In this issue:
1. CONFERENCE 2017: Registration and program coming soon!
2. AGM: It’s nominations time again
3. CLAUDETTE UPTON SCHOLARSHIP: $1,000 award for a promising student editor
4. PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Recognizing Editors Canada’s stellar volunteers
5. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Erika Steeves
6. GET INVOLVED: Volunteer opportunities to boost your resumé
7. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Get the recognition you’ve earned
8. PARL: First examen d’attestation en révision comparative a success!
9. WEBINARS: Train online with Editors Canada
10. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
11. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
1. CONFERENCE 2017: Registration and program coming soon!
Guardians of the Lexicons, unite! Registration for the 2017 national conference in Ottawa–Gatineau will open later this month. We’ll email you when that happens, so keep your eyes peeled and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for up-to-the-minute news.
We’re also finalizing the conference program and will be ready to share detailed information about sessions, panels, and speakers soon. Don’t forget that our awesome keynote speakers are Cherie Dimaline and John McIntyre.
Rooms are still available at our conference rate of $169/night at our host hotel, the Crowne Plaza Gatineau-Ottawa. If you would prefer not to stay in a hotel, check out Beds for Eds, our billeting program where local editors open their homes to colleagues from across the country. If you live in Ottawa-Gatineau and have a bed to spare for an editor, email Sharon Stewart.
Tiara makers, knitters and other creatives, represent! If you have a side business, marketable hobby or book you’d like to promote, the Exclamation Mart! vendor fair coordinator wants to hear from you. Email Nadia Aftab to secure your table at the 2017 Conference vendor fair. Spaces are limited, so reserve soon!
2. AGM: It’s nominations time again
At this year’s annual general meeting (AGM), Editors Canada members will be electing people to fill eight two-year positions on the national executive council (seven people’s terms are expiring, and one person is stepping down early). As our website says, “Members of the executive council serve as trustees for the general membership. Collectively, they direct Editors Canada activities and decide how to spend its money.”
Over the past year, the association introduced several exciting new projects, such as the webinar program and partnerships with editing organizations in other countries. We also got the new mentorship program off the ground. Next year’s executive will be focusing on some exciting new publications, plus all sorts of other cool stuff. Members of the association are encouraged to nominate themselves or encourage others to run. As well, we will be looking for chairs for several national committees, and people to sit on those committees. For more information, please email nominations@editors.ca.
3. 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. Application packages must reach the national office by Monday, March 6.
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. We have significantly reduced the annual fee for students to join Editors Canada. Our student affiliate rate is now just $50.
4. PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Recognizing Editors Canada’s stellar volunteers
Editors Canada does some pretty amazing things. From literally setting the standards for editing in Canada with our new edition of Professional Editorial Standards to blazing the trail with professional certification and Programme d’agrément en révision linguistique – Réviseurs Canada (PARL) to fostering professional development through the new John Eerkes-Medrano Mentorship Program, we accomplish so much. And it’s thanks in large part to our dedicated volunteers.
We also publish books, a blog and a national magazine. We train editors at every stage of their careers through seminars and webinars. And we host an immensely popular annual conference. From chairing committees to staffing registration desks, our volunteers keep things running from start to finish.
The Editors Canada President’s Award for Volunteer Service is one way we thank our volunteers for keeping this organization functioning. We’re really proud that volunteers drive this association—many of the services we provide exist because our volunteers pitch in to do the work.
We’re now accepting nominations for the President’s Award. From the nominations received, one outstanding volunteer will receive the Lee d’Anjou Volunteer of the Year Award.
Any member or affiliate of the association can be nominated for the award. To nominate someone for the President’s Award, send a letter (100 to 300 words) describing the candidate’s volunteer service. The letter must be signed by at least three Editors Canada members or affiliates (an acceptable substitute is an email with every nominating member copied on it). For complete guidelines, please visit the President’s Award page.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 7.
Send your nominations to president@editors.ca (subject line: Nomination: President’s Award for Volunteer Service), or mail or fax them to
Editors Canada
President’s Award for Volunteer Service
505–27 Carlton St.
Toronto, ON M5B 1L2
Fax: 416 975-1637
5. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Erika Steeves
Erika Steeves joined Editors Newfoundland and Labrador in 2012 after she moved to St. John’s from the mainland. Looking for a way to kick-start her editing career, she contacted Editors Canada about possible volunteer opportunities. Twig coordinator Sandy Newton reached out to her; it was this selfless sharing of Sandy’s time and information, as well as the other members’ friendly and enthusiastic natures, that encouraged Erika to attend meetings and start volunteering. Erika says she enjoys the atmosphere of camaraderie and community, and her experiences with the association have emphasized the importance of collaboration and networking.
