Heidi Ward

Heidi Ward – Editor

Copy editor and editor with 7+ years experience in educational material. Also, extensive knowledge of comics, manga, and more.

Overview

Hi. I am an experienced editor and copy editor with over a decade of varied experience in publishing, including seven years in educational publishing. I both project managed/edited and copy edited material, so I have a solid understanding of educational terminology and standards, and the unique needs of educational publishing. However, I started my career at a magazine that focused on comic books, video games, and pop culture, so I also have extensive knowledge of and experience with journalism, comic books and manga (which I regularly proofread), and all things pop culture. My favorite projects are in these genres, but I am also experienced with general fiction and nonfiction too.

I love to help an author hone and develop their writing to make it the best it can be, whether that is as an involved edit or a simple proofread. I would love to work with you.
Services
Non-Fiction
Art Children’s Non-Fiction Comics Non-Fiction
Fiction
Comics & Graphic Novels Middle Grade Picture Books Science Fiction Young Adult
Languages
English (US)
Certifications
  • Comic Editing and Project Management course, from Comics Experience

Work experience

Self-employed

Jul, 2015 — Present

Projects include:
• Content editing for The Enemy, LLC, J-Novel Club, Little Passports
• Copy-editing for Integramed, RAPP, Sparks&Honey, Gartner, Benchmark Education Company, College Board, AdventureKEEN, Girl Friday Productions, Reader’s Digest, Becton Dickinson, Penton Media, Tribune Media, Little Passports, A Pass Educational Group, Manning Publications, Great Minds, Catapult Books, Yen Press, Science Philanthropy Alliance, Newsela, Scribe Concepts, Three Hound Game Design, Tapas Media, J-Novel Club, Penguin Young Readers,
• Proofreading for Becker&Mayer, Yen Press, infinitely big, Girl Friday Productions, Jump Start Press, Newsela, Scribe Concepts, Tapas Media
• Fact Checking for Girl Friday, World Screen, Little Passports

Some titles I have worked on that are not listed below are:
• Springboard, both as a content and copy editor for The College Board
• Benchmark Advance assessments, as a copy editor for Benchmark Education Company

Benchmark Education Company

Sep, 2012 — Jul, 2015 (almost 3 years)

My first editorial project was a poetry anthology set for grades K–6 in September 2012, while still officially a copy editor. I managed the schedule and all stages of development, working collaboratively with other departments. I researched, wrote, and edited copy and art specifications for books and student activities. I created writer's guidelines, reviewed manuscripts, gave feedback, and rewrote as necessary. I created guidelines for audio recordings and assessed the finished audio. I was officially given the title of editor in 2014. My later projects included core standards weekly and unit assessment books. For those, I did many of the above listed as well as facilitating the conversion of the print products to a digital platform.

My editorial projects included:

• Text Connections Poetry anthologies (a collection of poetry leveled to each grade from K–6, which also included information about the poem and poet, additional fun facts, and notes about the poem structure)
• Benchmark Literacy Assessments (a K–6 program that includes these formal and informal assessments)
• Be a Reading Star (an intervention program for grades 2–6)
• Benchmark Advance Unit and Weekly Assessments, Interim Assessments and Performance Tasks, and Informal Assessments (These assessments are part of a K–6 core program. I worked on content and adapted these for online use.)
• Prime Social Studies (These are magazine-style social studies books for Grades 5–9 that each include a graphic novel spread. I scripted those graphic novel spreads.)

Benchmark Education Company

Nov, 2009 — Oct, 2014 (almost 5 years)

As a copy editor at Benchmark, I copy-edited and proofread all of the print and Web-based materials put out. I also checked marketing material. I checked not only grammar, syntax, and readability, but details and consistency within a series. I checked that the art and captions matched, fact checked when necessary, and made style sheets. I made changes in computerized files that included Word and InDesign.

Titles I worked on included:
• The Benchmark Literacy Core Program (a classroom literacy program that includes teacher instruction, texts for students to read, and assessments and activities)
• Early Rising Readers (180 fiction and nonfiction beginner reading level books)
• Early Explorers (172 early to mid-reader level books)
• Early Connections (science, math, and social studies books that range from Grade K–2+)
• Classic Tales (60 fiction books for Grade K–3)
• Jump Into Genre (24 folktale stories for grades 2–3)
• Text Connections (196 topic-based books for Grade K–6)
• Navigators (Science and Social Studies leveled books for Grades 3–6)
• Prime Social Studies and Prime Science (magazine style books for Grades 5–9)
• Reader's Theater (Script-style stories for Grades 1–6)
• and more...

