News, events, tips and updates from Editors Canada
In this issue:
1. TOOLS: The Career Builder is here
2. CONNECTIONS: We’re starting a virtual group!
3. #EDITORS20: Schedule, speed mentoring and more
4. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Mentorship
5. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Stylin’—Spotlight on the Stylistic Editing Certification Exam
6. MEMBER BENEFITS: Free helpdesk support for Editors Canada email
7. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Raya P. Morrison
8. BOOST YOUR RESUMÉ: Get involved
9. PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Recognizing Editors Canada’s stellar volunteers
10. CLAUDETTE UPTON SCHOLARSHIP: $1,000 award for a promising student editor
11. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
12. EXTERNAL CONFERENCE: Indexing Society of Canada
13. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
1. TOOLS: The Career Builder is here
Attention student affiliates and novice editors!
Launching your career just became a little easier. The Career Builder provides a roadmap for would-be editors, students and novice editors to improve their chances of successfully launching their editing careers.
Experienced editors created the four-page PDF to help guide new and would-be editors to create a personalized career-development action plan. It provides valuable information the creators wish they had when they started their careers.
The three-year plan covers specific, tangible activities, focusing on three key objectives:
- Becoming part of the community and expanding your network
- Training to build on your previous education and existing skills to become an effective and efficient editor
- Finding work by building your resumé and establishing yourself in the editorial profession
It provides a generic roadmap that can be used by any English- or French-speaking person to discover the places you should visit along the way to improve the chances of successfully launching your editing career.
As well, experienced editors can use the Career Builder anytime a student or novice editor asks them for advice on starting an editing career. For those who teach, the Career Builder is an excellent resource to share with your students.
The Career Builder is one of the many ways Editors Canada is supporting and advancing the profession and excellence in editing.
Please share the Career Builder. (580.22 KB)
2. CONNECTIONS: We’re starting a virtual group!
We have great news for members who have trouble attending branch or twig functions: We’re starting a virtual group! The group will hold monthly meetings (about an hour in length) using the Zoom platform. Meetings will have themes and will be chat-based, with occasional guest speakers. But first we need to find a couple of engaged and capable moderators who will help us plan content and, more important, keep the meetings on track. If this opportunity interests you, please contact Patricia MacDonald.
Our virtual group also needs a name, so I invite everyone to send along suggestions!
3. #EDITORS20: Schedule, speed mentoring and more
In case you hadn’t heard, the schedule for the International Editors Conference 2020, From Papyrus to Pixels: International Editing Trends is now online! With 6 streams and nearly 70 sessions to choose from, this program has something for everyone. Visit the sessions page to learn more about what each session entails and visit the speakers page to learn more about our presenters.
Speed mentoring
Here’s another excellent reason to attend the conference: the ever-popular speed mentoring returns! If you’re an editor who would like advice from the pros, or if you’re an experienced editor who would like to share tips with others, this series of quick one-on-one mentoring conversations is perfect for you. Contact speed mentoring coordinator Diana Byron for more information.
Beds for Eds
We know that travelling can be expensive and staying in hotels isn’t for everyone, so conference billeting is an option for attendees who would prefer to stay with a colleague rather than renting a hotel room. If you live in Montreal, please consider opening your home to a guest—it’s a great opportunity to get to know a fellow editor!
If you’re interested in offering a room—or if you’re looking for a room to billet, please email the billeting coordinator.
Conference buddies
Are you excited about going to the conference but feeling hesitant because you won’t know anyone there? Or would you just like to meet some new people? Our conference buddies program is for you! If you sign up, you will be matched with other buddy editors into a small group. You’ll have the chance to introduce yourself in advance through email so you can arrive at the conference already knowing some other editors.
If you’re interested in being a conference buddy, or if you want to help out by volunteering as a lead, please sign up for the program when you register. If you missed signing up or have questions, just email our conference buddies coordinator, Robin Marwick.
From Papyrus to Pixels
The International Editors Conference 2020 will take place at Le Centre Sheraton Montreal from June 19 to 21, in Montreal, Quebec. Visit the conference site for more information.
4. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Mentorship
Mentorship can offer life- and career-changing benefits to both mentors and mentees.
Editors Canada recently made some exciting changes to our mentorship program. We now offer two levels of mentoring:
- Level 1 is a shorter mentoring experience designed especially for student affiliates and editors who have a small, clearly defined topic they want to discuss. It involves 4–5 hours over about a month.
