles, yearly catalog, technical product manuals, virtual training center pieces and webcasts. Edited magazine articles, textbooks, marketing materials and proofread galleys. Established house style guide. Maintained accuracy of all copy working with engineers.

Senior Copywriter, Creative Services & Marketing

Eddie Bauer Corporate Office
Jan 2, 2003
Wrote, edited and creatively concepted copy for catalog, retail, direct mail and e-commerce. Hired and managed freelance writers. Collaborated daily with designers, art director, copy director and creative services director to ensure distinctive tone and accuracy in copy and to meet timely publishing deadlines. Conducted catalog concept presentations on a quarterly basis.

Assistant Editor, Research

Ragen MacKenzie, A Division of Wells Fargo
Jan 2, 2002
Edited, published financial reports, technical publications. Worked with research analysts. Redesigned publication templates, intranet; designed investment conference publications. Established and maintained house style guide using AP Style, The New York Times Manual of Style & Usage and The Wall Street Journal Guide to Business Style & Usage.

Editorial Copyedit Intern at InStyle Magazine / Reader Juror at ELLE Magazine

InStyle Magazine and ELLE Magazine
May 1, 2000
InStyle: Conducted research and reporting, proofread galleys using CMOS, interviewed publicists, wrote articles for: “Where Can I Find” and “Letters to the Editor” pages. ELLE: Read pre-published manuscripts and wrote book reviews for the coveted ELLE Reader’s Choice Award. Helped select the winner.

Freelance Writer and Editor

CopyStrands.com
Jan 2, 2007
Copyeditor for Northwest Runner Magazine: Edited news, health and technical running stories. Fact checked and verified information in articles. Maintained accuracy and consistency using knowledge of AP Style and category expertise in running. Writer for AOL City’s Best: One of the first writers hired to grow traffic for the website re-launch. Pitched, researched, wrote articles about shopping and lifestyle topics. Interviewed boutique owners. Published articles using their content management system. Associate Editor for CTQ Media: Edited author submitted articles for Real Innovation and TRIZ Journal websites. Published edited articles, photos and tables using their moderator control panel and HTML. Performed daily website updates and helped grow CTQ Media web traffic to over 500,000 unique visitors per month. Site Editor About.com / New York Times Company: Researched, wrote, edited and published local news articles using their CMS and HTML. Created slide shows, shot photography, used SEO best practices to tag all articles. Grew website traffic from 10,000 visitors to over 100,000 unique visitors per month using Twitter. Senior Copywriter & Editor at Martingale & Co.: Wrote back cover copy for 50 craft books, wrote ads, catalogs, e-newsletters and blog copy. Developed and managed relationships with authors and conducted author interviews. Established and maintained house style guide.

Quote

“Courtney is one of those people who is a true pleasure to have as a team member. She's conscientious, collaborative and creative; able to lead a project and willing to follow direction, and takes pride in her work whatever role she plays. She has a clear eye for solutions, a fine attention to detail and an utterly reliable dedication to seeing a job through to its conclusion. She has worked in high-speed, high-volume environments both on staff and as a freelancer, and so brings a wealth of experience and a diversity of perspective that's invaluable. Her experience and her easy personal manner, as well as her commitment to quality work, have helped her be an effective mentor to young writers and to freelancers new to a setting.”

Eddie Bauer Corporate

Copy Director
“Courtney has done all my copyediting for newsletters, email ads, website content and two blogs since 2007. She is always a pleasure to work with, quick in her turnaround time and sends back documents that keep the integrity of my voice while sounding so much better! ”

Windridge Consulting

Client
“Courtney was an integral part of our fast-paced marketing team. Creativity, attention to detail, and commitment to deadlines are absolute strengths. Our marketing environment encourages wide participation which includes input from multiple people. Courtney flourished taking direction and input with grace and incorporating different ideas to create unique messages that spoke well to our customers. I would recommend Courtney for any marketing project that requires a new or fresh approach.”

Dri-Eaz Products, Inc.

V.P. Sales & Marketing
“Courtney Shannon Strand worked for me for a little more than two years. Courtney was thorough, exacting and detailed. Her ramp-up time as she embraced the technical subject matter was minimal. Not only did she do all I asked and more professionally, but she was also a pleasure to work with personally. I hope to hire her again one day!”

CTQ Media

Publisher
“Courtney has done an excellent job of writing creative copy for my email campaigns and technical copy for all of my apparel products. She is punctuational and never misses a deadline. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a copy that is on-time and on-brief.”

Prep Sportswear

Creative Director