News, events, tips and updates from Editors Canada
In this issue:
1. CONFERENCE 2017: Get in. Get excited. Get involved!
2. KAREN VIRAG AWARD: Tell us about the editing heroes in your community
3. PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Recognizing Editors Canada’s stellar volunteers
4. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Jennifer D. Foster
5. GET INVOLVED: Volunteer opportunities to boost your resumé
6. SOCIAL MEDIA: Connect with Editors Canada online
7. OUTREACH: Editors Canada making connections at external conferences
8. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
9. OOPS AWARDS: Send us those slip-ups!
10. STAFF NEWS: Changes in the national office
11. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
1. CONFERENCE 2017: Get in. Get excited. Get involved!
Conference registration is now open and the schedule is online. Register before Monday, April 10 to take advantage of early-bird pricing!
Local experience
We’ve planned several events that showcase Ottawa–Gatineau, including a walking tour and a Thursday night welcome dinner. Our list of attractions and restaurants can also help you plan your visit. Find out more or contact Kristen Dolenko to sign up for the events.
Conference Buddies returns!
Considering coming to the conference, but hesitating because you’re worried you won’t know anyone? Sign up for the Conference Buddies program and get matched with a small group of other editors, including at least one who is familiar with Ottawa–Gatineau. You’ll connect with your group via email before meeting them at the Conference Buddies station onsite. Find out more or sign up now!
Promote your business!
Tables are still available for the 2017 Exclamation Mart! vendor fair. If you have a side business, marketable hobby, or a book you’d like to promote, please contact Nadia Aftab.
Beds for Eds
We’re still looking for editors in Ottawa–Gatineau who can spare a bed for colleagues who prefer not to stay in a hotel. If you need a bed or have one to offer, please email Sharon Stewart.
2. KAREN VIRAG AWARD: Tell us about the editing hero in your community
Who are the heroes of editing? They’re the individuals or organizations that go out of their way to raise the profile of our profession in their communities. Editing heroes are the ones who champion what editors do and how valuable we are.
Editors Canada’s newest award was created in memory of long-time association member Karen Virag, and in recognition of Karen’s many contributions to the profession. The Karen Virag Award recognizes the efforts of an editor or an organization to raise the profile of editing in their community.
Tell us about one of your editing heroes by submitting a nomination for the Karen Virag Award.
Submit your nomination
Nominees may be individuals or organizations, members or non-members. Nominations from members and non-members are welcome! Please help us spread the word about this award.
A nominee’s contribution may take a variety of forms, including one or more of the following:
- writing;
- public speaking;
- teaching;
- participating in broadcast or new media; and
- sponsoring editing-related activities and community building in Canada and abroad.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 7.
More information
For complete nomination instructions and other information about the award, visit the Karen Virag Award page.
3. 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.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 7.
For complete nomination instructions and other information about the award, visit the President’s Award page.
4. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Jennifer D. Foster
Jennifer D. Foster freelanced for several years before joining Editors Toronto. But she missed the teamwork and sense of accomplishment she got while working as an in-house editor and wanted to feel part of a community. Volunteering helps fill this void by providing opportunities to network, share, and learn about editing and writing. It’s given her a chance to connect with other Editors Canada members, meet and interview amazing editors such as Mary Norris, and mentor new colleagues. Jennifer states that the more she volunteers, the more satisfied she feels with being a member and an editor.
Having received sage advice and help from bosses, colleagues and freelancers during her career, Jennifer wanted to pay their kindness forward through mentoring. She’s volunteered as a mentor with Editors Toronto for the past five years and has also participated in a speed-mentoring session run by the branch. Jennifer says that mentees go through a remarkable transformation during their mentorship; they become more self-confident and keenly inspired. In return, they share their experiences and motivate her to be a better editor.
In addition to mentoring, Jennifer has helped with the copy editing and proofreading of Edition, edited marketing materials for national conferences and web copy for the Toronto branch, volunteered at the Editors Canada booth at The Word on the Street Toronto, and acted as seminars chair/vice-chair for Editors Toronto. And she currently writes and copy edits for BoldFace. These various volunteer roles have enabled her to hone her writing and editing skills, give back to the literary community, network with peers and strengthen her online presence.
Jennifer has nearly 20 years’ experience as an editor and a writer. She’s the owner of Planet Word and works with a wide range of clients on a variety of writing and editing projects. She’s currently writing her first novel and is also the administrative director of the Rowers Reading Series in Toronto.
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.
5. 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.
Contract development: Tell us about your freelance working arrangements
A review of our outdated standard freelance agreement template is under way and we’ve identified a number of changes to consider.
At the top of our list is a need to make the template relevant to freelance editors working on any of a range of projects in any Canadian jurisdiction. We also plan to update the contract to reflect the new Professional Editorial Standards, legal changes, and modern methods of working and communicating. Other changes involve making the document more user friendly and efficient.
The English version of the template will be revealed at the 2017 conference. A French version that also considers legal issues specific to Quebec will follow.
To help us develop a relevant template, we’d like to hear from members with brief descriptions of their freelance working arrangements. We especially want to hear how the agreement template may have failed you in that arrangement. Tell us your story! Email the task force.
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. 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.
6. SOCIAL MEDIA: Connect with Editors Canada online
Editors Canada is a national hub where members come together to support and assist one another, and to share professional insights and opportunities. Whether you work in-house or freelance, and whether you’re a student or a veteran editor, your community is here.
Are you participating in Editors Canada discussions on social media?
