News, events, tips and updates from Editors Canada
In this issue:
1. WEBINARS: Learn something new about your craft!
2. BOOST YOUR RESUMÉ: Get involved
3. PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Recognizing Editors Canada’s stellar volunteers
4. CLAUDETTE UPTON SCHOLARSHIP: $1,000 award for a promising student editor
5. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Spotlight on the Copy Editing exam
6. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Mentorship
7. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
8. EXTERNAL LIAISON: News from The Indexing Society of Canada
9. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
1. WEBINARS: Learn something new about your craft!
Did you miss any of the webinars offered so far as part of our 2022 training season? No worries! It’s not too late to learn new editing skills with us. You can buy webinar recordings and watch them whenever works for you. Plus, plenty of other live online sessions are still to come in March and beyond, such as:
- March 3: L’édition numérique : pas seulement un changement de support! (Gwendal Henry)
- March 8: Introduction to Project Management and Time Tracking for Freelancers (Cath Ennis)
- March 15–16: La révision linguistique de textes littéraires (Nicholas Giguère)
- March 22: Introduction to Technical Editing for Craft Patterns (Kate Atherley)
- March 31: De l’importance d’avoir des métadonnées révisées (Gwendal Henry)
And don’t forget that as an Editors Canada member, you get 40% off all webinars and recordings! Visit our webinars page to register now.
This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada.
2. BOOST YOUR RESUMÉ: Get involved
French-language webinars host
We’re looking for volunteers to host our French-language webinars. For more information about this opportunity, see the French version of this e-news update.
WordPress support
The Editors’ Weekly is looking for a volunteer with WordPress expertise to help develop the blog in French. If you have such experience, please contact Lucy Payette.
Nominating committee to begin recruiting soon
The national nominating committee will soon begin recruiting for key volunteer roles within Editors Canada. The committee will be seeking nominees for director positions on the national executive council (NEC) as well as national committee chairs.
The NEC oversees the activities of the committee chairs, who work directly with staff and member volunteers to help the professional editing community thrive. Our committees drive our organization, from professional certification to publications to training and development.
Directors must be members of the association in good standing throughout their term (two years). National committee chairs can be members or student affiliates and usually serve for one or two years. Depending on the position and the time of year, directors can expect to spend two to ten hours a week doing the work involved for their roles. Committee chairs can expect to put in about one to three hours a week.
The nominating committee will be contacting members we feel have the right skills to help lead our association. We aren’t familiar with all our members though, so self-nominations are welcome! If you would like more information, please email president@editors.ca.
National call for association ambassadors: A great opportunity to educate others about editing
The marketing and communications committee is developing a plan to raise the profile of the association as an authority through in-person outreach to emerging writers and editors. Our goal is to promote the editing profession and the benefits of joining Editors Canada.
Part of that plan is to have ambassadors of Editors Canada speak at libraries, writers’ circles, and post-secondary institutions about what editors do and what it takes to become an editor. We plan for these presentations to start in fall 2022.
We’re looking for members to become local ambassadors for our national association. We will provide a generic presentation for you to tailor to your own experience, as well as details about Editors Canada you can include. As an ambassador, you’ll help to promote lasting awareness of the editing profession.
We’re looking for:
- members with some work experience and a willingness to share their enthusiasm for the profession to act as ambassadors; and
- suggested contacts at libraries, writers’ circles or post-secondary institutions.
If you’re able to help, please get in touch with Merel Elsinga.
3. 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, professional 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 8.
For complete nomination instructions and other information about the award, visit the President’s Award page.
4. 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.
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 8.
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.
5. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Spotlight on the Copy Editing exam
Do you get a spark of joy from chasing spelling, punctuation, grammar and usage errors all the way out of documents? Do you find satisfaction in creating style sheets and finding and fixing inconsistencies in logic, details and cross-references? Does maintaining consistency in heads, tables and lists bring you bliss? If this sounds like you, make 2022 the year you obtain your Certified Copy Editor designation.
Editors Canada’s Copy Editing exam assesses your mastery of the Professional Editorial Standards D1–18, as well as fundamental knowledge of editing (standards A1–12). Visit the Editors Canada Professional Certification page for information on exam registration and links to resources such as the Copy Editing Test Preparation Guide.
The exam will be offered this November. In the meantime, why not try a sample copy editing question to see if you have what it takes?
Which of the following statements is punctuated correctly?
a. The investigator’s findings were inconclusive, that is, they did not determine a clear cause for the accident.
b. The investigator’s findings were inconclusive, that is: they did not determine a clear cause for the accident.
c. The investigator’s findings were inconclusive; that is, they did not determine a clear cause for the accident.
d. The investigator’s findings were inconclusive. That is; they did not determine a clear cause for the accident.
6. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Mentorship
The Editors Canada mentorship program now offers two levels of mentorship.
Level 1
- designed primarily for student affiliates and those who have a small, clearly defined topic they want to discuss
- 4–5 hours over 1 month
Level 2
- designed for a more in-depth mentoring experience
- 10–20 hours over 2 months
- can be extended up to 6 months
Visit the John Eerkes-Medrano Mentorship Program page for more details and to apply to be a mentor or a mentee.
Testimonials
“My first mentorship term was a wonderful experience! My mentor was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and inspiring. She tailored our conversations to my needs and was very generous when answering questions and recommending resources. Working with her over these last two months has given me many different perspectives on my editing career. Thank you so much to Editors Canada for making this possible.”
– Sarah Jefferies, PhD
“What a great opportunity to learn collegially and to benefit from the experience of a senior editor; we’re lucky to have a program like this. Thanks so much for this opportunity!”
– Claire Wilkshire
7. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
Editors Canada Ottawa–Gatineau member Brenda Adams edited Dancing in the River by George Lee, which just won the Guernica Prize for unpublished literary fiction. This is the author’s debut book, and it will be released in print later in 2022.
Editors British Columbia member Philip Sherwood has recently been published two long-time projects. First with the Finest: Vanderpol’s, a Family Enterprise is a corporate history of the family business that became the largest egg processor in Western Canada. Sherwood completed dozens of interviews and ghostwrote and edited the book. Educating for Success: The Story of Columbia College recounts the 85-year history of western Canada’s largest and oldest international college. In addition to authoring the book, Sherwood managed the project, interviewed 30 people and provided editing services. Both books had initial press runs of 500 copies.
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.
8. EXTERNAL LIAISON: News from The Indexing Society of Canada
Save the Date–ISC/SCI virtual conference, May 12-14, 2022
Please join us online for the 2022 ISC/SCI conference. This year’s theme is Past Perfect, Future Progressive. Sessions will be held on Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, with the popular Fireside Chats for new indexers on Thursday, May 12. Details will be posted at indexers.ca/annual-conference.
9. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
The national executive council met on Sunday, January 9, and discussed the following topics:
- The annual webinar sale, which was held between November 22 and November 29, 2021, was a success, despite some technical issues. The sale brought in over $20,000 pre-tax, and 580 recordings were sold.
- Jona Rhica Mejico and Raya Morrison, co-chairs of Editors Toronto, joined the meeting to update us on the branch’s activities. The branch is planning an online seminar on plain language and is looking forward to this new way of hosting a seminar. They’ve also created the new executive position of community liaison, which will work on connecting with other writing and editing groups in Toronto.
- Updates were provided on various other ongoing projects, including the implementation of the equity, diversity and inclusion task force’s recommendations and the website rebuild.
The next e-news update will include a summary of the February 13, 2022, NEC meeting.
Heather Buzila
President
Answer
c. The investigator’s findings were inconclusive; that is, they did not determine a clear cause for the accident.
The national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.