As part of the Newfoundland twig, Erika helped plan professional development workshops, informal talk shops, and other local events that brought together editors and writers. She was also invited to lead a group copy edit. Being the youngest member of the twig at the time, she initially found participation a bit daunting; however, having these opportunities to lead and participate in discussions around professional development boosted her confidence and gave her the tools to advance her career. Her fellow members have noted Erika’s quiet confidence and appreciate her dependable presence, energy, willingness to take charge and excellent collaboration.
Erika has been editing professionally since 2011, when she started as an editorial assistant at Breakwater Books. Mentored by the head editor, she learned about in-house publishing processes. She started her own editorial business in 2012 and focuses on editing academic manuscripts and books self-published by independent authors. Erika enjoys having the opportunity to edit works with diverse subject matter—anything from the history of Newfoundland coins to journal articles on cement. In her free time Erika enjoys reading horror novels, hiking and participating in outdoor activities. She recently moved to Toronto and looks forward to attending the branch activities and workshops.
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. Visit the Members’ Area for more information about actively participating in the association.
6. GET INVOLVED: Volunteer opportunities to boost your resumé
Are you looking for valuable experience and accomplishments to highlight on your CV? Here are some Editors Canada opportunities that are available today.
Editorial team, website
Our updated association website finally launched last fall and now we’re ready to embark on phase two: updating our website content and copy.
Our website looks great, but many important links and calls to action are buried in its dense text. We want to make sure the many visitors to editors.ca get the information they’re after without fuss. Editors Canada provides a rich array of benefits for editors and for the people who hire them. How can we present those benefits so our visitors find them quickly and efficiently?
We need your help with this important project. We’re looking for a team of web copywriters and editors to tackle assigned sections of the website, rewriting and reorganizing the content with benefits in mind. We’re also looking for an editor-in-chief to oversee the team and keep this project in sync and on track. If you’re interested in joining us, please contact communications and marketing committee chair, Susan Chambers.
Writers, Google Ads
Thanks to Google Grants, Editors Canada receives up to $10,000 per month in free online advertising for not-for-profit organizations. With Google Grants, we have the opportunity to fund cause-driven AdWords campaigns to drive more traffic to our association website.
- Are you a keyword keener? An SEO smarty-pants?
- Do you have a knack for writing compelling copy?
- Do you enjoy the challenge of writing clever content in a small space? (Those character limits!)
- What about the additional challenge of writing ads that aren’t purely commercial, but still get people interested in what we’re doing to drive them to our website?
Join our team and help us tell the world about the great work we’re doing on behalf of Canadian editors. Contact Susan Chambers to get involved.
7. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Get the recognition you’ve earned
Have you worked professionally as an editor for at least five years? Are you near the top of your game and wondering what’s next for you on the career ladder?
Make 2017 the year you commit to becoming a professionally certified editor.
Our landmark professional certification program is the gold standard of editing in Canada. Professional editing isn’t a soft skill that anyone can do well. The most successful editors are highly experienced, trained and educated. And becoming a certified editor is official recognition of your excellence in the profession.
Just ask certified professional editor Jeanne McKane. Jeanne enjoys the rewards that go along with being recognized by her own peers, but her CPE designation has also given her an unexpected benefit.
It’s not what I expected at all—it’s been the improvement of my standing with other professionals. As a healthcare editor, I spend a lot of time working closely with doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, for whom certification is a long-established practice, and a significant part of their own self-image. There is no doubt that when I make them aware of my CPE, it shifts their perceptions of me a little—it allows them to view me more as a collaborator with a different specialty, rather than as support staff, and that, in turn, gives me a greater chance to contribute my own knowledge and skills to a project.
Registration for Editors Canada’s 2017 certification exams opens in July
This year Editors Canada will offer the copy editing and stylistic editing exams in cities across Canada. These computer-based tests will take place in November 2017. Stay tuned for the registration announcement.
NEW: Updated Certification Study Guides coming in May 2017
New Certification Study Guides are just around the corner! We’re updating the Study Guides to reflect the 2016 edition of Professional Editorial Standards and the new computer testing platform for Editors Canada’s professional certification program.
