Greg Melvin

5701 West 98th Place

Overland Park, Kansas 66207

816.581.7331/816.210.8128

work HISTORY

Editor (July 1999 to present)

andrews mcmeel universal, 1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106

NOTE: Andrews McMeel Universal is the parent company of Universal Press Syndicate, America's largest independently owned newspaper syndicate, which provides content to newspapers throughout North America. It is a media/publishing company with nationally known writers that also produces books and calendars. Working here has given me professional experience as an editor, writer and communications specialist.

editorial skills

  • Currently edit a variety of newspaper features and writers for a national audience.
  • Have edited and worked with the following writers and features (partial list): Roger Ebert, Dear Abby, Garry Trudeau, William F. Buckley, Suze Orman, Dr. Andrew Weil and others.
  • Primary editor of more than 10 newspaper features per week.
  • Read-behind editor of 10 additional newspaper features per week.
  • Check all columns and features for factual accuracy, grammatical and spelling errors, and adherence to the standards of The Associated Press Stylebook.
  • Guide professional writers to achieve their best work.
  • Actively teach and train junior editors within my department.
  • Thorough knowledge of the rules of grammar.
  • Complete knowledge of The Associated Press Stylebook.
  • Proofread and edit company news releases for our internal and external Website and for publication.

writing skills

  • Experienced writer of press releases for public dissemination in newspapers, our external Website and our internal Website.
  • Experienced writer of business correspondence, responses to public inquiries and internal memos.
  • Conceived and wrote feature articles for company's internal Website.
  • Regularly help rewrite the newspaper features I edit.
  • Experienced writer of promotional copy.
  • Help company executives write and prepare speeches, press releases and briefing statements.
  • Researched and wrote reports on future business trends in newspaper and book publishing for company's acquisitions committee.
  • Co-writer of the syndicated comic strip "Adam."
  • Hired by Random House to ghostwrite the book "All the Rage" by Aaron McGruder.

communications skills

  • Conceived, developed, wrote and implemented communication plans and strategies to inform client newspapers and the public of new products and features as well as changes to existing products and features for dissemination in print publications and on external Website.
  • Conceived and wrote press releases for public dissemination in client newspapers and on our corporate Website.
  • Personally gave direct interviews to major newspaper dailies (The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times), newspaper organizations (The Associated Press), and magazines (The New Yorker) on behalf of my company and writers.

analysis skills

  • Exceedingly high level of reading comprehension skills.
  • Able to read and retain facts, figures and data at a fast pace.
  • Gathered and compiled information to predict future business trends for my industry.
  • Presented those findings to my superiors in both written and oral form.

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assistant editor (April 1996 to July 1999)

andrews mcmeel universal, 1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106

editorial/writing skills

  • Edited a variety of newspaper features and writers for a national audience.
  • Edited and worked with the following writers and features (partial list): Roger Ebert, Dear Abby, Garry Trudeau, James J. Kilpatrick, William F. Buckley, James Carville and others.
  • Primary editor of 10 newspaper features per week.
  • Checked all columns and features for factual accuracy, grammatical and spelling errors, and adherence to the standards of The Associated Press Stylebook.
  • Served on content committee; worked with other divisions within the company to find new talent and develop new products and features.
  • Wrote reports detailing my acquisition recommendations to content committee.
  • Wrote articles and short pieces for company newsletter.
  • Developed, conceived and wrote company press releases for public dissemination.

******

editorial assistant (December 1995 to April 1996)

andrews mcmeel universal, 1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106

editorial skills

  • Read and graded all manuscript submissions for the book division.
  • Wrote responses to and answered phone calls from submitting writers and artists.
  • Maintained files and kept track of all submissions in a database.
  • Responded to public inquiries about submission guidelines.
  • Proofread manuscripts for grammatical errors and adherence to The Chicago Manual of Style.

computer skills

  • Proficient at Microsoft Word, Office Outlook and PowerPoint.
  • Excellent Internet research skills.

Education

  • Bachelor of Science degree in English (cum laude), University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093
  • One year of graduate study in English literature, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093