News, events, tips and updates from Editors Canada
In this issue:
1. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Registration closes Friday, October 26
2. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Heather Buzila
3. BOOST YOUR RESUMÉ: Get involved
4. PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS: The Editors Canada career path infographic is here!
5. MEMBER SERVICES: Get mentored
6. PARTY PLANNING: Getting ready for our 40th birthday
7. CONFERENCE 2019: Join us in Halifax
8. TWIG NEWS: Editors Nova Scotia update
9. MEMBER NEWS: Tell the world about your accomplishments
10. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
1. PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: Registration closes Friday, October 26
The registration deadline for the 2018 professional certification exams is just a few days away. Be sure to register by Friday, October 26, to write the 2018 exams in Structural Editing and Proofreading.
If you’re thinking about becoming a Certified Proofreader or Certified Structural Editor, keep in mind you won’t be able to write these exams again until 2020. Copy Editing and Stylistic Editing will be offered in 2019.
Exam date: Saturday, November 17, 2018
Exams offered: Structural Editing (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and Proofreading (2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
Locations: Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa
Register now!
Learn more about Editors Canada professional certification.
2. VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: Heather Buzila
Heather Buzila joined Editors Canada in 2014 and currently serves as the regional director of branches and twigs for Western and Eastern Canada. From June 2017 to July 2018, she was the coordinator of Editors Edmonton. She also served as the social media coordinator for the 2018 Editors Canada national conference.
“I really enjoyed working on the conference committee,” says Heather. “It was great to be able to connect with editors from across the country during our meetings and to get to see how conferences are planned and organized.”
After changing careers in 2007 (she was previously a high school band teacher), Heather has edited fiction and non-fiction books, and professional development modules for nurses. She now works as an editor for course materials at Athabasca University in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. How does she balance her life of work, volunteer commitments and family life? “I just remind myself to make a list and do one thing at a time and everything gets sorted out in the end.”
What she loves about volunteering is that she has met so many incredible people who are willing to help and offer advice. Heather says, “I see volunteering as my way of promoting editing as a career and Editors Canada as an organization that benefits editors across the country.”
What does the future hold for Heather? “I have a passion for history and archaeology, and I want to be Indiana Jones when I grow up,” she says. “Maybe the world’s first editor-archaeologist hybrid?”
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.
3. BOOST YOUR RESUMÉ: Get involved
Want to stand above other contenders? Consider volunteering for Editors Canada. Volunteering has many benefits for the association, as well as being beneficial to your career. Engaged members and affiliates work with influential members of the publishing and communications industries, learn new skills (at any experience level), expand their portfolios and enhance their career options.
Sponsorship coordinator, Halifax conference
Do you like money? Of course you do! The Halifax conference team is looking for a second sponsorship coordinator to help us raise some (sorry, you don’t get to keep any). This task involves contacting the companies that normally support our conferences, plus researching and contacting potential new sponsors, both locally and nationally. If this interests you, please reply to conferencevolunteers@editors.ca. Thanks!
Meeting Professional Editorial Standards
Are you looking to brush up your editing skills? The Meeting Professional Editorial Standards workbooks are currently undergoing a makeover and will be coming to you fresh-faced in 2019 with a brand new title—Edit Like a Pro—and a new digital-friendly format. First up: Proofreading and Structural Editing. Get excited!
The team is about to start tackling the Copy Editing and Stylistic Editing books, as well. If you think you would like to be a reviewer, or if you have some thoughts you’d like to share about an exercise in either of those books, get in touch with Elizabeth d’Anjou.
Student relations committee
New members have joined the student relations committee. Mark Grill took the baton from Wendy Barron as chair, and Robin Larin, Uchenna Osigwe and Monique Ryley have graciously offered their valuable time to support the committee’s efforts. We are guided by two veteran members, Ann Kennedy and Alex Schofield.
This committee’s work is vital to Editors Canada’s strategic plan, and new volunteer members are sincerely welcome, wanted and appreciated!
Really. Please join us! It’s easy and we’re super fun!
Our focus is spreading the word to students at Canadian post-secondary institutions about Editors Canada, its student affiliate program and editing as a career.
Why? Because recruitment of new student affiliates leads to increased membership in the association and helps prepare the next generation of editors.
For that purpose, we are arranging for Editors Canada members to visit classrooms at schools that offer editing and publishing courses. We will be finalizing presentation materials (five-minute PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation and basic script to follow) over the next week or so.
We will be contacting those who previously volunteered to do a classroom visit and we are interested in new volunteers for this important outreach opportunity.
Get involved. You’ll be glad you did!
Managing editor, Volunteer Handbook
The Editors Canada volunteer management committee is in search of a seasoned volunteer to take on the role of managing editor for our Volunteer Handbook project. In this role, you would be responsible for managing the project overall, assigning work to writers, editors, and other volunteers, liaising between the Editors Canada national executive council and the project volunteers, and giving copy editing feedback to less experienced volunteers. If this opportunity interests you, please email volunteer_management@editors.ca.
4. PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS: The Editors Canada career path infographic is here!
The profession of editing is changing. It’s less focused on traditional publishing than in previous years, but it remains a sound career choice for many Canadians, both in-house and freelance.
To encourage membership growth and maintain current members, the communications and marketing committee has developed an infographic that promotes all of the association’s benefits and services, and how they can be applied to an editor’s career advancement.
The committee shared a preview of the infographic for member feedback in June. Over the summer, they refined the infographic based on the feedback received. We are pleased to announce the infographic is now complete and is ready for download.
