Nancy Rosenbaum: technical writing & editing

NANCY ROSENBAUM is a deadline-driven writer and editor with 20+ years of experience creating and fine-tuning business documentation for industries ranging from computer software development to hardware products and services, environmental and construction engineering, pharmaceutical, legal, healthcare, and financial services. She is as comfortable developing and polishing grant applications and proposals as she is crafting white papers, press releases, C-level business correspondence, and marketing materials. She collaborates with her clients to ensure their intended message is communicated succinctly, whether to internal audiences or external clients.

As proposal manager and lead writer / editor for FORTUNE 100 companies, Nancy contributed to contract awards valued at more than $450 million by drafting original sections and performing substantive editing / rewriting of other sections, validating proposal responsiveness, and optimizing persuasive arguments.

Nancy crafts outstanding executive summaries, past performance (case studies) and project team (resumes and bios) sections, and is often called upon to unify the overall tone of multiple-author proposals.

In addition to her expertise in proposal development, Nancy has experience researching funding sources and writing successful grant applications. She has written and edited business plans, informative intranet site content, and friendly, customer-facing Web content. Nancy earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Mount Holyoke College. She is a member of the Association for Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) and a senior member of the Society for Technical Communications (STC).

Products
Proposals and Grant Applications Qualifications Statements	Marketing Materials Business Communications Press Releases	Web Site Content Direct Mail Copy Brochures

Industries Served
Software Banking / Finance Healthcare	E-Commerce Aviation Pharmaceutical	Engineering / Construction Environmental Petroleum / Chemical

Clients
JPMorgan Chase & Co. ProMedica Health System NALCO Chemical Company Fluor Daniel	Bristol-Myers Squibb Johnson & Johnson Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Chemical Waste Management	GMAC Mortgage Company BOSS Development Systems Onward Technologies

WORK HISTORY

Contract/Freelance Writer. 1/2005 to present

Write proposals to provide writing and editing services.

Various clients: Perform copywriting, substantive/developmental editing and ghostwriting of textbooks, general business books, history books, marketing materials, medical abstracts and articles, business communications, academic papers, technical articles and essays for industries ranging from medicine and healthcare to engineering and technology. Familiar with CMS, AMA, AP and APA.

BOSSdev: Write and edit technical proposals and user materials for Web-based applications development company.

Onward Technologies: Developed and edited customer-facing communications, including proposals, form letters, Web site organization and content, charitable and business event invitations, direct-mail solicitations, press releases, news briefs, software documentation, scripts and marketing materials. Critiqued technical documentation for content and tone. Managed Web site content development.

Communications Manager. 2/2003 to 12/2004, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

(formerly Bank One)

Wrote and edited proposals, SF254/255s and SF330s for submittal to federal and state government entities (treasury, taxation, unemployment, social services agencies) seeking treasury management services and solutions. Managed process from RFP arrival through product delivery. Responsible for searching for and tracking potential opportunities, breaking down RFPs, creating outlines and compliance matrices, drafting and editing responses to RFPs, providing guidance and editorial support to proposal team members, overseeing production and quality control. Introduced concepts of change management, style, fact-checking, formatting, voice, themes, ghosting, language, team writing, copyediting and outlining to a department new to proposal development. Key contributor to proposals that brought in business from the company's first new customers (valued at approximately $70 million) in three years.

Contract/Freelance Technical Writer/Editor. 1/1997 to 12/2002

ProMedica Health System: Prepared grant applications and marketing materials.

UCCnet: Wrote and edited interactive documentation for secure Web-based e-commerce/materials management clearinghouse applications for intended for use by technical and non-technical users.

UTRS: Abstracted information, wrote and edited FAA advisory circulars and marketing material.

Bristol-Myers Squibb: Developed policies, procedures and deliverables strategy to support pharmaceutical company's IT security and Y2K programs. Developed and administered MS Access relational databases, participated in data mapping and design of Oracle master inventory relational database to support FDA's change management requirements. Established and maintained approved document archives.

Johnson & Johnson: Researched and wrote documents to support pharmaceutical company's IT security and Y2K programs. Participated in business process reengineering to mitigate operational risks.

American Reinsurance: Researched, wrote and edited documents to support insurance company's IT security and Y2K programs. Involved in business process evaluation and reengineering to mitigate operational risks.

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine: Developed intranet site content for IT department.

NALCO Chemical Company: Wrote and edited marketing material.

BP/Amoco: Performed value chain analysis and co-authored white paper.

GMAC Mortgage Company: Wrote investment management help text for Web site.

Technical Proposal Writer/Manager. 9/1994 to 12/1996, Fluor Daniel

Led proposal development teams and mentored junior staff in evaluation of RFPs, strategy selection, storyboarding and response preparation at environmental engineering and construction company. Wrote and edited solicited and unsolicited proposals, including SF254/255s, for environmental remediation projects to commercial clients and government agencies (DoE, DoD, EPA). Researched brownfields opportunities, including identifying possible property re-uses and potential buyers. Conducted financial analyses and company analysis/market research, prepared company and industry abstracts and white papers for company executives. Tracked competitors' activities and customers' award histories to support go/no-go decisions.

