A little about me ...

[Laurie Masters]

Greetings! I'm Laurie Masters, freelance editor and Alcohol Can Be a Gas staff member since August of 2008, when Dave asked for my help shortly after he appeared on Coast to Coast Radio for three hours and blew out all the circuits at PayPal, AT&T, and Dreamhost with more calls and Web hits than anyone could have anticipated. What a blessing that was for this amazing cause that had, until that point, garnered precious little media attention.

In recent weeks, I have begun taking on the role of volunteer coordinator for the many fabulous people who are coming out of the woodwork to express their support for Dave's extraordinary vision of self-sufficiency and prosperity in harmony with Nature's design. (Can you imagine anything more wonderful to contribute to?)

I have invited each of them to post something about themselves here to our online community ... and I thought I'd share a bit about myself, as well. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Marin County (two hours north of Dave's office in Santa Cruz ... yep, I commute!) I live with my boyfriend and HUGE Blume supporter, the inimitable David Anderson. I'm passionate about living lightly and sustainably on the Earth; the low-fat, high-fruit, high-raw, vegan lifestyle, and the compassionate Nonviolent Communication work of Marshall Rosenberg.

Below is a bit about my pre-Blume career as a freelance editor (which is how I came to be affiliated with Dave in the first place -- I was one of the editors of Alcohol Can Be a Gas! ... and after that I couldn't imagine myself doing anything other than promoting this good work). Enjoy!

Expert Editing
by Precision Revision

Assisting people in expressing themselves in writing is a huge part of my life purpose. Invariably, when I work with an author, whether they're creating a brochure or writing a book, they tell me they learn a great deal about writing, about clarity of expression, about publishing on the computer ... and we have a lot of fun!

"I turn what you wrote into what you meant!"

Laurie Masters, Precision Revision
Novato, California
[e-mail]
[e-mail] (personal)
www.GreenSongPress.org (a companion product I created to accompany book #5 below)
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Bio and Recent Book Projects
I worked in Silicon Valley as a technical editor during the 1990s at companies including Siliconix, Hitachi Internetworking, and MicroDesign Resources, where I was managing editor of Microprocessor Report (http://www.mdronline.com/mpr_public/about.asp). I left corporate America in 2000 to freelance. As an independent, I have worked on both self-published and traditionally published books, most often as a copy editor, but also in developmental editing, ghostwriting, fact-checking, research, proofreading, interior book layout, and other roles. Here is a description of some of my more notable book-length editing projects.

1. Alcohol Can Be a Gas: Fueling an Ethanol Revolution for the 21st Century
By systems ecologist and permaculture expert David Blume
http://www.permaculture.com/site/node/277
Publisher: International Institute for Ecological Agriculture. Released August 2007 (596 pp.)
Posthumous foreword by R. Buckminster Fuller.

My role: I proofread and performed a light copyedit on all 600+ pages of this how-to "bible" on ethanol production. Includes 473 endnotes and 514 photos, illustrations, and figures.
(From the acknowledgments page): "The book owes much of its crispness to Laurie Masters, who runs Precision Revision in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her motto is 'I turn what you wrote into what you meant,' and the truth of that is evident throughout these pages. She not only made many insightful copyediting changes, she also proofread every word."

2. The Raw Food Revolution Diet: Feast, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Feel Younger!
By Cherie Soria, Vesanto Melina, and Brenda Davis
www.rawfoodchef.com/store/rawFoodDietRevolutionBook.html
Publisher: Healthy Living Publications. Released May 30, 2008 (408 pp.)

My role: I copyedited all of the recipes and several other portions of this raw-food recipe book created by Cherie Soria, renowned raw vegan chef and founder of the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute (2004 to 2008).
3. Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World
By Ken Beller and Heather Chase
www.GreatPeacemakers.com
Publisher: LTS Press. Released March 3, 2008 (195 pp.)

My role: I performed the copyediting and proofreading for this book, winner of The 2007 International PeaceWriting Award, and its high school/college study guides, from 2006 through 2008.

