AboutAbout Lois Summers and Wordsweave.com
My background
I'm a writer, editor, publisher, and former ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. I write, edit, and publish non-fiction, mostly for websites and sometimes for print. I'm also working on several books for ESL teachers and students between other work.
My ESL teaching background has helped me organize and present material in ways that are easier for everyone to read. In addition, it's taught me a lot about English and other languages, and about language and culture.
I live in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Why hire me?
- I have experience, education, and ability in writing, editing, and publishing.
- I know how to make material easier for native and non-native English speakers to read.
- I'm detail oriented.
- I'm an organizer. I organize sentences, paragraphs, pages, and whole websites.
- When I write or edit for the web, I optimize my words or yours for search engines (search engine optimization or SEO).
- I won't be satisfied until my work is as good as I can make it.
Why I'm offering my writing, editing, publishing, and ESL support services
It started with a simple idea. Create a website to showcase my writing and editing abilities and to bring in more work. I'd already created a few websites, and I started spending more time in online web development discussions to learn more.
"Critique my site" is a common discussion thread. From reading these, I realized that while a lot of people are experts on the technical and design aspects of web creation, web writing is a lesser-known area. Others focused on HTML1 validation, page layout techiques, fonts, and programming (all important topics), and perhaps pointed out spelling mistakes. I noticed ways to make sentences stronger and content easier to access.
I also saw the range of website creators, from professionals with impressive portfolios to those who were creating their first sites. Those in the second category were doing everything themselves, from coding to writing, and they didn't have all the necessary skills. I saw a role for myself — provide an affordable writing, editing, and publishing service for jobs as small as half an hour as well as for longer, more complex jobs. I don't have every web development skill either, but I use the skills I have.
See the Services Overview on the Home page and the Rates page, or contact me directly.
My Background
Relevant experience
My portfolio provides samples of my writing, editing, and publishing work. I've:
- Written for websites, email and print newsletters, and magazines
- Edited newsletter and website content
- Designed websites and brochures, and redesigned newsletters
- Taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to adult international students
Relevant education
The colleges and universities listed below are in Vancouver, Canada. My education includes:
- A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, major in Creative Writing, from the University of British Columbia (UBC)
- Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) courses at Vancouver Community College and at UBC
- Writing, editing, publishing, and marketing courses at Simon Fraser University