Curriculum Vitae

This CV is more about journalism than digital copywriting, so please read this interview covering web projects. Links and samples of digital copywriting of marketing/advertising campaigns are available on request. To contact me, email simonecastello @hotmail.com (remove space before @) or call 07913 430535

  • FREELANCE EDITOR/JOURNALIST/DIGITAL WRITER/INDEXER June 2011 to date: Freelance journalist, SEO copywriter, blogger and product tester. Moderator/tagger of videos for a consumer website. Freelance indexer for ProQuest. Developer of food recipes and feature writer for a parenting website.

  • FREELANCE EDITOR/JOURNALIST/DIGITAL WRITER/INDEXER Nov 09 to May 2011: Freelance journalist, copywriter and tester. Writer/designer/editor of Cambridge NCT newsletter, SEO/web content provider, indexer (English, French and Italian abstracts), product tester/reviewer and video tagger/moderator. Completed a 30,000-word consumer website including tailored emails for registered users and campaign literature, which won an industry award. Worked on another two digital marketing campaigns for a global brand through Strategem, a digital advertising agency. Copywriting for Play.com (merchandising copy for fashion, sports and outdoor sections). Experience of social media tools, including forum moderation.

  • FREELANCE EDITOR/PROOFREADER/WRITER/TUTOR/TRANSLATOR Aug 08-Nov 09: Freelance journalist, editor and product tester. Editor of NCT newsletter in Rugby: writing, editing and commissioning. Translation (mostly Italian into English but have translated from English into Italian) and tutoring (taught Italian to individuals and at an adult education centre in Rugby).

  • FREELANCE EDITOR/PROOFREADER/WRITER Jan 07-Aug 08: Editing financial reports, copyediting a bilingual contract publication. Coeditor of NCT newsletter in London: commissioning, laying out pages, writing and advertising.

  • FREELANCE SENIOR/CHIEF SUBEDITOR/WRITER Mar-Dec 06: Emap (Pregnancy & Birth); Hachette (Sugar); Haymarket (Third Sector); ILN (contract publisher: transport and travel titles); IPC Media (Cage & Aviary Birds, Ideal Home); Ten Media (Channel 4's 4 Homes); The National Magazine Company (Reveal); Trinity Mirror (Take It Easy).

  • CONTRACT/SENIOR SUBEDITOR Sept 05-Mar 06: Bauer (TV Quick, TV Choice). Some writing.

  • FREELANCE SENIOR/CHIEF SUBEDITOR/WRITER Oct 00-Sept 05: Attic Futura (B); Bauer (Bella, Real, Take a Break specials, TV Quick, TV Choice); BBC Worldwide (Big, Disney, Good Food, Good Homes, Homes & Antiques); Boston Hannah (contract publisher: financial, trade and sports magazines; multi-language editions); Centaur (Data Strategy, Precision Marketing); Hachette (Red, Sugar); Hubert Burda Media UK (The Party Magazine); Emap (Bliss, Closer, Construction News, Escape Routes, FHM, Heat, Here's Health, Health Plus, More, Period Living & Traditional Homes, Top Sante'); Express (New!); Highbury House (Pregnancy); ILN (transport and travel titles); Interactive Investor (Moneywise, II website); IPC Media (Cage & Aviary Birds, Bird Keeper, Country Homes & Interiors, Essentials, In Style, Mizz, Now, Woman & Home, Woman's Journal, Woman's Own, Woman's Weekly); The National Magazine Company (Best, Company, Men's Health, Prima, Prima Baby, She, Zest); New Crane (advertorials for Sainsbury's); News Corporation (News of the World's Sunday, The Sun's TV Mag); Northern & Shell (Star magazine); Trinity Mirror (Take It Easy). Online editing, writing, interviewing and product sourcing. Worked on bilingual publications (Italian/English) as editor and translator.

  • CONTRACT/SENIOR SUBEDITOR Apr-Dec 00: Acting senior subeditor at The National Magazine Company (Prima). Some writing.

  • FREELANCE SUBEDITOR Aug 99-Mar 00: Bauer (Take A Break); Centaur (The Engineer); Emap (Mother & Baby, New Woman, Slimming, Top Sante'); IPC Media (Minx); The National Magazine Company (Best, Prima); Telewest (Cable Guide). Some writing.

  • STAFF JOB Oct 98-Aug 99: Subeditor at Property Week: news, finance and features; layout work using/creating templates. Responsible for legal and professional pages; people page and letters page. Some writing and interviewing.

  • FREELANCE SUBEDITOR Feb 97-Oct 98: BBC Worldwide (Gardeners' World, Radio Times); Emap (Mother & Baby, Nursing Times, Slimming); Haymarket (GP); Highbury House (Digital Photography, Video Camera, What Cellphone, What Video & TV, Women's Health); The National Magazine Company (Best); Writers & Readers (general interest guides). Some writing.

  • PROOFREADER/REVIEWER/TELEPHONE & DATABASE RESEARCHER May 94-Feb 97: Boulevard Books (literature anthologies); Columbus Press (travel guides/trade directories); Data Management Services (marketing directories); Jane's Information Group (Defence Weekly, International Defense Review); The Television Register (media/advertising directories). Some writing. Worked on directories and books (Italian/English) as translator and researcher.

  • EDUCATION 86-93 Doctor in Political Sciences, University of Turin. Thesis on English history based on research carried out at The British Library. 80-85: Foreign Languages Diploma. Languages spoken: Italian (mothertongue standard), French (fluent), German (basic).

  • FURTHER TRAINING 96 to date: Law for Journalists; Better Subbing; English for Journalists. Sub-editing (London College of Communication, formerly London College of Printing); Improve Your Writing: features and copywriting. Software: InDesign; QuarkXpress.

  • OTHER TRAINING 98 to date: Breastfeeding peer support (BfN); Safeguarding Children (NHS).

  • INTERESTS Reading, writing, arts and crafts, gardening, swimming, social media. I moderated Subsuk, a group for subeditors from September 2006 till November 2010. During these four years+, the group grew from a few hundreds to over 600 members thanks to promotion in various forums and word of mouth.

    •