About

I am Mary Ann de Stefano, an editor and writer with techie tendencies and a marketing bent who wants to help you believe in yourself and your writing.

MAD at 4 years old. These days I forgo the hat, heels, and dolly when I read.

MAD about Words helps writers by providing high-quality editorial services and by publishing the popular MAD’s Monday Muse. Services are described in detail here.

I named MAD about Words as a play on my initials and love for writing.

I am MAD about Words as in: “mad about jazz,” or “mad about the boy.” You know, enthusiastic about, passionate, ardent, fervent, avid, fanatical, devoted, infatuated, in love with, hot for, crazy, nuts, or wild about. Antonym: indifferent. (Something I am definitely not.) Just like you, I do battle with the twin demons of creative expression: uncertainty and resistance. That’s why I’m mad about nurturing creative and community spirit. My essays appear in Shifting Gears (Red Pepper Press), Orlando Sentinel, and The Florida Writer.

30+ years’ experience

11+ years in publishing at Harcourt Brace/Academic Press
Independent writing consultant since 1993
Full-time freelance editor since 2005
Produced writing workshops with local and visiting writers, many in partnership with Kerouac House writers-in-residence, 2005-2021
Editor, The Florida Writer (the Florida Writer Association’s official magazine) since 2013
Rollins College, BA English & writing, magna cum laude
Studied with America’s foremost creativity coach, Eric Maisel
Continuing professional development & self-study

Memberships

Authors Guild
ACES: The Society for Editing
(AWP) Association of Writers & Writing Programs
Editorial Freelancers Association
Florida Authors & Publishers Association
Florida Writers Association
Southeast Writers Association

I have enjoyed a long relationship with the Florida Writers Association serving its motto: “Writers Helping Writers.”

2005 – Lifetime Member
2007 – 2014, Created FWA eNews, FWA’s first electronic newsletter; served as editor
2008 – 2015, Created & administrated FWA Network, a private online social networking site for members; served as administrator
2011 – Received Vice President’s Award
2012 – Received Vice President’s Award
2013 – Present: Editor of The Florida Writer, responsible for solicitation and placement of editorial content and advertising, editing, graphic design, and mailing
2014 – Present: Website developer and administrator
2019 – Received President’s Award
2021 – Received President’s Award
2021 – 2022 Vice President, Administration & Membership
2022 – Present: President

MAD about Words Partners with Kerouac House

396540_226243540805845_16865691_n From 2009 – 2020 the Jack Kerouac Project of Orlando and MAD about Words partnered to offer writers the opportunity to meet and write with the writer-in-residence at Kerouac House.

Kerouac House is a literary treasure. Jack Kerouac lived in a house in the College Park neighborhood of Orlando at the time On the Road made him a national sensation. And it was in this home that Kerouac wrote his follow-up, The Dharma Bums. The Kerouac House is now a living, literary tribute to one of the great American writers of the twentieth century.

The Kerouac Project provides six residencies a year to writers of any stripe or age, living anywhere in the world. Each residency consists of approximately a two-month stay in the house, and during their time many of the writers worked with us to provide a writing workshop opportunity. Part of the workshop fee went to support the house. Although we no longer produce the workshops there, we are happy to provide our support to Kerouac House, our local literary treasure.

There was also the time MAD about Words made a cameo appearance (well sort of) in a movie about Sion Dayson and Kerouac house.