THE EDITORS' WEEKLY
Official blog of Canada’s national editorial association
Editing With the Seasons: Indigenous Storytelling and the Rhythm of the Land
Written by Kaitlinn Littlechild on behalf of the Indigenous Editors Association In Indigenous communities, storytelling is not just a method of sharing knowledge — it is a living relationship. Stories are shaped by land, language, kinship and the cycles of the natural world. There is a time and a place for certain stories. To authentically […]
When Two Neurodivergent Minds Meet (Part 2)
A Virtual Assistant and an Editor Share Their Process Last week, I described why I decided to hire a virtual assistant (VA) in June 2025, and shared Melanie’s responses to my questions. This week, Melanie interviews me. Melanie Lobo: Our first conversation was on Reddit — what made you reach out to me? Letitia Henville: […]
When Two Neurodivergent Minds Meet: A Virtual Assistant and an Editor Share Their Process (Part 1)
Even though I’m about to hit a decade of freelance editing — three years full-time — I still struggle with managing my business: getting invoices out; keeping on top of long-term projects; knowing what is coming to me when, and then tracking new pieces when they come in. My ADHD is a big factor in […]
Trans Day of Remembrance: Language and Representation Matters
November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance. Today, I will gather with my community to remember who and what we have lost this year. People. Rights. Safety. Soon we will dance and we will celebrate our joy as resistance. But today we grieve. I am proud to be a trans editor. I have a unique […]
Seven Ways to Connect with New Authors without Social Media
It’s a tale as old as Twitter. Social media’s promise of a direct connection with hundreds of writers waiting to hire me seemed like an ideal marketing strategy for a newly minted (and introverted) editor. But, in keeping with the too-good-to-be-true genre, what I got was a distraction. The busy-work of posting and the comfortable […]
Plain Language Resistance: Is “Plain” the Problem?
As a writer and editor who also teaches academic and business writing, I get asked a lot of language questions; it’s a regular and expected part of the job. One recent question, though, caught me by surprise: “How can I justify using plain language to my boss, who’s resistant to it?” The persistence of resistance […]
Substantive Editing Versus Developmental Editing
Editors are notorious for having many names for subtly different kinds of editing — line editing, stylistic editing, substantive editing and copyediting. This article focuses on substantive editing. It’s my favourite service, and I believe it provides the best value to both academics and fiction authors. Developmental editing: A new name for substantive editing? Editor […]
Review: QuickStyle from Hazel Bird
As a professional editor, I am always on the lookout for ways to increase my efficiency and improve communication with clients. So when I learned about QuickStyle — a style sheet template that can be tailored to fit any project and client — I was intrigued. Hazel Bird and I are colleagues at the Chartered […]
From Editing to Writing: An Interview with Stephanie Watterson
This week, we interview Stephanie Watterson about writing and publishing her children’s book, Septopus. Want to be interviewed about your editing work? Contact us. What is your editing background? Back in 2020, during the pandemic, I took a digital and print publications program and from there I did some freelancing. My hopes were to get […]
Six Tips for Editing Fantasy
Authors often create whole new worlds in fantasy, which can be daunting for editors new to the genre. But the scope and creativity are also why fantasy novels are so much fun to work on. Here are six areas to consider as you dive into editing fantasy fiction. 1. Be familiar with the genre and […]
The Editing Journey
I was tempted to subtitle this post “How writing a blog led to me closing my business,” but that is only partially true. I got the idea as I was creating my just-in-case file after my post on that subject in the spring. However, the full story is more nuanced (isn’t it always?), and many […]