Games Abyss, LLC

Oct, 2008 — Aug, 2009 (10 months)

I assigned content (and occasionally wrote) for a website about video games. I also copy edited and proofread all content.

Sterling & Ross Publishers

Sep, 2007 — Oct, 2008 (about 1 year)

I worked at this small publisher for about a year. I read, reviewed, and assessed query letters and manuscripts. I copy edited manuscripts for things like grammar, style, syntax, and consistency of author's voice. I also provided input for graphic designers for flyers and book jackets. I occasionally typeset manuscripts in InDesign.

Wizard Magazine

Apr, 2003 — Apr, 2004 (about 1 year)

At this comic book and pop culture magazine, I participated in content planning meetings, researched content, interviewed for, and wrote articles. I also proofread text.

Portfolio

Officer Clemmons: A Memoir

Dr. François S. Clemmons

Officer Clemmons: A Memoir details the incredible life story of François Clemmons, beginning with his early years in Alabama and Ohio, marked by family trauma and loss, through his studies as a music major at Oberlin College, where Clemmons began to investigat... read more
As Good as True

Cheryl Reid

A powerful and haunting novel of a woman’s broken past and the painful choices she must make to keep her family and her home.August 1956. After a night of rage and terror, Anna Nassad wakes to find her abusive husband dead and instinctively hides her bruises a... read more
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a psychological thriller exploring the things we dare to do when no one is looking . . .The community along Oregon’s Deschutes River is one of successful careers and perfect families. For years, up-and-comers... read more
Since childhood, Haruki has lagged behind his twin brother, Haruka. Whether it's school or survival games, Haruki just can't seem to measure up. His latest one-on-one battle--ending in a crushing defeat--is the last straw. He lashes out at Hotaru's attempts to... read more
Tomoko's caught in a love triangle...and she doesn't even know it yet! First-year Akari is head-over-heels for Tomoko's kid brother, Tomoki. But thanks to Komi's meddling, Akari thinks she and Tomoko are rivals in love! When the three girls finally get togethe... read more
Handa-kun, Vol. 7

Satsuki Yoshino

Just when you thought it was all over, the whole crew makes a surprising return for three extra chapters! How will the Handa Army react to the news that their beloved Handa will be the focus of an anime series? By blowing it all ridiculously out of proportion,... read more
Hotaru has been handed her walking papers from Toy Gun Gun, but there's no way she's going down without a fight -- or several! Fighting her way back onto the team will just be the first step if she wants to become a serious competitor, though.When a face from ... read more
Hotaru's been found out...by Midori! His accusations of deception weigh heavy on Hotaru, who's still lying to her teammates in Toy Gun*Gun about being a girl... Desperate to play with Matsuoka and Yukimura and fight in the TGC again, she decides to tell them t... read more
So this is it: your marriage is ending.It might have come as a shock, or maybe it was a long time coming. You might be the one leaving, or the one left behind. No matter how you got here, you are now standing at the edge of the unknown, peering down a path tha... read more
It’s been a year since Ryan O’Connor buried his wife. He was in Afghanistan as a SEAL medic when the call came that she’d been killed during a robbery. In that time, he returned home, nursed his grief, and joined his former brothers-in-arms in the K2 Special S... read more
Handa-kun, Vol. 6

Satsuki Yoshino

Handa-kun and company have survived the class trip, but now the culture festival is right on top of them! Will Handa get to contribute to the festival preparations, or will the culture festival be his biggest high school frustration yet?
With his subversion of the state charge cleared up, Kazuma and Aqua are living a life of laziness thanks to their hard-earned reward money. Not content to idle away their days, Darkness and Megumin come up with a plan to revitalize the two slackers by taking t... read more
An ominous call from their estranged son sends Sam and Alice Waltrick to Africa. Following an evasive set of instructions, the couple is drugged and left naked in a remote jungle clearing. Awakening from their stupor, they see before them an ancient, natural b... read more
Capitol Reflections