Technical Proposal Writer/Manager. 9/1991 to 9/1994, Chemical Waste Management/Rust

Led proposal development teams and taught process to junior staffers at environmental engineering and construction company. Developed and enforced style guides. Analyzed RFPs, prepared response strategies, storyboarded, scheduled and managed proposal contributors' (including teaming partners') work products. Wrote statements of qualifications, SF254/255s and proposals for environmental remediation projects submitted to federal and state government agencies (DoE, EPA, DoD, DoT) and private companies. Researched and tracked awards of opportunities and competitors' activities. Prepared and presented white papers on potential opportunities for company executives. Short-listed on most proposals I wrote; winning proposal value exceeded $350 million.

Technical Proposal Writer. 11/1988 to 3/1991, Maxymillian Technologies

Prepared abstracts of recently promulgated or proposed/pending federal and state environmental and construction safety regulations for environmental/construction company. Liaised with state and federal regulatory agencies to demonstrate regulatory compliance with environmental remediation activities and construction operations. Wrote multi-volume environmental remediation and construction permit applications and proposals. Instrumental in obtaining federal EPA permit to operate a transportable toxic waste incinerator and state EPA re-permit to operate a transportable petroleum-contaminated soil thermal desorption system. Prepared and trained site managers in usage of hazard communication standards. Established and maintained inventory of hazardous materials used or encountered on company project sites. Supported business objectives by identifying potential opportunities.

Technical Writer. 1/1988 to 6/1988, L&L Software

Wrote and edited end-user documentation for accounting software.

Technical Writer. 10/1986 to 12/1987, Sprint Telenet

Wrote and edited end-user documentation for network communications hardware and software. Introduced use of graphics/schematics in documentation, developed publication standards, and trained and mentored junior writers.

Technical Writer/Manager. 4/1984 to 10/1986, Decision Software

Wrote and edited functional and user specifications, user guides, installation guides, development guides, training materials, marketing brochures and release notes for Unix-based software. Wrote test plans with use cases and scripts, conducted testing, wrote test results summaries. Developed department style and standards guidelines, managed three full-time writers and occasional contract/part-time writers.

EDUCATION

BA, English, Mount Holyoke College

Courses in technical writing and business communications, Northeastern University and MIT

MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS

Senior Member, Society for Technical Communication

Member, Association of Proposal Management Professionals

Member, Society for Marketing Professional Services

Nancy Rosenbaum specializes in crafting internal and external business communications. She researches, writes, and edits marketing materials, white papers, Web content, grant applications, business development proposals (executive summaries, resumes, management and past performance sections), and C-level corporate correspondence in support of business and strategic objectives.

Technical Writing and Editing

Proposals, Marketing Materials, Functional Specifications, Users' Guides, Administrators' Guides, Release Notes, Data Sheets, Quick-Reference Guides, Training Materials, Interactive Help Text, Internet and Intranet Site Content, Textbooks

Nancy Rosenbaum writes and edits technical documentation for traditional and Web-based software. Whether the objective is to document procedures or make complex information easy to comprehend, Nancy can meet the challenge within budget and deadline.

Feedback

"Nancy Rosenbaum is a top notch professional in every sense of the word. She is kind, insightful and understanding. Her work, advice and comments are invaluable." Richard Karrel, MD

"I found Nancy Rosenbaum to be one of the most honest individuals I have ever conducted business with. Her work is excellent." Larry Dillon, CEO, DillonGray

"The network's prompt response detailing potential editors allowed our text to be in the hands of an editing professional in no time. The knowledge, professionalism, and editing service offered by Nancy greatly enhanced the content and flow of the textbook. Additionally, Nancy provided comments and insight that went well beyond the service paid, and returned the ~44,000 word textbook within weeks. I highly recommend the network and Nancy." Stephen J. Elliott, PhD, Assistant Professor, Purdue University

"The network and Nancy Rosenbaum was a great asset in assisting the editing of my manuscript about an African American cemetery in Salisbury, North Carolina. This was my first attempt at writing on this level and Nancy guided me through the hazards of self editing. She also provided objective encouragement from a person who was a friendly stranger to my project. The lesson learned was THOU SHALL NOT SUBMIT SELF EDITED MANUSCRIPTS FOR PUBLICATION because the writer is too close in terms of emotion and experience to the work." Reginald W. Brown

"I was very happy with the communication and effort put forth by the editor. She asked pertinent questions and made great improvements on my paper without changing the overall composition. She worked within the time frame I asked for and my paper was back to me with good suggestions and major improvements. Thank you very much I am glad I found your site. (Contact info on request)

"Nancy did a great job proofreading my PhD thesis. I was on a tight schedule and she returned the proofread thesis back to me in less than a week. We exchanged several emails regarding the editing style and she got back to me over email right away. I will definitely use her editing services also in the future!" Tarja Teppo, researcher, Helsinki University of Technology

Submission

Please fill out this form to request a quote

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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).

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(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):

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(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? $ ________________

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(19) Attach writing sample(s) (e.g., prologue, chapter 1, proposal, query)

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