Pathways to Success with Editors Canada
Download the Pathways to Success with Editors Canada infographic now. (1.33 MB)
About Pathways to Success
Riffing on a popular board game concept, this bilingual infographic allows anyone interested in editing to be able to plot themselves on a path based on where they are in their career—from student right through to junior, experienced and senior editor.
Once you’ve plotted yourself on the path, you can see what Editors Canada benefits and services are available at your career level so you can continue on the path to the next level.
Help spread the word
Editors Canada is the only national association of editors in Canada. We’re committed to supporting editors at every stage of their careers, and to promoting editing, our members and our association.
Please help us to promote the importance of our association to the editing profession by sharing this infographic to all of the editors and potential editors you know.
What’s next?
The committee’s original plan was to mail a print version of Pathways to Success with Editors Canada to all members and student affiliates, and to distribute copies at local events. At the moment, the association’s budgetary priorities are elsewhere so printing is on hold, but we look forward to distributing a print version as soon as we are able to do so.
The committee also plans to integrate concepts from this piece into the association website and to produce a second version of the infographic with the French text presented first. Stay tuned for these exciting next steps.
5. MEMBER SERVICES: Get mentored
Many successful people have been mentored. Whether the mentorship is formal or informal, it goes beyond what you can learn from courses and books. As mentor Trish Morgan points out in The Editors’ Weekly, “the best editors have learned from mentors and the best mentors keep on learning.” Read “Lifelong Learning for Mentors and Mentees” to learn about Trish’s experience as a mentor.
When asked about her first mentorship term, Sarah Jefferies, PhD, said, “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.”
Trish and Sarah were matched by the mentorship committee. The mentee then has a free, two-hour meeting with their mentor to confirm that it’s a good fit. A fee of $250 covers the cost of administering the program and a modest honorarium for the mentor. The program is two months long and can be extended to six months.
To apply to be a mentor or a mentee, visit the John Eerkes-Medrano Mentorship Program page.
6. PARTY PLANNING: Getting ready for our 40th birthday
Get ready to celebrate! Editors Canada celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2019, and the 40th anniversary task force is ready to get the party started. Watch the Editors Canada website, Active Voice and our social media feeds for interesting anniversary-themed content, beginning in late 2018 and lasting throughout 2019.
The 40th anniversary is an opportunity to honour our heritage, celebrate our achievements, and promote our objectives to editors, communicators and publishers in Canada and abroad.
Do you have an interesting story or photo to share about a memorable moment in Editors Canada’s history? Help us celebrate our successes and recognize the efforts of members and volunteers during the past 40 years by sending your ideas and content submissions to Janine Harker.
7. CONFERENCE 2019: Join us in Halifax
The 2019 Editors Canada conference is in Halifax next June! We’re really excited to be host city again and hope you’ll join us for some fun, frolicking and fascinating sessions!
To get the ball rolling, we have secured travel discounts and a reduced rate at the host hotel, the Westin Nova Scotian.
Please visit the conference website regularly for updates on these and other details.
See you soon!
Halifax conference committee
8. TWIG NEWS: Editors Nova Scotia update
It’s been a busy time for Editors Nova Scotia! On September 15, the twig took part in The Word on the Street in Halifax, sharing a space with the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia. The twig reports meeting lots of interested visitors and distributing information about Editors Canada and a list of local editors for hire.
The twig has also been hard at work on social media promotion, distributing Editors Canada calendars to the winners of its Punctuation Day (Monday, September 24) contest.
What’s next? Plans are in the works for a day trip to Kentville, Nova Scotia, to take in Wayzgoose at Gaspereau Press on Saturday, October 20.
Wondering what’s happening in your neck of the woods? Visit your branch or twig page to find out about news and events in your area.
9. MEMBER NEWS: Tell the world about your accomplishments
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.
10. NEC: Notes from your national executive council
Instead of having an update from the president, we decided to give the floor to our new directors. They received no instructions except to “give your impressions of being on the national executive council as new directors.” These are their words, uncut.
A few months into my first term, I’m learning about fiduciary responsibility and putting the best interests of the association first and foremost. I’m more familiar with our policies, procedures, and governance, and am getting comfortable with ambiguity, competing priorities, and conflicting interests and desires.
– Wendy Barron
Getting to meet and talk in person with the other directors about Editors Canada issues was very helpful and rewarding. And I was very impressed with how efficiently the chair ran the NEC meeting in September—we got through everything on the agenda and ended on time!
– Heather Buzila
Back on the NEC: I’m very happy to be back on the NEC again as francophone affairs director. I believe I can help develop more services for francophone members, attract new francophone members and increase awareness of the value of the editor’s work.
De retour au CAN – Je suis heureuse d’être de retour au CAN, comme directrice des affaires francophones. Je veux contribuer à mettre sur pied plus de services pour les membres francophones; à attirer de nouveaux membres francophones et à faire connaître la valeur ajoutée qu’apporte le travail des réviseurs.
– Sandra Gravel
I’ve taken part in full-day meetings before, but this was my first two-day meeting. I was in awe. Here are a few points to quantify things.
- The 13 people around the table and 1 on Zoom included freelance and in-house editors, proofreaders and marketing and communications professionals working in science, sports, accounting, university, government, books, periodicals, and language services.
- We discussed 30 agenda items during 11 hours of meetings (not including breaks). We touched on every committee, branch, twig, and initiative, discussing finances, setting priorities, and solving problems.
- To prepare for the meeting, we had 38 documents, including 292 pages of documents and 7 spreadsheets.
What an amazing, diverse group of people directing so many products, services and supports for member editors across the country. And that’s just the NEC. Those reports were created by hundreds of volunteer members. They are the ones doing the leg work and following through on decisions made. Yes, I am in awe.
– Virginia St-Denis
The national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.