Our members-only Facebook group is a private place where we can talk, share information, and ask and answer questions about editing and whatever else people want to discuss. We also have a student affiliates Facebook group to support the next generation of editors.
Joanne Haskins, moderator of our members-only Facebook group, is pleased to announce the recent appointment of two co-moderators, Julia Cochrane (in Nova Scotia) and Lenore Hietkamp (in British Columbia). They’ll make a wonderful addition in our effort to have someone standing by for coverage across our vast geographical area and numerous time zones. Join the members-only Facebook group today and say “Hello!” (If you’re not already a group member, it won’t take us long to approve you.)
Joanne has also invited Facebook group members to share their Twitter handles; the goal is to network and build up our editing community on yet another social-media channel. If you’d like to join the list, share your Twitter handle in our discussion thread on Facebook. You can also subscribe to the list on Twitter.
7. OUTREACH: Editors Canada making connections at external conferences
We’re hard at work reaching out to editors and people who hire editors. This year, we’re participating in a number of industry events to talk about the association, the work editors do, and Editors Canada’s outstanding publications, programs and services.
Over the last few weeks, we met with educators and bibliophiles at the Reading for the Love of It conference in Toronto, and participated in les Jeux de la Traduction in Montreal.
Where to next? Later this month we’ll be at the American Copy Editors Society’s 21st national conference in St. Petersburg, Florida. If you’ll be attending the ACES conference, be sure to drop by the Editors Canada table to say hi to our snowbird representatives. (We are still looking for more volunteers to take a shift or two, so if you’d like to spend a couple of hours at the conference talking up the organization to other attendees, contact the sponsor table team leader, Elizabeth d’Anjou. It’s actually a great way to get to know people at a conference.)
And if you’re still mulling whether or not to go to Florida, remember that as an Editors Canada member, you get the ACES member rate thanks to our partnership agreement.
This year, our student relations committee is also reaching out to educational institutions to promote the editing profession and the support Editors Canada offers to students who are considering a career in editing. Look for Editors Canada at events like the Halifax Career Fair in September.
8. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
Editing Globally is an international editorial collective, launched by long-time Editors Canada members Janet MacMillan (Editors Toronto) and Madeline Koch (Editors Toronto), along with three other colleagues—Kelly Lamb in Toronto, Katherine Trail in Scotland and Etty Payne in England. It provides seamless and thorough editorial services to clients around the world. The five members have supported each other, referred work to each other, and worked together on a number of projects over recent years, so the collective was a natural step. More information is available at EditingGlobally.com, including periodic blog posts, and the collective tweets regularly at @EditingGlobally. They can be reached at info@EditingGlobally.com.
Gael Spivak (Editors Ottawa–Gatineau) was recently featured in CMOS Shop Talk (from the Chicago Manual of Style). The website has started a new series about the editor’s life, called Your Editing Stories. Gael’s piece, A Reluctant Editor, is the inaugural post.
In October 2016, Shari Yore (Editors British Columbia) received the Distinguished Editor Award from the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan. Shari was recognized “with deep appreciation” for her 15 years of outstanding service as editor of the International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education.
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.
9. OOPS AWARDS: Send us those slip-ups!
Don’t forget to send your submissions for the 2017 Oops Awards!
You’ve spotted humorous blunders in advertisements, not-so-scholarly journals, newspapers, bedtime reading, billboards, menus and signs around the globe. Help us recognize the best of the bad by submitting them for this year’s Oops Awards!
Visit the Oops Awards page for submission instructions and entry guidelines.
Submit your Oops Awards entries by Friday, April 7. Online voting begins in May.
10. STAFF NEWS: Changes in the national office
We are pleased to announce that Erica Ruth Kelly has joined the national office staff as membership and professional standards coordinator. Erica will be frontline support for our membership, coordinate our landmark professional certification program and the Programme d’agrément en révision linguistique, and provide administrative support for our twigs.
A Montreal native, Erica is fluently bilingual in English and French and has a background in the non-profit sector, specifically in arts education for under-served learners. She is also a writer and researcher who has worked with a wide range of publications and organizations. Welcome, Erica!
As Erica settles into her new role, Caitlin Stewart moves to training and development coordinator. Caitlin will continue to coordinate our annual conference and will also provide support for our webinars and publications. Rounding out the national office team are our senior communications manager, Michelle Ou, and executive director, John Yip-Chuck.
11. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
The national executive council (NEC) is meeting in Montreal on March 18-19! Want to know what we’ll be talking about? Check out the agenda. I’ll send a report to members a week or two after the meeting.
Don’t forget to nominate yourself or another member for the 2017–18 NEC!
Anne Louise Mahoney
President
Welcome to Editors Canada!
British Columbia
Quinn Anderson, Martin Castro, Alice Chang, S. Charles Coderre, Christine Krumrey, Karen LaPrairie, Tara Nykyforiak
Edmonton
Jordan Phillips, Elisia Snyder
Calgary
Ainsley Latta
Manitoba
Chantelle Dubois
Kitchener-Waterloo-Guelph
Jasmine Mangalaseril
Toronto
John Creery, Jessica de Bruyn, Alyssa DiBattista, Sandra Jean-Louis, Andrea Lynn Koohi, Suzanne Pledger, Sai Rodrigo, Gwen Schwarz
Ottawa–Gatineau
Victoria Gregory, Élodie Guitteaud, Lindsey Snow, Emily Stewart, Heather Woods
Quebec/Atlantic Canada
Andree Gaudet, Amélie Hamel, Alexia Moyer, Johanne Sergerie
Newfoundland & Labrador
Ellen Alcock, Linda Skinner
The national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.