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publishing

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DISPATCHES 5: How to Get a Job in Publishing

  Always, ALWAYS, be prepared to talk about what you’re reading. Despite the auspicious title of this article, I can’t actually tell you how to get a job in publishing. Fewer and fewer jobs are opening up in this industry every day, and young people are having to get pretty …

Golf balls and stones on sand under water.

GETTABLE GRAMMAR: Taking issue with “issues”

I think I remember the first time I heard the word issues used as a synonym for problems. I was watching a long-forgotten television sitcom, and one character commented on another’s weird behaviour by saying, “She has issues.” She overenunciated the word issues and at the same time made little …

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DISPATCHES 4: What’s an Intern Worth?

So now that you know what editorial interns do and you have some tips to get you started, I’m sure you’re wondering how the editorial staff really feels about interns. This question was burning in my mind when I started at Random House Canada. With so many interns coming in (up …

A tied bundle of black-and-white newspapers with a bright blue computer mouse seemingly plugged into the stack, signifying a relationship between print and digital news.

What Do Editors Need To Know Now?

The volatile state of the publishing industry today—and, by extension, the editing profession—can sometimes feel pretty daunting. Digital disruptions to the book, magazine, and newspaper segments of the industry in particular are like an ongoing series of earthquake tremors beneath what previously felt like steady ground. Technological innovations have brought …

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DISPATCHES 3: An Intern’s Survival Guide

For all the good that comes out of an internship, sometimes being an intern can be tough. Interns are dropped into a completely new environment where everyone has more experience than they do. It’s important that they make a good impression, but, at the same time, interns’ skills are only …

Two workers stand at a printer discussing the contents of some sheets of paper.

DISPATCHES 2: What’s in an Internship?

When I enrolled at Ryerson in the fall of 2011, I took as many editing courses as I could. Copy editing, proofreading, grammar, substantive editing…. The more courses I took, the more I loved working with words. After years of university, here I was, finally surrounded by people who thought …

A woman is carrying a huge stack of hardcover books. She is standing in front of an institutional green brick wall on which there is a clock that says 3 o’clock.

DISPATCHES from an Editorial Intern

Outside Looking In I decided I wanted to go into publishing in early 2011. It was a good solution to my problems at the time. Problems like why I didn’t want to fill out arduous grad school applications and why I wouldn’t apply to law school (as members of my …