News, events, tips and updates from Editors Canada
In this issue:
1. WEBINARS: Training opportunities for every kind of editor
2. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Thinking of taking the Editors Canada Editing Essentials test?
3. STUDENT RELATIONS: Websites for editors
4. GET INVOLVED: Our national committees
5. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
6. EXTERNAL LIAISON: News from The Indexing Society of Canada
7. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
1. WEBINARS: Training opportunities for every kind of editor
Are you just starting out in the editing field, or have you been in the business for years? Are you an academic editor, a fiction editor or a technical editor? Are you in-house or freelance? Wherever your experience and interests lie, you’re sure to find something to meet your professional development needs among our webinar recordings, which cover not only editing tips but also topics like marketing and time management.
Visit our webinar recordings page to explore all the sessions, which are offered to members and student affiliates at a 40% discount.
2. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Thinking of taking the Editors Canada Editing Essentials test?
The Editors Canada Editing Essentials test is designed to provide an entry-level qualification for editors by evaluating basic competence in the areas of structural editing, stylistic editing, copy editing and proofreading. Successful completion of the test proves your ability to work as an editor based on your knowledge of the basics of editing. If you’re considering taking the test, you may be wondering how to prepare.
The first and most important resource is Editors Canada’s Professional Editorial Standards (2016). The Editing Essentials test is based on a selection of these standards, so the best way to prepare is to study them closely and consider their practical applications.
We’ve assembled a list of additional resources you may find helpful as you prepare:
Study resources
- Editors Canada Professional Certification preparation resources
- The certification test preparation guides (available for purchase) contain sample versions of the professional certification exams, but are also good practice for any editing test.
- The website also contains lists of useful books and courses, style guides and dictionaries and other relevant publications, including the Edit Like a Pro series.
- Editors Canada webinars
- The Australian Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) provides links to several helpful resources:
- Study resources for its accreditation exam, including style guides and handbooks useful for editors worldwide
- Recorded webinars
- The US Board of Editing in the Life Sciences (BELS) offers a free study guide.
- The American Medical Writers Association has a study guide and resource list for its Essential Skills certificate and other exams.
- The UK Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading offers a suite of courses in proofreading, copy editing and editorial skills, at levels ranging from beginner to experienced.
- The Editorial Freelancers Association provides many resources for editors, from business tips to editing education.
- Taking online quizzes and tests is a great way to practise! Try these:
- The Chicago Manual of Style has quizzes to test your knowledge of editing and proofreading.
- If you’re interested in medical or scientific editing, try the American Medical Association Manual of Style quizzes.
- The New York Times offers some free copy editing quizzes online.
- ProEdit offers the “Ultimate Editing Test.”
Unlock your editing career
Ready to launch your editing career? Wondering how to let employers know you’ve got what it takes? Visit the Editing Essentials page to learn more and to register today.
3. STUDENT RELATIONS: Websites for editors
The student relations committee wrapped up our online discussion series, “Websites for Editors,” in May. We want this information to be available for those who may have missed it, and for those who want to save it for future reference, so we compiled all the responses and resources into a handy PDF. It’s a great “getting started” guide for students or new editors who are ready to build their first website! Please see the Editors Canada Student Affiliates Facebook group to download it, or email the chair of the committee to request a copy.
4. GET INVOLVED: Our national committees
At any given time, Editors Canada has about a dozen national committees working to keep us up and running. Our committees drive our organization, from professional certification to member services to volunteer management.
Do you have a copy of Editing Canadian English or Professional Editorial Standards? Those resources are products of our publications and standards committees. Have you ever attended a webinar or purchased a webinar recording? Our training and development committee plans and develops our stellar webinar program. If you’ve ever attended an Editors Canada conference, you can thank our conference committee for all the fabulous sessions and networking.
Want to help make any of these things happen? Just contact the chair of the committee you are interested in joining. Committees meet via conference call, so where you live makes no difference. You can find contact information here as well as a list of committees and some of their initiatives.
National call for volunteers, EDI committee, Editors Canada
Do you have experience advocating for EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion) issues in the Canadian publishing landscape? Would you like to influence how Editors Canada represents and works for all Canadian editors? Consider volunteering to form Editors Canada’s new EDI committee.
The new committee will serve as a resource for the national executive council (NEC) and members of various committees working on matters related to the Editors Canada’s Statement of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Part of the committee’s goal will be to promote the voices and portfolios of BIPOC, 2SLGBTQI+ and disabled/neurodiverse editors and publishers where possible (e.g., making suggestions of contributors for webinar offerings, blog posts, conference session presenters, etc.).
In this volunteer role, you will work with the equity adviser and a director to provide support upon request from members of the NEC, chairs of committees and task forces, people in national positions, chairs of branches and twigs, and office staff on matters generally related to equity, diversity and inclusion in the Canadian publishing landscape.
This is a standing committee. We are seeking volunteers who have some experience with EDI work in a professional capacity either as an editor or another role; knowledge of the context of equity, diversity and inclusion in Canada; ability to motivate and support others; and willingness to listen, learn and change based on difficult conversations.
To sign up, please contact Amber Riaz.
For more information, see Editors Canada’s equity, diversity and inclusion resources.
The John Eerkes-Medrano Mentorship Program is now recruiting mentors
Editors Canada’s mentorship program is looking for mentors. The mentorship program offers two levels of mentorship and pays its mentors:
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.
Volunteers needed to help with the new website
The website task force is on track to launch the new Editors Canada website in July. Development is going well. The task force is seeking volunteers who are proficient in French to help with moving French-language content. If you’re interested in assisting, please contact the task force leader.
5. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
On May 20, 2023, Editors Canada member Caroline Kaiser published a novel, The Spirits of South Drive. This cozy mystery is the second in the Virginia Blythe Mysteries series. It features antique specialist Virginia Blythe, who works at Gable & Co. Auctioneers, and an unruly quartet of ghosts from the 1920s who may hold the key to solving a murder. In writing this and her previous novel, Virginia’s Ghost, Caroline drew heavily on her previous career working for a Toronto auction house.
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.
6. EXTERNAL LIAISON: News from The Indexing Society of Canada
Indexing Society of Canada announces Ewart-Daveluy Award for Excellence in Indexing 2023 recipient
The Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is pleased to announce that the 2023 Ewart-Daveluy Indexing Award was presented to Enid L. Zafran on June 9, 2023, at the ISC/SCI awards banquet. The award recognizes Zafran’s index for Accidental Conflict: America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives, by Stephen Roach, published in 2022 by Yale University Press.
7. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
June is always an exciting month at Editors Canada, and this year was no different. I hope those of you who were able to attend the conference enjoyed some of the fantastic sessions that were offered, and I hope many of you were also able to attend the annual general meeting.
The national executive council (NEC) met on June 11, 2023, for the last time before breaking for the summer. A summary of the meeting topics will be shared in the July e-news. As usual, there will be no NEC meetings in July or August, and the fall 2023 meeting schedule will be determined in July based on director availability.
On behalf of the NEC, I wish you all a happy, safe summer!
Maria Frank
President
The national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.