- Level 2 is designed as a more in-depth mentoring experience. It involves 10–20 hours of mentoring over about two months.
All Editors Canada members and student affiliates are eligible to be mentees.
To learn more about the program, and to apply to be a mentor or a mentee, visit the John Eerkes-Medrano Mentorship Program page.
5. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Stylin’—Spotlight on the Stylistic Editing Certification Exam
Some might say that stylistic editing is all about elegance. It walks a fine line (catwalk, perhaps) between structural editing, which deals with organizing a manuscript into shape, and the more detailed work of copy editing, which involves catching errors, inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Stylistic editing is finessing. Some sample tasks that a stylistic editor might perform include:
- Improving sentence construction and word choice to convey meaning more effectively
- Rewriting sentences, paragraphs and passages to resolve ambiguity and ensure logical connections
- Eliminating wordiness
- Adjusting language level or tone to suit the intended audience
If you have a flair for the above, make 2020 the year you obtain professional certification in Stylistic Editing. The exam is scheduled for Saturday, November 21, remotely and in locations across Canada, and will assess your mastery of the Editors Canada Professional Editorial Standards for stylistic editing (C1–C15) and the fundamentals of editing (standards A1-A12). These essential skills apply to editing all types of print and digital materials, from books and magazines to corporate and government writing.
Registration will open in late July 2020, but it’s never too early to start preparing! So why not…
…Try a sample stylistic editing question
1. You are editing a guide to contemporary philosophy written by a professor for a general audience. In a chapter titled “Science Meets Philosophy,” you find this passage:
The purpose of science is simply to stick to what we can observe and measure. Knowledge of anything beyond that, positivist epistemology would hold, is impossible.
“Positivist epistemology” is not defined here or elsewhere in the section. You should:
a. add a definition of the term in parentheses
b. delete “positivist epistemology would hold”
c. query, asking the author to clarify the term
d. replace the term with more familiar words
6. MEMBER BENEFITS: Free helpdesk support for Editors Canada email
Did you know that professional helpdesk support for editors.ca and reviseurs.ca email is a benefit of membership?
If you have an @editors.ca and/or @reviseurs.ca email address and need IT support sending, receiving or configuring your email, please visit https://calligo.cloud/ca/create-a-ticket to create a support ticket.
Do you want an email address that tells people what you do and that will not change no matter how many times you switch Internet Service Providers? Learn more about getting an @editors.ca email address.
7. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Raya P. Morrison
When Raya P. Morrison joined Editors Canada three years ago, she found all the twigs and branches and events and programs a bit “overwhelming.” Her reaction? Plunge right into volunteering. She was soon helping in multiple ways: assisting with Editors Toronto’s monthly programs, volunteering as conference webmaster, proofreading the 2018 Editors Canada wall calendar, and leading a task force on online testing platforms in 2019.
Indu Singh, vice-chair of Editors Toronto, praises Raya for bringing “joy and excitement to everything she does.” Raya, now branch communications chair, admits, “I’ve got the volunteering bug and I can’t stop!”
Raya’s path to becoming an editor was “a winding road.” After graduating from Seneca College’s Digital Media Arts program, she worked as a web developer before becoming a writer for and later managing editor of a music magazine. In 2018, she completed her Editing Certificate at George Brown College. Now editor-in-chief of the literary journal Blood & Bourbon, Raya is also an in-house editor and proofreader for Diamond Integrated Marketing in Toronto. Her interests and training have led her to specialize in marketing communications, social media, articles and short stories.
“Next up,” says Raya, “I want to edit novels.”
Although balancing work and volunteering can be challenging, the “biggest reward is all the lovely people I get to meet through every new role I take on!” says Raya. In particular, the team for the task force “was golden. They allowed me to learn to be a leader by being patient and kind.”
Raya will be assisting again at the International Editors Conference 2020 in Montreal.
“I love travelling,” she says, “so I get extra excited for the annual conference. It’s such a great way to see more of Canada!”
– S. Robin Larin
The volunteer of the month highlights the dedicated people who keep Editors Canada going. Volunteers are the backbone of the association. We are grateful for the many members and affiliates who answer the call when help is needed.
8. BOOST YOUR RESUMÉ: Get involved
Insurance task force
The insurance task force is looking for a task force lead or co-leads to complete phase 2 of the task force mandate. The task force has researched various options and is now is poised to analyze the data and present it to the national executive council in a final report that includes recommendations for moving forward.
