News, events, tips and updates from Editors Canada
In this issue:
1. UPCOMING WEBINAR: Choices Matter: Language in the 21st Century
2. CONNECT: The Editors’ Vine continues to grow
3. MEMBER SERVICES: Style guide case studies
4. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Different, but the same
5. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Mentorship
6. BOOST YOUR RESUMÉ: Get involved
7. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
8. EXTERNAL LIAISON: Building a network of book publishing freelancers from diverse communities
9. REMINDER: The national office is closed
10. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
1. UPCOMING WEBINAR: Choices Matter: Language in the 21st Century
In an increasingly global world, language choices matter more than ever. We may know the importance of using language that respects the lived experiences of under-represented groups, but we don’t always know how to recognize harmful language.
Join us on Thursday, July 9, for our webinar “Choices Matter: Language in the 21st Century.” Using real-world examples, writer and editor Rhonda Kronyk demonstrates how easy it can be to inadvertently use negative language, and shows how we can recognize potential problems and change our writing and editing processes to make positive language choices.
Catch up on demand: Webinar recordings are available
Did you miss an Editors Canada webinar? Many of our webinars have been recorded and are now available for purchase (and some are even free). 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, so be sure to check often.
2. CONNECT: The Editors’ Vine continues to grow
We now have over 70 subscribers who receive monthly notifications of our new online meetings. In May we discussed marketing in these uncertain times with Lenore Hietkamp. In June we shared “Scenic Routes to an Editing Career.” We will keep the format less structured for the summer, with a Summer Social in July and a Bring-a-Friend meeting in August. We are working on more formal/structured offerings for the “new year” (We know we’re not the only ones who think of Labour Day as New Year’s Day). Details will be shared when they are final.
Mark your calendar
The Editors’ Vine meets on the first Thursday and Saturday of each month. Our next meetings are July 2 and 4, and August 6 and 8. September’s meeting may move because of Labour Day, depending on the results of the poll of recent attendees that is still running as of this writing.
To receive notification of the meetings and Zoom links, please send a message to vine@editors.ca and we’ll happily add you to the list.
If you are interested in participating in our French online meeting, la Vigne, please contact Agnès André. For more information, see the Bulletin électronique national du 18 juin 2020.
3. MEMBER SERVICES: Style guide case studies
The members-only page for in-house editors includes community resources like style guide case studies.
Creating an in-house style guide is a big undertaking. How do you go about it? What should you include? We are collecting case studies from members about how they handled the challenge. In our first case study, Aaron Dalton explains the ins and outs of the in-house style guides the Alberta Energy Regulator uses.
Share your own story and help build our community resources. If you’re interested, email the member services committee chair.
4. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Different, but the same
It’s an understatement to say this is not a usual year. Many things are and will be different. We on the certification steering committee (CSC) are working hard to adjust how we run the professional certification exam within this new reality, keeping candidates safe while maintaining the security and integrity of the program. Our plan is for registration for the 2020 Stylistic Editing professional certification exam to open later in the summer. (If we’re looking for silver linings, here’s one: we’ve spent the last 18 months working on ways to innovate the program and our hard work may just pay off now!)
To register, or not to register
In a usual year, right about now the CSC would be rehearsing our Editors Canada conference presentation about the professional certification exams and how to prepare for them. But this is not a usual year. If you’re interested in registering for the Stylistic Editing exam, why not check out our free webinar on the topic, instead? You might also want to ask yourself if you’re ready.
Writing the exam remotely
Since 2018, the CSC has provided the option to write the professional certification exam in a location other than one of the official exam centres in Toronto, Ottawa or Vancouver. You can apply to write the exam in a remote location if you meet one of the following criteria:
- You live more than 300 kilometres from any of the scheduled exam locations.
- Your particular circumstances make it difficult to travel to an exam centre.
This year, we’re expanding the criteria to include candidates who are immunocompromised or who are just not comfortable travelling to, or writing in, one of our official exam centres.
One of the things we’re looking into is remote proctoring services that would allow candidates to write the professional certification exams from their own homes and on their own computers. We can’t commit to this yet, though. (Stay tuned!) As of now, if you want to write the exam remotely, we’ll still ask you to organize your own location, computer and exam invigilator, and apply to us in writing. See the Remote Locations section of the website for more information.
If you have any questions, or you’d like a member of the certification steering committee to pay a virtual visit to your branch or twig meeting to talk about any aspect of the program, email certification@editors.ca.
5. 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
6. 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.
7. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
Editors Toronto member Mary Rykov virtually launches her poetry collection, Some Conditions Apply, on Thursday, June 18, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., EDT. Here’s the launch link.
She has also done a reading from the collection for Garrison Keillor’s Pandemic #TWApoems, and has posted the recording on Facebook.
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: Building a network of book publishing freelancers from diverse communities
The Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) is building a directory to help expand and diversify Canadian book publishers’ freelance networks. This effort has been developed in response to ACP’s 2018 Canadian Book Publishing Diversity Baseline Survey Report, which made clear that BIPOC communities, LGBTQIA+ communities, and people with a disability/disabilities are underrepresented in the Canadian publishing industry.
ACP’s goal is to build a network of freelancers from diverse communities to connect racialized and marginalized editors, designers, publicists, marketers and others working in the book industry with Canadian publishers. All those who identify with BIPOC communities, LGBTQIA+ communities, those with a disability/disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are encouraged to participate by creating a listing that will be made available on ACP’s website once they have been reviewed and confirmed with participants. ACP welcomes listings from freelancers with all levels of experience, from those early in their career to publishing veterans.
Complete ACP’s Google form if you would like to be included in the directory.
9. REMINDER: The national office is closed
Please note that the national office remains closed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The office staff is working from home and can be reached by email, but is unable to answer the phone or check voicemail at this time. If you require assistance, please email info@editors.ca.
If you’re having trouble with your editors.ca email, please open a support ticket at www.calligo.io/create-a-ticket-canada.
10. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
In the September 28, 2018, Editors Canada e-news, Fazeela Jiwa announced her draft values statement for the association. Her intention was to begin discussion among members and to confirm that the issues of diversity, inclusion and equity were important to members and the association. Members were given a chance to submit comments on the draft statement and ultimately voted to adopt the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement at the 2019 AGM in Halifax. Fazeela is now mobilizing a team of volunteers to investigate ways to implement the commitment that members expressed when they voted to adopt the statement. The team will submit their research to the NEC over the coming months.
As editors, part of our job is to identify and flag or revise potentially offensive, biased and non-inclusive language. We play a role as invisible gatekeepers, and with the discrimination taking place every day around the world, our role is more important than ever. As members of Editors Canada, we must look to our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement to “acknowledge, welcome, and respect the differences of our members along [all] spectrums.”
In order for true change to occur, we must be united in our rejection of all forms of discrimination. We can use our unseen platform as editors to be part of that change.
Heather Buzila
President
The national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.