The following is an email exchange w. our former chapter member, Toby Wraye:

> > [my email] reaches me here in Alabama now. Finally, found work but in the least expected place.
> > toby

wrote:
> Wow! Where are you working - what kind of work?

Software technical writing. It's a startup in a growing industry: Electronic
Toll Collection. We have contracts that run up to six years with options for
more. The owner is a real go-getter cashing in on a windfall he made from his
construction business days. He built some toll bridges around here for the
state and was paid by being able to collect the tolls -- a 75 cent per axle
gold mine. Since he couldn't find software that met his standards he started
his own development project that is now growing a little too fast for comfort
but we hope to manage it.

It's nice here too. The people are beautiful and the hard edge on race doesn't
seem to be prominant anymore. At least I don't run into it. The disparity
between poor and middle class and rich is more prominant here. It's almost
like being in a developing nation. The cost of living is lower and if my home
in CA every sells I will be better off than I was there financially speaking.

Give my regards to the STC folks. I won't be seeing you any time soon, yall.

toby

Basically, the freelance copyeditor will work with our product managers,
PR, and the Web team to craft compelling copy that's grammatically and
syntactically correct.

Projects may include some promotional copy for our web sites, the
occasional press release, product sales sheets, brochures, etc.

Some projects have pretty polished first drafts that need light
copyediting, while other projects need wholesale re-writes.

The freelance copyeditor is a newly-created position, so we don't know
exactly how many hours, projects, etc. we'll have each week or month.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks!

Susan Boyer
707-827-7108
sboyer@oreilly.com

Note: Keep in mind when contacting Susan, this is an outdated notice from August:

Hello, Rolfe:

I work at O'Reilly & Associates in marketing communications and we are in
need of freelance copyeditors for our marcomm materials.

Would you or your group be able to recommend anyone who might be interested?

Thanks,

Susan Boyer
707-827-7108
sboyer@oreilly.com

http://www.stc-siliconvalley.org/employment/job_detail.asp?operation=view&id=129

http://www.stc-siliconvalley.org/employment/job_detail.asp?operation=view&id=130