Ellen Wettersten - Editor
I am an editor with decades of experience developing books for the education market. My special interest is editing children's books.
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Overview
After more than thirty years as an editor at Scott, Foresman and Pearson, I am currently a freelance editor, with experience working for a number of publishers. As author of forty-eight published little readers for elementary and middle schools, I understand the writing process.
I love all kinds of stories, both true and imagined, and am comfortable working with fiction and nonfiction. I believe my job as editor is to strengthen a story or nonfictional work without completely rewriting it. Because I have experience with literature, I can make suggestions about the development—characters, plot, or point of view, for example. Crisp writing engages readers, and I can help you eliminate redundancies.
If you want to self-publish and need a good copyedit, I will check for consistency and the appropriate use of words. If your work is nonfiction and historical fiction, I have experience in researching and checking facts. As for grammar and punctuation, I enjoy hunting down misplaced modifiers and commas. They can hamper clear expression, so when I copyedit, I do a careful, detailed proofing to ensure your work is accessible to readers and free of errors.
Languages
English (US)
Fiction
Anthologies
Literary Fiction
Middle Grade
Picture Books
Short Story
Themes & Motifs
Non-Fiction
Children’s Non-Fiction
Education & Reference
Work experience
Writer/Editor
Self-employed
August, 2011
–
Present
(about 11 years)
As a freelance writer and editor, I have worked for many publishers, including Prentice Hall, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Perfection Learning, Great Source, Zaner-Bloser, and Trillium Publishing. I have provided content reviews of high school literature anthologies and edited elementary reading texts, middle school literature anthologies, and high school materials. Extensive writing experience of stories, articles, and biographies has made me a better editor!
Editor
Pearson Education (Scott, Foresman)
June, 1969
–
February, 2001
(over 31 years)
Edited texts for grades kindergarten through high school, in particular anthologies published for the middle school and high school literature markets. Throughout my career in educational publishing, I managed projects, organized anthologies, and consulted with authors and marketing staff. My proudest accomplishment was Beginnings in Literature, a new anthology for Grade 6 to complete the established Grades 7–12 America Reads program. The book included challenging literature by respected authors to meet a growing middle school market.
Portfolio (17 selected works)
- In-depth understanding of the Before, During, and After reading process- Essential skills and strategies for a variety of materials and genres- Key comprehension tools, including notetaking, outlining, cause-effect diagrams, and double-entry journals- A resource for content area reading, supplemental reading activities, tutorials, and homework support
Beginnings in Literature, America Reads
Alan L. Madsen
Book by Alan L. Madsen
The Mouse Girl: A Folktale From India (More Folktales)
Ellen Wettersten
Thorndike Barnhart Intermediate Dictionary
Scott Foresman
An intermediate dictionary giving pronunciation, examples of usage, and part of speech for each definition of a word. Includes some etymologies and exercises and lessons in the use of the dictionary.
ACCESS English: Student Edition Grades 5-12 2005
GREAT SOURCE
- Student Book --hardcover text with a highly visual design- Teacher's Edition --step-by-step teaching support, differentiated instruction, and ideas for engaging students- Student Activity Journal --content, vocabulary, and skills practice (Teacher's Edition available)- Assessment Book --content area and vocabulary assessment and progress records- Assessment Folder --a place to track students... read more
Matt's Dilemma - Voices Leveled Library - Level Q - Fiction
Ellen Wettersten
My problems, my solutions.
The Frog Prince - A German Folktale - Voices Reading - Level J
Ellen Wettersten
Johnny Appleseed
Ellen Wettersten
Grade 1 Leveled Reader - Above level - Freedom and Democracy - voices Reading
Nail Broth - A Folktale From Sweden (Freedom and Democracy)
Retold by Ellen Wettersten
Sweden's version of "Stone Soup."
BEGINNING WRITERS THESAURUS
Scott Foresman
Use Pearson's Thesauruses to build reading readiness as you introduce children to all kinds of new words.
Language: skills and Use 2 Teacher's Edition
Beverly Dryden
1980 Scott, Foresman Language: Skills and Use Grade 2 -- Teacher's Edition (TE)(Spiral) by Beverly Dryden, Barbara McDermitt, & Virginia Mickish ***ISBN-13: 9780673127617 ***Pages: 143
READING TACTICS B
Olive S. Niles; Mildred Dougherty and Da
Ellen has 5 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
I don't regret a single moment of working with Ellen. She was so amazing to work with and very professional, prompt and knew what she was doing. Her knowledge of editing folktales was visible throughout our work together. She even went the extra mile to review the illustrations and made suggestions on where they should be placed in the text.
I will definitely work with her again and recommend...
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Nankie Ramabu, April 2022
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Reply from Ellen Wettersten
Ellen is top notch! She cares about the project and does a detailed edit, that includes real effort and original ideas. She was understanding of the direction I was going in and worked well communicating with me, to realize my vision.
It was a lovely experience. And I look forward to working with Ellen in the future.
Kimber Fisher, April 2022
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Reply from Ellen Wettersten
I'm currently working with Ellen for a second time. She's an extremely thorough editor and reasonably priced. I value her years of experience to add important insight into my stories and help them work. Ellen always responds in a timely manner and she's also extremely supportive. I consider myself lucky to have found her.
Marissa Koons, June 2021
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Reply from Ellen Wettersten
Ellen was terrific to work with! She responded right away with a quote and provided feedback before the scheduled time. Her edits were very useful and made my stories flow much better. And, since I had rhyming stanzas, she even took time to help me make sure the rhymes worked.
Jill Yamaner, November 2020
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Reply from Ellen Wettersten
My story before Ellen was like a deflated bouncy house. I feel like the bouncy house has been fully inflated, and has a group of jumping and laughing people inside. She helped bring my story to life.
Ellen gave very positive feedback and seemed to genuinely care for the story. Her feedback consisted of a helpful balance of technical and grammatical feedback, and overall developmental suggest...
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Brian Herald, June 2020
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Reply from Ellen Wettersten
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