8. PARL: First examen d’attestation en révision comparative a success!
January ended on a high note with the first administration of the examen d’attestation en révision comparative, which is offered only to réviseurs agrees—those who have passed the examen général.
Candidates motivated by the desire to advance in their careers, to raise the profile of the editing profession and to recognize their competence took the computer-based test on Saturday, January 28.
For more information about the Programme d’agrément en révision linguistique – Réviseurs Canada (PARL) or the examen general, which will be held again this October, please email agrement@reviseurs.ca or visit the PARL website.
9. WEBINARS: Train online with Editors Canada
For more than 35 years we’ve delivered high-quality, local training for editors at every stage of their careers. Are you looking for training opportunities online? Check out our current webinar season or catch up on demand with our webinar recordings.
Choose from sessions in English and French on topics as varied as developmental editing, creating and maintaining in-house style guides, language theory and networking. Each session is presented by a top-notch instructor.
Upcoming webinars
- February 22: Introduction to Microsoft Word Styles 101
- March 4 and 5: From Wordiness to Plain Language: Editing with Style
- March 6: La correction d’épreuves de manuels
- March 15: Good Grammar: It’s More Than Gut Feel
Visit our webinars page to learn more about each session and to meet the instructors. Don’t forget: Editors Canada members and student affiliates register at discounted rates.
Catch up on demand: Webinar recordings are available
Did you miss an Editors Canada webinar? Can’t make it to an upcoming webinar live?
Most of are webinars are recorded and are now available for purchase. (We’ve even shared some of them free on YouTube!) When you buy a webinar recording, you’ll receive a video file to watch at your leisure on your computer or mobile device. The file is yours to keep, so you can watch it again and again.
Visit our webinar recordings page to see what’s available now. We’re adding new recordings regularly and some are available for a limited time only, so be sure to check often.
10. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
Editors Newfoundland and Labrador member Diana Newton was featured in the Winter Issue of Tracking Changes, the American Copy Editors Society’s award-winning journal. The blurb about her is entitled “67 countries and 23 long-distance moves” and features a photo of Diana (together with her Chocolate Labrador Retriever) against the backdrop of her coastal Newfoundland village.
Do you have an achievement you’d like to share? Are you excited about a new project or opportunity that has come your way? We’d love to hear from you! Please send your stories to the member news coordinator. Each item will be posted on our website and will be included in the Editors Canada e-news updates.
11. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
The national executive council (NEC) is gearing up for its next quarterly meeting, to be held in Montreal on March 18–19. We’re trying something different this time: the agenda outline will be the five priorities of our 2017–21 strategic plan. I’ll send around a summary of our discussions in late March.
I would like to profoundly thank Marie-Christine Payette for her outstanding service as director of francophone affairs since September 2014. Marie-Christine has been a champion for our francophone members, advocating for services to improve their experience of the association. She has stepped down from the director’s role but will continue to volunteer in other ways. Merci Marie-Christine! We welcome Nancy Foran (Editors Toronto), who will serve as interim director of francophone affairs until June. (To our francophone and bilingual members—if you’d like to offer some time and expertise to help us with francophone services, you can contact Nancy at Director_Affaires_Franco@editors.ca.)
As mentioned in a previous item, it’s time to think about running for the NEC! Terms begin on July 1 and last for two years. We’re actively seeking candidates—those who haven’t served on the NEC before as well as those who have. A mix of new and seasoned voices results in an NEC that represents a wide range of member perspectives and concerns. The nominations committee may contact some people directly to recommend they run, but self-nominations are also welcomed. Being on the NEC is challenging, interesting, and a great way to meet editors from across Canada and give back to your association. I hope you’ll consider nominating yourself or someone else! Feel free to contact me or any member of the NEC if you’d like to find out more before speaking to the nominations committee.
All the best,
Anne Louise Mahoney
President
Welcome to Editors Canada!
British Columbia
Lydhia-Marie Bolduc-Gosselin, Collette Brown, Margaret Coyle, EA Guntly, Emay Ko, Tamara Korolnek, Anastasia Ledwon, Anna McDonnell Dowling, Judith Nylvek, Whitney Sharp, Marianne Sprague
Calgary
Elizabeth McCord, Mark Strowbridge
Hamilton-Halton
Lindsay Tweedle
Toronto
Ivana Lackan, Elisha Nesci, Melissa Venditti
Kingston
Greg Murphy, Cindy Rotar
Quebec/Atlantic Canada
Chantal Rodrigue, Joséane Toulouse, Carine Trazie
The national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.