Debra Sorkowitz Schepp Email & Phone Number

I am co-author of 20 published titles including books about passive solar energy, e-commerce, eBay, telecommuting, online safety for kids, Amazon, genealogy, YouTube, and job hunting on LinkedIn and other social networks. Kick Ass Social Commerce for E-preneurs is my newest book, a title I co-authored with successful businessman and social media consultant, John Lawson. My partner (husband Brad) and I have built our career on helping people use emergent technologies effectively. Our work has been published by McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, Amacom, HarperCollins, and Sterling. We have been featured in Newsweek, the Chicago Tribune, and Life. We are available for seminars, speaking engagements, and consulting.

My LA II position put me in the Children's room of Frederick County, Maryland's central branch library. I created and presented programs for children from birth through early high school. My goal was always to advance literacy and the enjoyment of reading, researching, and learning. These programs included storytelling, puppetry, book discussion, and imaginative play. At work, I thrived on providing exceptional customer service. This required me to stay up to the minute on current and emerging literature and research resources, both electronic and paper-based, appropriate for young learners. I also worked with teachers who were planning and completing lesson plans.

As Production Editor I was responsible for moving the manuscript from author through final book production. I met a production schedule of approximately 40 titles per year. This required extraordinary project management and organizational skills. My communications skills made it possible to keep everyone in the process happy from the author who may be called upon to make significant editorial changes to the proofreaders and typesetters who managed the details. My experience as a successful author helped me understand both sides of the production operation!

As an editor for Datapro I wrote monthly articles for the company's Office Systems publication. My areas of expertise included personal computers, dictation devices, and microfilm storage/reading systems. Whenever my editor asked,"Who wants to learn about this new product?" I raised my hand. My thought was that by learning all I could I was actually increasing my "salary" by building my knowledge base and making myself more valuable to my employer. It worked! When I left Datapro, I began a long and happy relationship with my former employer as I launched my freelance career. I wrote about microwave radio systems and office documentation systems, among other things.My work at Datapro improved my interview skills, as I worked with experts in various fields to gain understanding of their technologies. I learned how to gain comfort with complex vocabularies and turn technically detailed information into reports meant specifically for a business audience.