Contact Heather Ross for more information.
Volunteer management committee: social media and e-news content writer wanted
The volunteer management committee attempts to ensure Editors Canada volunteers are provided with meaningful volunteer opportunities and are provided with the resources to be successful.
We are currently seeking a committee member to write engaging posts for our Facebook group page, outlining the benefits of volunteering for Editors Canada, where to find our various volunteer resources we have available and how they can be of benefit. In this role, you may also be asked to write short summaries (max. 200 words) of the same material for the monthly e-news update.
If interested, please email the committee chair.
9. PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Recognizing Editors Canada’s stellar volunteers
Editors Canada does a lot of amazing work. We work on branch and twig activities, a national conference, publications, services, certification and so many other important things. And these are conceptualized, organized, coordinated and implemented by volunteers.
The Editors Canada President’s Award for Volunteer Service is one way we thank our volunteers for outstanding service to the association. Such service may include
- volunteering over a long period of time,
- identifying and solving a critical problem,
- meeting a specific need, or
- organizing an activity that advances our goals or inspires others to get involved.
Any member or student affiliate in good standing may be nominated for their contribution. From the nominations received, one outstanding volunteer will receive the Lee d’Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 3.
For complete nomination instructions and other information about the award, visit the President’s Award page.
10. CLAUDETTE UPTON SCHOLARSHIP: $1,000 award for a promising student editor
Calling all Editors Canada student affiliates! The application deadline for the Claudette Upton Scholarship is fast approaching.
This is a $1,000 scholarship to help support continuing professional development in editing. The recipient is encouraged to use the scholarship to attend our national conference, purchase Editors Canada publications, or attend association seminars and webinars. The recipient is acknowledged in person at Editors Canada’s national conference.
How to apply
Visit the Claudette Upton Scholarship page for this year’s essay topic and other application requirements. The deadline for applications is Friday, April 3.
Spread the word
If you know a student who is not an affiliate of Editors Canada and who would be interested in this opportunity, please pass along this message and encourage them to join us. Students join Editors Canada for just $54.95 a year.
11. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
Editors British Columbia member Lucy Kenward joined the partnership of West Coast Editorial Associates on January 1, 2020.
Lucy currently serves on the Editors British Columbia executive and is an award-winning editor of non-fiction books and publications. Her clients include Penguin Random House, Figure 1 Publishing, Douglas & McIntyre, the Art Canada Institute and non-profit organizations and educators. She is also an editorial associate with Greystone Books.
Editors Canada Member News is where we share information about members and affiliates who win awards, publish books and make their mark in other important ways.
Do you have an achievement you’d like to share? Are you excited about a new project or opportunity that has come your way? Let us tell the world all about it! Please send your stories to the member news coordinator.
12. EXTERNAL CONFERENCE: Indexing Society of Canada
Editors Canada members are invited to attend the Indexing Society of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation conference at ISC/SCI member rates. Eligible full-time students also receive a special reduced rate.
The conference takes place June 12–13, 2020, at the Murray Premises Hotel in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
The keynote speaker is Mary Norris, the former copy editor of The New Yorker and author of Between You and Me and Greek to Me. Other guests include Jenny Higgins (Wikipedian-in-Residence at Memorial University) and Colleen Field (Centre for Newfoundland Studies).
Visit the conference page for more details, links to the registration form and a sign-up form to receive information by email.
13. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
Many of you are already aware that there is a trend in organizations such as Editors Canada toward a decline in membership. This has been reported in past annual general meetings, notably the 2018 AGM, where the treasurer also mentioned the decline in employment in the editing sector (based on Statistics Canada data). You can get a visual representation of this decline using Google Trends to see how interest in different search terms related to editing has changed since 2004.
What this means for Editors Canada and the national executive council (NEC) is that we need to work to diversify revenue sources so that we can continue to offer benefits and services to our members. Our webinar program is one area in which we are looking to increase revenue. This program has so far been very successful and has benefitted from the dedication and expertise of a number of volunteers since its launch in 2016. We’re also in the process of creating a virtual group to reach members and potential members who may be unable to attend in-person branch and twig meetings for a variety of reasons. The NEC continues to be aware of these types of trends and will monitor them to so that Editors Canada remains a hub of information and resources for all editors.
Heather Buzila
President
Answer
c. query, asking the author to clarify the term
The national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.