4. The Marriage of Sex and Spirit: Relationships at the Heart of Conscious Evolution
Geralyn Gendreau, editor
http://marriageofsexandspirit.com/
Publisher: Elite Books. Released June 30, 2006 (408 pp.)

My role: In the spring of 2006, I was placed on an editorial “triage team” to get this anthology to press in time to save 1,200+ bookstore preorders. I copyedited about a dozen chapters, substantially reworked Marianne Williamson’s chapter, and transcribed some author interviews. The book was voted Best Health/Sexuality Book in the Best Books 2006 National Book Awards. Contributing authors include luminaries like Deepak Chopra, Carolyn Myss, Wayne Dyer, John Gray, and many more.
(From the acknowledgments page): "To Laurie Masters, a gem of a new friend, thorough copy editor, and brilliant mirror."

5. The 80/10/10 Diet: Balancing Your Health, Your Weight, and Your Life, One Luscious Bite at a Time
By Dr. Douglas N. Graham
http://foodnsport.com/shop/books/the-80-10-10-diet.html
(Also, an article I wrote about the book: http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/811diet.htm)
Publisher: FoodnSport Press. Released November 2006 (348 pp.)

My role: From 2002 to 2006, I was sole developmental, substantive, and copy editor for this book. I also managed the project development, researched and wrote much of the content, checked facts, created all endnotes, and laid out the book's interior.

(From the acknowledgments page): "Laurie, thank you for keeping me honest through your amazing research skills and for distilling my writing down to what I was actually trying to say. Your signature knack for “rototilling” a disjointed manuscript and turning it into a coherent book has once again proven invaluable. I am forever grateful for your steadfast commitment to me and to this project and for your tenacity in keeping its zillion details on track. Thank you in particular for your personal contributions to this book (notably Chapter 8 and Appendix D). I am convinced you are the best editor this side of the universe."

6. You're Not Who You Think You Are: A Blueprint for Retrieving Your Authentic Self
By Albert Clayton Gaulden
http://www.sedonaintensive.com/book-youre-not.htm
Publisher: The Sedona Intensive. Released December 13, 2006 (276 pp.)

My role: I copyedited this book in the summer of 2006, written by noted Sedona psychic Albert Clayton Gaulden, a good friend of James Redfield (Celestine Prophecy)
(From the acknowledgments page:) "I owe heartfelt thanks to editor Laurie Masters of Precision Revision. You did a superb job to reshape the book to make it read more smoothly."

7. Hiring the Heavens: A Practical Guide to Developing Working Relationships with the Spirits of Creation
By Jean Slatter
http://www.jeanslatter.com/
Publisher: New World Library. Released March 10, 2005 (128 pp.)

My role: In 2004, Jean sent me an audiotape and typed transcript of a one-hour talk that she wanted to turn into a book. I created a mock layout and preliminary chapter titles and began populating strawman chapters with content from the transcript. From there, we worked together to develop the concept into a book-length presentation. The self-published book was picked up by New World Publishing in 2005. (From the acknowledgments page): "I wish to thank my editors: Laurie Masters, who helped me get this project off the ground; and Judy Patton, without whose help it never would have landed."

8. Giraffe Juice
By Marci and JP Allen
This is a children's book in development, for sharing the principles of Nonviolent Communication with children.

My role: I helped develop and copyedited early versions of the book throughout 2006 and 2007, and worked with trainers worldwide to compile a resource guide for readers in 2009.

[Dwayne]

Great work Laurie! You've put your mark on a "Masterpiece"!

[Laurie Masters]

I try! :O)

[Chaindog]

Well Laurie, seems you take the rain of words and channel them for lucid, proper growth.

[Denise & Tim]

Wonderful work you've done Laurie!! I know who to go to when I need editing done of the book I write!! Seems we met each other for more than one reason!! blessings, and gratitude to you for all you do.
~Denise