Jonathan Javitt

Capt. Gwen Maulder, a hardworking FDA medical officer is traumatically thrust onto the trail of a small, but mysterious epidemic of fatal seizures, all among young professionals. The culprit seemingly kills without a trace, no matter how deeply she probes. As ... read more
The first of three books in an exciting new series, The Book of Harry Potter Trifles, Trivias and Particularities is designed to delight and challenge Potter fans of all ages. Its nine quests, each built around a different aspect of wizardry — Hogwarts and Aca... read more
In BABY KNOWS BEST, Dr. Herbert Goldman writes about an area to which he has dedicated much of his long career; infant and childhood nutrition and the prevention of obesity. Citing studies he has carried out as well as other compelling evidence, Dr. Goldman sh... read more
Handa-kun Vol. 5

Satsuki Yoshino

The class trip has begun, but now it's not just his own classmates Handa needs to worry about... When a rival school ends up going along for the ride, isn't it a given that Handa-kun's going to run afoul of a whole new set of kids??The Handa Army have met thei... read more
After being transported to another world, Kazuma is joined by his allies Aqua the goddess, Megumin the magician, and Darkness the crusader. As they conduct more missions to fulfill quests, like purifying a lake while fending off monstrous alligators, they also... read more
As the dreaded class trip comes to an end, it leaves an unexpected boon in its wake-Tomoko has gotten juuust a bit more capable of conversing with her classmates! But never fear! The trials of an antisocial butterfly are unending, and Tomoko now has a new hurd... read more
A mysterious girl appears before Hibiya as he chases after the vanished Hiyori. To solve the mystery of the other world, the girl tells him the story of the very first protagonist...the tale of Azami begins here!
The Wall Between

Jesper Bugge Kold

Why would someone want to murder the father he never knew?After Peter Körber is stabbed to death in Berlin, his son, Andreas, leaves his home in Denmark, where he was raised by his mother and stepfather, and travels to that once-divided city to uncover the bru... read more
One Wrong Turn: A Novel

Deanna Lynn Sletten

Author Deanna Lynn Sletten returns with an unforgettable novel about one man’s crisis of self and his greatest act of love.The words “I’m her husband” roll off Clay Connors’s tongue, but with his estranged wife lying in a coma—and no assurance that she’ll awak... read more
Former homicide detective Nicole Foster has hit rock bottom. Driven off the force by her treacherous partner and lover, she’s flat broke and struggling with a gambling addiction. All Nicole has left is the dream of a warm bed at a homeless shelter and the haun... read more
In the 1990s, the New Orleans murder rate exploded. In 1996, 350 people were killed—the highest number in the city’s history, and the highest rate in the nation. In response to this crisis, gallery owner and artist Jonathan Ferrara and artist Brian Borrello, l... read more
A whopping 900,000 acres, the mighty Monongahela National Forest is the heart and soul of West Virginia and a natural getaway for hikers and weekend backpackers. Five-Star Trails: West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest leads hikers to classics, such as Hi... read more
They're here to rock your world! They were sent to Earth as the ultimate intergalactic Trojan horse: four super-advanced beings capable of replicating human biology so perfectly that they could operate undetected by our small blue planet’s indigenous populatio... read more

Heidi has 6 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Melanie A.

Melanie A.

Mar, 2023

Heidi is such a pleasure to work with! She did wonders to my manuscript, it reads fluidly. Heidi was able to make suggestions without being judged. She is such a sweet and informative editor and look forward to working with her again!
Simon B.

Simon B.

Nov, 2022

She was a big help to me since I was new to writing.
Akilah T.

Akilah T.

May, 2022

Heidi was great to work with. She was very clear about the process and what she would offer. When I had questions, she answered them in a timely manner. I would definitely work with her again. Her work is great quality.
Mary Jane O.

Mary Jane O.

Jan, 2022

Omg! Working with Heidi has been great especially since we worked well with each other’s schedules and obligations. I have had some unforeseen family issues to deal with (specifically a family member’s illness) and Heidi was most supportive. I guess you already know how much I LOVE REEDSY. March 12, I will be part of the Tucson book festival and I will ABSOLUTELY be promoting REEDSY! Once agai...
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Heidi W.
Thank you so much, Mary Jane! I loved working with you just as much, and I got to learn a lot of new things working on your book—always a plus!
Dina P.

Dina P.

Jan, 2018

Heidi is really great to work with. She's an expert at comic books, graphic novels, and mangas. I would highly recommend her as an editor for any artist and writer.

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