I am a lover of words.

Award-winning writer, author, and editor

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Jan Collins

Writer, Author, and Editor

You could say that I was born with printer’s ink in my veins, courtesy of my maternal grandfather who founded a chain of weekly newspapers in Michigan during the early 1930s.  Many years later, when I was 13, I began working at those newspapers during my summer vacations, first as a proofreader, later as a news reporter and feature writer.

Newsrooms became my home for many years.

Now I work with clients on writing and editing projects without having the pressure of daily deadlines. 

It’s a good place to be.

Jan Collins 2021-crop

Articles featured in

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I work with words.

I have worked as a journalist at five newspapers in three states; as a managing editor and executive editor for two university magazines; as a syndicated columnist (Next Steps and Flying Solo); as a columnist for daily and weekly newspapers; as a freelance writer for numerous national and international magazines and newspapers, public relations/advertising firms, corporations, and government agencies.

As a freelance writer, my articles have appeared in such publications as The Economist, Ms., The New Republic, Reader’s Digest, Parade, Redbook, Southern, Southern Exposure, Newsweek, Business Week, American Archaeology, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Charlotte Observer, The Columbia Star and the St. Petersburg Times.

Currently, I am a regular contributor to the South Carolina Women in Leadership Network (SC WIL). I am also trying my hand at writing short-story fiction.

Travel, Poodle Skirts, & Chicken Soup

I have written chapters for a family travel guide and for a history book about America in the 1950s. The popular Chicken Soup series selected one of my stories for publication in Chicken Soup for the Golfer’s Soul.

As a freelance editor, my skills have helped hone Web content, op-ed pieces, government reports and state agency studies, corporate newsletters and brochures, ad agency copy, speeches, and business publications.

A book that I co-authored, Next Steps: A Practical Guide to Planning for the Best Half of Your Life (Quill Driver Books, 2009), was a winner in the 19th Annual National Mature Media Awards program.

I love the craft of writing and editing, and I guess it shows: I have received numerous awards from professional organizations for my work. In addition, I was awarded a coveted Nieman Fellowship for Journalists at Harvard University and a Congressional Fellowship on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital is where I attended college, earning a B.S. degree at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. I earned a master’s degree at the University of Michigan.

I have wide-ranging interests as a writer and editor, including aging, divorce, politics, business, education, issues of special interest to women, family memoirs, and personality profiles.

I am a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA).

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Winner in the 19th Annual (2010) National Mature Media Awards program

Blogging

Editing

Consulting

Ghostwriting

Op-ed pieces

Articles

Copywriting

Speeches

Brochures

Book reviews

Book “Doctoring”

Corporate Materials

Web content creation

Family Memoirs

News releases / publicity

Newsletters