Nevin Mays – Editor

I teach Children's Book Publishing at Portland State University. The class is part of their graduate program in Book Publishing. We cover almost the entire gamut of books for children, from board books to chapter books to graphic novels (there's a different course focused on middle grade and YA), from Trade books to those geared toward the education and library market. And we cover editorial, marketing, sales, even production and legal issues. I draw on all of my publishing experience as an acquiring editor of audio subrights, a list manager of an ebook subscription program, an editor of licensed books from Disney and Nickelodeon, and a my more traditional roles as a copyeditor and project manager.

I run baby storytime for Green Bean Books in Portland, Ore. Each week I select a different theme, and then read books and sing songs pertaining to that theme. For example, an "outdoors" theme includes songs about the weather, trees, and squirrels, and books with similar themes. I incorporate movement and parent-baby interaction as much as possible.

I coach writers and authors in finding their voice, honing their plot, and identifying their target audience. I offer guidance about how to appeal to agents and editors, and in working with publishers of all sizes.

I edited nonfiction picture books for toddlers, kindergartners, and first graders, as well as a short series of e-books that explained and gave context for major historical documents and speeches for upper elementary students.

I was also the editorial manager for Storia, Scholsastic's proprietary e-reading app, which means I was a curator, of sorts. I created book bundles around seasonality, topic, reading level...you name it, using my deep knowledge and understanding of children's reading habits and interests.

I selected the most exceptional, most interesting, most informative children's and teen books for inclusion on our children's audiobook list. We acquired from all major US and Canadian publishers, so I developed a high level view of the industry and an eye for what works.

Government Technology is a nationally distributed magazine the covers, as the name suggests, technology and its uses in the state and local government sector. Technology can be hard to cover for the layman, and government workings tend to be dry, so I worked with writers to craft articles that were informative and clear, but still eloquent. I ensured writers maintained the tone of the magazine without sacrificing their unique voice. And of course, I edited for accuracy, grammar, spelling, etc.