THE EDITORS' WEEKLY

An Editor’s First Academic Conference

In the first week of 2025, historians swarmed Midtown Manhattan for the annual meeting of the American Historical Association (AHA), one of the largest associations of historians in the world.  While I hold a master’s in modern European history, I’m a relatively new freelance proofreader and copyeditor. I attended the conference hoping to learn more […]

Plain Language Is Not “Dumbing Down” Writing

“I want a refresher on my writing.”  “I want to improve my grammar.”  “My company sent me here.” These are the consistently similar answers I get in every writing class I teach to professionals when I ask what brought them to the course. During some recent clear, concise writing sessions I delivered to a large […]

Up the Creek: Extreme Editing Solutions

Sometimes, we are editing “up the creek”: we have taken on too much work, neglected a deadline or otherwise wound up under pressure to produce a large amount of work in a very short time. When you’re way up that creek and your paddle is far behind you, you may have to forge a new […]

Literacy in Canada: What You Need to Know

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tracks important statistics around the world. They assess literacy with a standardized measure called the Survey of Adult Skills, which is designed to be repeated every ten years. As advocates for the reader, editors should know as much about them as possible. The results of its first round were […]

Editors Need Emergency Plans

This post has been adapted from a presentation for the Editors’ Vine, a virtual group for Editors Canada members who face barriers to participation in face-to-face branch or twig meetings. Since everyone’s business needs are different, we recommend that you review your emergency plans with your financial and legal advisors. Most of us have at […]

Why Academic Editors Should Read Black Feminist Writing

Later this month, the academic editing book club will host Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, the author of Black Feminist Writing, for a 60-minute Q&A. This book club is run by the Academic Editing Special Interest Group, a collaboration of Editors Canada and the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA). About the book Black Feminist Writing: A Practical […]

Essential WordPress Tips for Editors

A thoughtfully designed WordPress site can do wonders for your editing services. It can beautifully reflect your organizational skills, attention to detail and eagerness to collaborate with clients.  And the best part?  You don’t need to be a tech whiz or have a hefty budget to enhance your online presence. Just concentrate on a few […]

A Book Club for Academic Editors

Participating in a book club offers a low-cost (or free! thank you, libraries!) opportunity for editors to engage in ongoing professional development and community-building. It’s not just the reading of the book that’s relevant: it’s the opportunity to discuss it with colleagues, debate its finer points and determine whether or not you want to integrate […]

Four Tips for Editing Science Fiction

Science fiction has been around for more than a century and has continued to evolve decade by decade.  From Dragonriders of Pern to Gideon the Ninth, there is a robust science fiction industry, which is a lot to take in. It can be pretty daunting to step into a space with so much going on. […]