Danielle Magnuson Email & Phone Number

Bettendorf, Iowa, United States

My editing skills are content editing (offering big picture advice on what to expand, what to cut, what to clarify, and what to rearrange), copy editing (making the sentence-level writing as correct, clear, and consistent as possible), and proofreading (finding those #%$ lingering errors and typos). I prefer whenever possible to work on projects that are interesting and meaningful.My freelance clients have included Best Version Media, BringMeTheNews, Portland State University, Penn State University Press, In Black Ink, Octane Press, and others. Some examples of my freelance skills in use: For Best Version Media, I authored magazine feature articles, sourced articles, photo edited, and contracted cover photo shoots. For BringMeTheNews, I authored articles about a wide range of health subjects such as surrogacy, organ donation, racial disparities in health, and advances in Alzheimer’s treatment. For Portland State University, I substantially reorganized and revised drafts to make them clearer and more engaging to the PSU newsletter’s readership. For In Black Ink, I copy edited the manuscript of a Minnesota Blues Hall of Famer (while, obviously, listening to the Blues).

St Paul, Minnesota, United States

As the managing editor, I managed all editorial aspects of publication of the Saint Paul Almanac annual anthology, from enforcing deadlines to assembling the book manuscript to sending pages to the proofreader. I worked with a team of creative professionals whose mission was to create an anthology that represents the diverse and beautiful voices of Saint Paul, Minnesota. For this book I had the privilege of editing, with great care and humility, a short piece by Philando Castile’s mother, Valerie, about her son’s death; a professional highlight was witnessing, at the book launch, Valerie read her piece aloud and share the power and emotion of her words with everyone in the room. For this project I communicated directly with more than 100 author and artist contributors, and I created and maintained a database of each contributor. I reviewed grammar and style consistency per The Chicago Manual of Style and our in-house style guide prior to layout. I reviewed multiple draft layouts of the book, contracted a copy editor and a proofreader, reviewed all of their corrections and adjusted as necessary, and made the final call on every edit. The editor in chief told me, “You really were the glue that held everything together.” And the publisher said, “You were tremendous in your work. Your care and love for the whole process really showed.”

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

For Utne Reader, I authored short articles (200 to 360 words) for the print magazine’s Science & Technology section on subjects as diverse as advances in abortion care and a Japanese firm that wanted to harness the solar power received by the Moon. Along with the rest of the editorial staff, I read hundreds of published articles per month to help select content to reprint in the magazine. I substantially reduced published articles for reprint to fit the space parameters of the print magazine. I nominated world visionaries for recognition and helped publicize their important work; my write-up of bioethicist Alice Dreger appeared in Utne Reader’s visionaries issue and was, delightfully, reposted by Ms. Magazine (tinyurl.com/2nvvpftb). For the magazine’s web presence, I authored blog posts for utne.com about a wide range of subjects, including the (non)effect of Barbie on little girls’ self-esteem, intersex rights, trans rights, voter suppression, organic farming, the fate of cursive instruction in elementary schools, and books as art, which was linked to by the New Yorker.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

At Voyageur Press, I acquired and contracted book manuscripts for publication; content edited manuscripts on a wide range of pop culture, science, nature, and how-to subjects; and copy edited manuscripts with an eye toward grammar and style following The Chicago Manual of Style. A few highlights were editing a biography of Neil Young, an illustrated study of sand grains, and a how-to book on the art of raising goats. In many instances, I substantially reduced drafts and tightened the word count, reorganized entire manuscripts, and helped authors rewrite drafts to make them correct, clear, and consistent. I reviewed draft layouts of every book I edited. During my years with Voyageur Press, I rose from college intern to editorial assistant to assistant editor to associate editor to acquisitions editor.

River Falls, Wisconsin

I enjoyed teaching at my alma mater during the 2002–2003 school year. During this time, I taught six sections of Freshman Writing & Reading and one section of Sophomore Literature, where I had the opportunity to mispronounce Zeus in front of a roomful of ruthless college students.

State College, Pennsylvania, United States

As a teaching assistant at Penn State, I had the opportunity to teach one *magical* section of Fiction Writing, three sections of Creative Writing, and four sections of Freshman Rhetoric & Comp (by happy coincidence, 24 years after my grandfather R.L. Scott taught Rhetoric at the same university). Delightfully, I won the English Graduate Organization’s 2002 MFA Teaching Award.

Mfa, Creative Writing, 3.96

Winner of the 2002 MFA Teaching Award, granted by the Department of English and the English Graduate Organization.

Bs, English, 4.0

Valedictorian. Editor of Prologue, UWRF's annual literary publication.