James Kwapisz
Writer, Editor, and Musician
About
James holds a Master’s in English and a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from SUNY New Paltz and is passionate about ensuring that writing is clear, concise, and effective, and that music creatively conveys a concept or sentiment and that the sound accurately complements the writer’s intent.
He currently works as a Senior Typist at Ulster County Department of Social Services – Legal Unit. He has previously worked as a freelance copywriter for Black Dog Designs, LLC., a writing instructor at SUNY New Paltz, a caption editor at Video Caption Corporation, and an editorial assistant at McGraw-Hill, among other various roles throughout the years.
Originally from Long Island, he studied in the Hudson Valley in New York, where he currently works and resides.
Experience
Ulster County Department of Social Services – Legal Unit
Senior Typist
(April 2024 – Present)
-Organize legal documents, proofread them, and submit them to court
-Assist DSS attorneys and caseworkers with scheduling court proceedings, conferences, and meetings
-Correspond with process servers to deliver legal documents to respondents
-Formulate spreadsheets to keep track of and facilitate various legal processes
Black Dog Designs, LLC
Copywriter
(January 2023 – January 2024)
-Wrote copy for clients to promote their brands
-Edited and proofread content before it is sent off to clients
-Achieved brand accuracy for various clients
-Composed copy for social media campaigns
Video Caption Corporation
Caption Editor
(July 2019 – September 2023)
-Edited, formatted, and transcribed captions for videos:
Business and medical webinars, movies, TV shows, etc.
-Wrote audio description scripts
-Recorded voice-overs
SUNY New Paltz
Composition Instructor
(January 2017 – May 2019)
-Instructed students on how to write essays effectively
-Designed syllabi, lesson plans, exams, and assignments
-Conducted discussions and lectures on situational rhetoric
and grammar/mechanics
-Graded papers and exams, providing helpful, insightful comments
McGraw-Hill
Editorial Assistant
(October 2014 – March 2015)
-Oversaw composition passages in, and bookmaps of, children’s textbooks for grades K through 6
-Checked textbook pages in Adobe InCopy against PDF tear sheets
-Developed tear sheets on Adobe Acrobat
-Generated a vocabulary matrix for grades K through 6 on Excel
-Corresponded with McGraw-Hill’s compositors about issues concerning National/California standards
Freelance work
Editor
(February 2014 – present)
-Nate Jessup’s The Spindle Tree
-Dr. Mojahid Mirza’s Quagmire of Being
-Matthew Tarulli and John Borgese’s ODAM: Of Dreams and Magic
-Mark Ratikan’s Taurus: Son of the Sunken Realm
Codhill Press
Editorial Assistant/Intern, (February 2014 – May 2014)
-Read through 150 manuscripts of poetry and rated each manuscript
-Determined a winner with Head Editor Pauline Uchmanowicz
-Edited and paginated the poems of the winning manuscript: Proof by Karina Borowicz
Skills
Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe InCopy, Adobe Acrobat, Outlook, PowerPoint, Windows OS, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WordPress.
Contact
James is available for writing and/or editing projects, music lessons, and/or collaborations.
Feel free to reach out.
(516) 220-4151
James Kwapisz 