In this series, editors share their experiences, insights, and tips on the practical aspects of working as an editor. Previously in “Editors Advise” we’ve covered such topics such as training, resources, and professional development for editors. Part 2 of this instalment is a continuation of Part 1: Four more editors share their thoughts on finding in-house work.  What advice would you give to editors hoping to work in-house? Josephine Mo, acquisitions editor at Canadian Scholars & Women’s Press My path into publishing was not a linear one. I made a leap of faith to quit my form ..read more

by Maia Kowalski In today’s digital world, there are more readers of online content than ever before. Sure, you want to make your content engaging, shareable, and evergreen, but above all else, it should be accessible.  According to the World Health Organization and the CDC, 16 percent of the world’s population has a disability. That’s over one billion people! Much of the remaining population—although not disabled or identifying as such—has accessibility needs or requires accommodations. So, how do we ensure everyone has equal access to online content? Photo by KOBU Agency  ..read more

A career as an editor is often a solo adventure, especially if you’re a freelancer. So, we thought one way to better connect with fellow editors was to ask them to submit their responses to a set of questions based on the Five Ws: who, what, where, when, and why. Read on for some thought-provoking, enlightening tidbits from those of us who choose to work with words to earn our keep. Please tell us a little about yourself, the kind of work you do (and where you live), and how long you’ve been an editor. I started freelancing in 1995, right out of the gate, without first working in-house, break ..read more

In this series, editors share their experiences, insights, and tips on the practical aspects of working as an editor. In previous “Editors Advise” instalments, we’ve covered such topics such as training, resources, and professional development for editors. For Part 1 of this pair of posts, we asked four editors for their thoughts on finding in-house work.  Image by Gerd Altmann from PixabayWhat advice would you give to editors hoping to work in-house? Shirarose Wilensky, editor at House of Anansi Press The best way I have found for an editor to get their foot in the door if the ..read more

A career as an editor is often a solo adventure, especially if you’re a freelancer. So, we thought one way to better connect with fellow editors was to ask them to submit their responses to some questions based on the Five Ws: who, what, where, when, and why. Read on for some thought-provoking, enlightening tidbits from those of us who choose to work with words to earn our keep. Please tell us a little about yourself, the kind of work you do (and where you live), and how long you’ve been an editor. My career began when I met a neighbouring editor up in Parry Sound, Ontario, back in 1997 ..read more

In this column, members of the editing community share what’s on their (physical) bookshelves and highlight a few notable titles. In our previous instalment, editors shared such treasures as Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses and Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. If you’d like to show us your bookshelf, or part of it, let us know! Michelle Waitzman (she/her) is a Plain Language consultant and trainer, non-fiction author, writer, and editor. Her bookshelf is in Scarborough, Ontario. This shelf has my word-nerd b ..read more

In this series, editors share their experiences, insights, and tips on the practical aspects of working as an editor. In our previous “Editors Advise” instalment, nine editors shared their thoughts on a range of topics, including the financial viability of freelancing and the importance of social media. For this edition, five editors were asked if they are compensated for all the non-editing tasks they do. Photo by Mathieu Stern on UnsplashHow much time per day (or per week) do you spend on non-editing tasks for your business? Do you get paid for those hours by working ..read more

by Natalia Iwanek As an editor with a specific focus on inclusive language—and as a disabled person—I often have conversations about disability-affirming language. Many of these conversations centre on person-first (person with a disability) versus identity-first (disabled person) language. Foto de Christina @ wocintechchat.com en UnsplashIdentity-first language: style choices, style guides, and resources While I affirm those who use person-first language, in my editing and in my personal life I am a proponent of identity-first language. Although I use various res ..read more

In this column, members of the editing community share what’s on their bookshelves and mention some titles that are noteworthy to them. Books by Ursula K. Le Guin, Cheryl Stephens, and Sally Foster Wallace were highlighted in our previous instalment. In this, our fourth “Bookshelf” post, editors in Brampton, Vancouver, and Toronto share their favourites. If you’d like to show us your bookshelf, let us know! Erin Della Mattia (she/her) is a freelance editor. Her bookshelf is in Brampton, Ontario. My editing and writing books take up a small section of the non-fiction shelf of the bookcase ..read more

by Natalia Iwanek In the recent past, I had the privilege of attending an Editors Canada webinar in which Greg Ioannou talked about the importance of finding an editorial niche. Admittedly, incorporating this advice into my career took me longer than I would have liked, but, ultimately, it altered the way I approach the editing sphere. Photo by Rupert Britton on Unsplash For quite some time, I was a bit of a “generalist” editor. While I felt sure that my skills lay in copy editing and stylistic editing, I could not shake the feeling that, perhaps, I also needed to take additiona ..read more