About: FAQ

Who are you?

I'm an expert writer for hire, with a deep interest in making complex subjects understandable. So far, I haven't run into anything that can't be explained, clearly, using plain English. You'll find me a sensitive collaborator in helping your audience get what you need to say. 

What's your background?

Training in journalism and graphic design. Long experience in technical and business communications, advertising, and media relations. Intimate familiarity with both ink- and electron-based production. 

Besides writing, what do you do? 

Most of my colleagues would agree that writing is 90 percent editing. I edit my own prose rigorously, and, when asked, do the same for my clients. Away from my desk, I facilitate brainstorming and project- definition workshops. And, when a scriptwriting assignment calls for on-camera interviews, I can pinch-hit as a video producer on location. 

Where's your base?

My assignments take me (physically or virtually) all over the U.S. and overseas. I live in Pittsburgh with my screenwriter wife (Lorraine), a modest collection of fountain pens, and a cat (not named Heidi).

What's your hourly rate?

A more helpful way to phrase that question might be, "What would this project cost?"  In developing an estimate, I make sure that you and I share an understanding of your project's unique set of deliverables and the tasks it will take for me to produce them. Then I develop a task-by-task estimate. Once you approve the estimate (unless the deliverables or the tasks change for reasons beyond my control), I stick to it. If you already have a budget in mind, feel free to mention it up front. 

What kind of name is Heidekat? 

(Usually pronounced HIDE-uh-cat.) It's German, or north European, anyway. The details are shrouded in mystery, but there is a little place up near the Baltic Sea called Heidekaten. Growing up with an odd surname made me pretty sensitive about naming. It paid off later when I began to work on branding projects. 

Who built your web site? 

I'm doing it myself, with a tool called Web Site Tonight. It's taking a bit longer than one evening, but it is teaching me a lot about the care and feeding of online content.

What are you reading right now? 

• Alphabet Juice, Roy Blount, Jr.'s love letter to the English language. It's more fun than the reviews led me to expect. Without making a big deal of it, Blount (or his editor) has sprinkled the pages with what you might call hyperink, boldface cues that encourage the reader to ricochet all over the book. None of that encyclopedia-age "(See  HAMMURABI.)" stuff.

Jan. 20, 2009

• Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary, by Henry Hitchings. The problems Johnson wrestled with in the 18th century — describing language versus prescribing it; coping with evolution in spelling and punctuation; tracking new terms for new phenomena — are still with us, and likely will persist in the 24th century, when the Web is as old-school as the printing press is today.

New Year's Day, 2009

Anything else you'd like to know? Email me and tell me what you're working on, or learn more about what I do, or just get a little help with a punctuation puzzler.