To get started, use the Contact Form, or call us at 757/515-4315.
ShortBios LongBios Corporation is owned and managed by brothers Steve Berent and Irwin Berent, who are also the primary writers, interviewers and advisors for every biography, short or long.
Shown below are Short Bios of the Two Chief Writers (and Co-Creators) of ShortBios.com— as well as information About Our Writing Team for Larger Bios & Editing Projects.
See also: Short Bio Writing Service | Executive Writing Projects | Do-It-Yourself Biography-Writing Software | Submit Info | Ordering | About Us | Praise
All of the ShortBios writers are part of our StarMemoirs® team of accomplished professional writers and editors, who have, in total, authored, ghost-written, edited, consulted on, or coached for more than 50 book projects and more than 21 public relations projects, with a total of 65 years of experience. Not only is their experience considerable, their interests span almost every discipline.
Steve Berent, our lead biographer, founded StarMemoirs in 2001,
and since then, he has successfully gathered a team dedicated to helping people promote themselves or to telling their life stories. His masterful idea has been to match you, our client, with the specialist who can best meet your editing/writing needs. And the endorsements we’ve received (a few are presented here for both short bios and larger projects), attest magnificently to our success.
Steve has brought together a team of writers with various writing and research talents and specialties to make StarMemoirs services one of the easiest and most effective (and inexpensive) ways to get your memoirs and other self-promotionals written.
While ShortBios is one of our most successful and popular writing services, the StarMemoirs team has truly done it all, from editing articles, books, and other writings of individuals, to editing the most complex projects of major corporations. StarMemoirs editors have edited, advised, and/or managed projects for numerous individuals, organizations, corporations, high schools, universities, and government agencies. While some of the biggest clients of, for instance, just one of our editors, Joy A. Jones, have included Microsoft, Lucent Technologies, Hewlett-Packard, FedEx, Mobile Oil Corporation, Lockheed Martin, NASDAQ Stock Market, Stanford Hospital & Clinics, Meade Johnson and Company, American Pharmacists Association, Kaiser Permanente and Schering Key, Ms. Jones and all the rest of StarMemoirs’ capable team handle little individual everyday projects as well as giant highly charged business-development projects.
StarMemoirs editors have guided numerous writers through the process of writing books (as well as articles) that get published. Karen Schaffer, for instance, one of our developmental editors and expert writing coaches, has guided to publication numerous writers. (Click here to see the considerable praise she’s received from some of them.)
StarMemoirs editors are also, themselves, accomplished authors of published books and articles.
Skip Press, for example, has written The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Screenwriting (alpha books, now in its third edition, 2008), The Writer’s Guide to Hollywood Producers, Directors and Screenwriters’ Agents (Prima Lifestyles/Random House, three editions), The Ultimate Writer’s Guide to Hollywood (Barnes & Noble Books, 2004), and How to Write What You Want and Sell What You Write: A Complete Guide to Writing and Selling Everything from Ads to Zingers… (Barnes & Noble Books, 2005, fourth printing 2009).
Among the most prolific writers on our editorial team is Irwin Berent. Mr. Berent is the author of Weird Words (Berkley Books, mass market paperback; Rod L. Evans, co-author), More Weird Words (Berkley Books, mass market paperback; Rod L. Evans, co-author), Dictionary of Highly Unusual Words (Berkley Books, mass market paperback; Rod L. Evans, co-author), The Right Words (Warner Books, mass market paperback; Rod L. Evans, co-author), Getting Your Words’ Worth (Warner Books; Rod L. Evans, co-author), Fundamentalism (Open Court Publishing; Rod L. Evans, co-author; introduction by Isaac Asimov, foreword by Steve Allen), Drug Legalization: For and Against (Open Court Publishing; Rod L. Evans, co-author; introduction by Hugh Downs, foreword by Linus Pauling), ABC of Cat Trivia (St. Martin’s Press; Rod L. Evans, co-author; foreword by Betty White), Quotable Conservative (Adams Publishing; Rod L. Evans, co-compiler; foreword by William F. Buckley, Jr.), Norfolk, Virginia: A Jewish History (JewishHistoryUSA), and Jewish Genealogy: A Sourcebook of Family Histories and Genealogies (Garland Publishing; Avotaynu Publishing, revised and enlarged edition; David S. Zubatsky, co-compiler).
Our splendid writing coach Karen Schaffer is the author of The Job of Your Life: Four Groundbreaking Steps for Getting the Work You Want (Prentice Hall, 1998) and The Complete Book of Resumes (Sourcebooks Inc.).
StarMemoirs editor Kenneth Brosky views the editing process as requiring enormous flexibility:
“The editing process differs for each writer. If I feel a writer would benefit from a line-by-line edit, then I recommend that. If a writer would benefit more from a more general critique, then that works, too. I work on grammar, narration, plot, characters, setting and anything else that I possibly can. My bachelor’s and master’s degree focused not just on creative writing, but also literature and linguistics, providing me with a broad education in the art of writing. As such, I can adjust my editing style to each individual writer to make sure I’m paying attention to what needs to be fixed and encourage things I see that are working.
I am absolutely not a ‘copy editor’ like most freelance editors. I’m an ‘Editor,’ and as such my job has more responsibility. Copy editors go through a manuscript and make suggestions for that manuscript. Editors go through manuscripts and provide suggestions for the manuscript and for the writer’s technique. My goal is to help writers become better writers, not just help a single manuscript. I want to provide writers with tools they can use on future manuscripts, ideas to help them improve their writing, and suggestions for improving their self-editing processes so they can become better in every way possible.”
StarMemoirs editor Joy A. Jones presents her view of what makes a great editor:
“What makes a great editor? In my case, it is one who is knowledgeable of various editorial style guides, especially those including nuances of the English language such as grammar, spelling and punctuation, as well as one who is experienced at writing and editing according to those styles and rules, in addition to having a natural ability to communicate ideas effectively in a particular voice that reaches the target audience. I write, edit, and/or proofread a variety of publications and communications—freelance, part-time, full-time, or overtime—to meet my clients’ goals and objectives, on time, every time, to forge a mutually beneficial working relationship with the client and, where applicable, the client’s organization. To accomplish this, I’ve become a multitalented and seasoned editorial virtuoso with writing/editing experience encompassing a broad range of disciplines and directives in the production of print and online communications. I am a communications specialist with ample project
management experience, who is able to research, extrapolate, translate, and condense technical jargon into compelling, clear, concise, conceptual copy. It also helps to have teacher/trainer experience, including curriculum development and instructional design. This wordsmith is a dedicated and highly recommended professional; I am energetic, creative, self-motivated, and deadline-driven. No job is too big or too small. Every project receives a high priority and is fine-tuned with the utmost eye for detail and craftsmanship.”