Elana Shippen, P.E., is a licensed professional engineer in mechanical engineering with 22 years of experience, including 14 years in the aerospace industry with Boeing Company's commercial airplanes program. She has a very strong background in engineering and other technical fields, such as HVAC systems for commercial buildings, Lean Manufacturing, the Toyota Production System (TPS), project management, and education.

At Boeing, she designed, integrated, and tested various systems design. She also communicated extensively with multiple engineering and manufacturing organizations, airline customers, and global suppliers. As a consulting engineer, she designed Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems for commercial buildings and was responsible for documenting the design specifications for those systems.

Elana also offers a technical editing course, for those currently working or studying in technical fields. This course varies between three and seven days in length to meet the client's specific needs and can be taken either in Seattle or at your work place for a group of employees. The course covers the necessary skills of the technical editor and it is primarily focused towards the needs of engineers and technical staff, who are seeking to improve their technical editing skills in their daily workplace. It includes an overview of the editing process; reviews of grammar, punctuation, and spelling for technical editors; steps for improving technical writing style; and key strategies for enhancing the overall quality of technical communications.

Elana completed the Technical Writing and Editing Certificate Program at the University of Washington in 2001.

Specialties:

As a freelance technical writer and editor, and project manager Elana can help you improve or write your technical documents in the following areas:

• Engineering, information technology, and scientific books and publications
• Development of online technical courses for certification purposes
• Educational publications
• Technical reports
• Manufacturing processes documents
• Project management
• Aerospace industry-related technical documents
• Case studies
• Engineering mathematics

Feedback "Elana is a terrific editor and organizer and a very pleasant person to work with. She really took charge of a challenging project; the creation of a custom-published magazine about careers for the Department of Labor called "In Demand." Elana edited three issues--careers in advanced manufacturing, careers in science and technology, and careers in biotechnology. She scouted out the story ideas and found and guided freelancers developing the stories. She also worked with graphic designers to create the look of the magazine for a very demanding client. Throughout, Elana demonstrated intelligence and attention to detail. And she was calm and cheerful even during tense moments on deadline. I give her a high recommendation! Jan Tuchman Editor-in-Chief Engineering News-Record The McGraw Hill Companies   "Elana is very professional, great to work with, and is excellent at communicating and keeping you updated on project deliverables. We definitely plan to continue using Elana for future projects." Steve Bjornberg, President American Continuing Education   "It is rare to find a combination of skills such as Elana's. Her engineering expertise along with her technical writing and editing skills has been a great asset for us." Michael S. Patent Attorney   "Our company publishes books for the computer industry, specializing in Novell products. I have worked with Elana for several of my published titles. She has delivered very good quality work when editing our titles. Since we are based in the Netherlands and are non-native English speakers, it was great that she was very patient with us and gave us great directions in improving our writing throughout the projects. It was also very good that she was able to keep up with our very tight schedule. Rob Bastiaansen Publisher www.Books4Brains.com   "I am so glad that I used your services. Your turnaround time was fast so I was able to submit my thesis on time. I will definitely recommend your service to other students. Thank you for everything!!!!! You are the best!" Ella Chan Graduate student at NYU   "English is my second language.  Sometimes, writing in English can be difficult for me in some specific situations; For example, when I am trying to express or explain something that is abstract.  Elana has been of great help along the course of my writing with her patience and professional writing skills.  I will certainly come back to her when I have my next project." C.S. Yoo, Taiwan Adjunct professor/semiconductor processing

Submission Please fill out this form to request a quote OR Cut and paste the questions and answers into an e-mail: 2008@book-editing.com Required: Submit a sample of your book manuscript or story (Word/DOC or RTF attachment preferred). The sample should be 5-50 pages. Large files should be zipped. Attachment not required if writing has not started (e.g., because you're looking for a ghostwriter). Along with a sample, the following information is required. Ignore questions that do not apply to your project (e.g., footnotes). (01) Word count of complete project (under "Tools" in MS Word): (02) Put your 100-word (approx) synopsis/description here (or attach): (03) Describe your genre and topic (e.g., nonfiction/self-help, science fiction, horror, romance, mystery, Western, young adult, children, poetry, Christian, creative nonfiction, literary): (04) Deadline date, if any, for return of complete project. (Please be realistic. Remember that professional editors usually have a project in process.): (05) If you have no immediate deadline, when do you want to start the editing process?: (For instance: within 30 days, within 60 days, within 90 days, 4-12 months) (06) Level of editing desired/expected -- Copyediting / Proofreading / Line Editing (e.g., English corrections, typos, paragraph and sentence structure, word use) Developmental (e.g., help with the big picture, such as flow/pacing, telling the story, characterization, structure, style) Rewriting / Ghostwriting Critique / Evaluation (07) Number of charts/tables/pictures (if any): (08) Writing style/format manual (e.g., Chicago Manual, APA, MLA), if applicable: (09) Number of footnotes/references: (10) Do you have a contract with an agent or publisher?: (11) Do you plan to self-publish?: (12) What is your budget for the entire project? $ ________________ (13) Your name: (14) E-mail addresses: (15) Day/evening phone numbers (required -- in case the response to your e-mail bounces or the editors need clarification regarding the scope of service needed, deadline, etc.): (16) City, State, Country (or time zone): (17) The name(s) of the editor(s)/writer(s) you'd like to contact. (If no names are selected, your e-mail will be sent to several consultants chosen by the coordinator): (18) How did you learn about our service?: (19) Attach writing sample(s) (e.g., prologue, chapter 1, proposal, query) Notes: No hidden charges We won't quote you one price and charge you another. When possible, we'll provide you with a per-word or per-page rate so you'll know up front exactly how much your project will cost. (Of course, we ask that you fairly represent the scope of your project.) To learn more about the rates charged by professional editors, please see: Editorial Freelancers Association It is a mistaken notion that freelance editors work "on spec" (speculation) with no payment to the editor. It is basically asking the editor to work for free. There's no guarantee that a book will see a profit (or even be published). The editors posted here do not work on spec. LIVE AGENT Note: Price quotes and time estimates for individual editors cannot be given over the phone or via chat. This is a network of freelance editors with varying prices and work schedules (see our FAQ). To obtain a price quote please follow the procedures listed on our quotes page. Contact live support if you do not receive a response within three hours. It is possible that your submission was not received. You may also page the network coordinator by leaving voicemail or sending a fax to 469-789-3030. Please be as complete as possible in representing your project's scope and size so you will receive the most accurate estimate. Disclaimer: Your agreement, whether oral or written, is with your freelance editor / proofreader / writer, not with the freelance network as a whole or its coordinator.