Susan West can look at a rough draft of an article, a feature spread in a magazine, or the home page of a Web site—and quickly size up what needs to be done to make it really sing to its audience. Her skills in creating content come from years as an award-winning writer and editor, most recently as executive editor of Smithsonian magazine.

Susan is also a seasoned manager and strategic thinker, having mentored several editorial staffs and midwifed many new projects in the realms of periodicals, the Internet, and books. As a principal of West Gold Editorial, she brings these skills and experience to bear on solving your problems and creating or improving your information products.

LAUNCH EXPERT
In 1986, Susan co-founded Hippocrates magazine, now called Health, which won four National Magazine Awards while she was an editor there. During that period, she also served as a developmental editor for Time Inc. Ventures, creating editorial plans for several new magazine ideas.

A principal of West Gold Editorial since 1994, Susan was instrumental in the 2000 launch of Dwell, a national consumer magazine covering modern home design. In 1997, she and her partner, Michael Gold, helped conceive and launch University Business magazine, serving as co-editors for the first two issues.

ADVISOR TO PUBLICATIONS, WEB SITES
In the print world, Susan also has consulted for Reader's Digest, Consumer Reports On Health, Teen, FamilyFun, and Dr. Koop's Self-Care Advisor.

Recent Web projects include a critique of content and usability for a health information site produced by the British Medical Journal; advice on revamping the site of the George Lucas Educational Foundation; a series of editing workshops for BabyCenter.com; and executive coaching and development of a content strategy for SelfCare.com.

EARLY CAREER
Earlier in her career, Susan was a staff writer at Science News and Science 80 magazines. Her work has won numerous awards, including the Neal Award for feature editing, three "Maggies" from the Western Publications Association for writing, and a writing award from the American Hospice Association.

Susan is a frequent speaker, workshop leader, and awards judge at national publishing conferences. Susan has a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, Columbia.