Adjunct Professor, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 2000-2011. I designed a course that Tulane now teaches on three campuses.
Faculty, Stanford Professional Publishing Program, Palo Alto, CA, 2007. Taught broad overview course on Internet publicity for the publishing trade.
Faculty, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 2008. I designed the online class PSPR204, "Media Relations in the New Media World," in the Strategic Public Relations track for the School of Political Management.
Faculty, Publishers University, since 1999. Publishers University is a three-day symposium produced by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
Assistive Technology Mentor, Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, 2012-present.
Co-Founder, International Association of Online Communicators (IAOC). Taught panels on Online Crisis Communications and video production. Helped organize the 2006 conference in Brussels, Belgium, and the 2008 conference in Zurich, Switzerland.
Faculty, University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension, 2004. Taught two classes on online public relations.
Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Conference, 2004 & 2005. Assembled and moderated the PRSA's first panel on blogging.
Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Conference, 2003. Presented monograph on "Email Media Relations in a Filtered Environment."
Book Expo America, 2010. Member of a panel on "Reaching Book Buyers Online."
Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, 2004 & 2008. Taught an online publicity seminar and an online video seminar.
Publishers Association of the West (PubWest) Conference, 2001 & 2002. Taught workshops on Internet Publicity for Book Publishers.
Association for the Export of Canadian Books (AECB), 2005. Two half-day intensive workshops in Toronto on Online Marketing.
Organization of Book Publishers of Ontario (OBPO), 2003. Taught a seminar on Internet publicity in Toronto.
Banff Publishing Program, 2001. Taught two classes, one on Online Publicity and one slamming ebooks.
Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA), 1998. Taught an overview seminar on Internet Publicity for Book Publishers.
Since 1994, I have given numerous local presentations for writers groups, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations in the Seattle area, New Orleans, and New York. I frequently am a guest instructor and for several years taught a 10-week writing course for the Port Townsend, Washington, Public Library.
Formal Education
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the Honors College at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. Minors in accounting and creative writing. Some graduate work in business finance.
Awards and Honors
2017 Business of the Year, Virginia Department for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
2017 DBVI Employee of the Year for Audio Director, Coley Evans.
2009 PR Innovation of the Year, Bulldog Reporter Gold Award, with Amacom Books, for "Blog Buddy" Campaign.
2008 Innovative Marketing Grant, Canada Council for the Arts.
1998 Tenagra Award for Internet Marketing Excellence, Individual Achievement Award for Publicity on the Internet book and website.
Content Director, Orobora, Inc.
2015-present. Orobora provides online marketing services for reputation-minded businesses. Solutions provided include website content, list development, list management, public relations and marketing communications. Specialities include authors, experts, entrepreneurs and Amazon retailers.
Executive Director, Staunton Media Lab
2015-2019. The Staunton Media Lab was a media arts program for deaf, blind and uniquely-able adults. The lab taught audio editing to those with low-vision and video editing to the hard of hearing. The lab also reviewed and developed assistive technology.
Chief Operating Officer, SixEstate Communications
2010-2015. SixEstate Communications provides newsblogging services for corporations and nonprofit organizations. Newsblogging is a highly structured form of online journalism that generates top-ranked blogs, usually within 30 days. SixEstate produced the #2 blog on Health Care Reform and the #2 blog on Childhood Obesity, among other achievements.
Executive Director, Patron Saint Productions, Inc.
2001-2015. Patron Saint Productions provided online marketing strategy, campaigns, and training for the book publishing trade.
President, Internet Publicity Services, Inc.
In 1994, Steve O'Keefe started Internet Publicity Services, Inc., one of the first online PR firms in the world. The company produced online campaigns for over one thousand books, working for most of the largest publishers in the U.S. and Canada.
Books Authored
Set the Page on Fire: Secrets of Successful Writers (Novato, CA: New World Library, 2019)
Complete Guide to Internet Publicity (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002)
Publicity on the Internet (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997)
Books Contributed To
Plug Your Book!, by Steve Weber, Weber Books, 2007. Wrote foreword.
The Internet Encyclopedia, by Hossein Bidgoli, John Wiley & Sons, 2004. Contributed material on search engine optimization.
Publicize Your Book, by Jacqueline Deval, Perigee Trade Books, 2003. Wrote chapter on Internet publicity.
You Can Make It Big Writing Books, by Jeff Herman, Prima Publishing, 1999. Contributed chapter on Internet publicity.
Publish to Win, by Jerrold R. Jenkins and Anne M. Stanton, Rhodes & Easton, 1997. Contributed material on Internet publicity.
Publicity Basics, Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, 1997 (?) Contributed chapter on Internet publicity.
1994 Writer's Market, Edited by Mark Garvey, F&W Publications, 1993. Contributed interview on small press publishing.
Collected in The Factsheet Five Zine Reader (1997), Loompanics Golden Records (1993), Mondo 2000 Users Guide to The Edge (1992), Loompanics Greatest Hits (1990).
Periodicals Published or Edited
Continuous Improvement: The Newsletter of Orobora, Publisher & Editor
The SixEstate Newsblog, Editor & Contributor
The Beautiful Plan: Online Marketing Strategies for Book Publishers, Publisher & Editor
PIANO: A Zine for Enthusiasts, Publisher & Editor
The Spark: A Quarterly Journal of Anarchist Thought, Publisher & Editor
The Michigan Libertarian, Editor
The Red Cedar Review, Managing Editor
Periodicals: Columns or Series Written
The Independent, Contributor & Columnist
PR News, Internet PR Columnist
Internet World, Book Industry Columnist
COSMEP News, Internet Columnist
Articles Published
I have contributed writing to over 100 periodicals. Some of the more memorable ones were Harpers, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, Small Press, SALON, Factsheet Five, Outside Magazine, Boing Boing, Curio, NetWorth, HotWired, The Nose, Out Your Backdoor, Angry, Out of Bounds, Talking Raven, Cadence Review, CODA, Music for People.
Online Programs Produced
Staunton Media Lab Live, Producer & Host. A weekly live-streamed program about assistive technology.
Introduction to Online Publicity, Producer & Host. 10-week course in Online Publicity. Offered every Fall and Spring at no charge for over a decade.
Louder than Words, Producer. A live, online television network for teens, syndicated into dozens of high-traffic teen websites. Written up in Publishers Weekly.
This Week on IAOCblog.com, Producer. Weekly blog program of the International Association of Online Communicators (IAOC). Drew 50,000 unique visits a month.
The LIVEbrary, Producer. Published by Annick Press, the LIVEbrary was a two-year program for middle school and junior high school students, teachers, and librarians.
AuthorViews Vlog, Editor. Video blog (vlog) which profiled hundreds of authors.
Internet Publicity Resources, Producer. Award winning, curated collection of resources used in online publicity campaigns.
BK Currents Blog, Berrett-Kohler Books. Set up this current events blog with five authors.
Ripley's Freaky Fridays, Producer. 10-week junior high school online classroom companion program featuring live, online chats in support of Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Read Across America Day Chat Series, Producer. Live, online program featuring five children's book authors in conjunction with the National Education Association's Read Across America Day.
Random House Children's Author Chat Series, Producer. Live, online chat program featuring four to six authors per season.
...for Dummies Chat Series, Producer. Dozens of live online chats with ...For Dummies authors.
Dearborn Financial Planning Series, Dearborn Entrepreneur Chat Series, The Smart Business SuperSite Reference Library, MyJobSearch.com Career Coaching Series.