I’m a new editor, and over the course of the past year or so, I’ve been searching for any and every tool to help hone my skills and launch my career. One of those tools was the Editors Canada Editing Essentials qualification. I thought that speaking on my experience with …
You have just embraced editing as your new career. You have some editing experience, just not the five years recommended to sign up for an Editors Canada certification test. How can you convince prospective clients or a potential employer that you do have editing skills? The certification steering committee has …
Not so many years ago, administering a survey to get feedback from stakeholders (e.g., clients, members) was a time-consuming and expensive venture. These days, conducting a survey study has become much simpler with the advent of web-based survey tools. But perhaps the process has become a bit too quick and …
Writing in a large organization is usually done “by committee.” That’s a challenging process at the best of times. After doing a first pass, which almost invariably contains more edits than the writers expected, I’m often asked to sit down (these days, virtually) and work though my comments with them. …
Last year, when Peerwith management asked me whether I could revise a paper written in Overleaf — an online LaTeX editor for the production of technical and scientific documentation — I saw it as a learning opportunity. Working as an academic editor through Peerwith.com meant I dodged the many changes …
Having a mentor is often invaluable for workers in their early to middle careers. Courses, study groups, guest speakers and conferences all help them learn their trade. But one-on-one interaction with a wise and supportive mentor is an incredibly important component of the learning curve. Let’s not forget, though, how …
The key to a successful freelance business is a steady supply of projects. First, decide how many hours a week you’d like to work — 20, 40 billable hours? — and then set out to achieve your goal. Your professional life and income will become almost predictable. Here are some …
As editors, we can never stop learning. Whether it’s to resolve specific questions, maintain a credential or generally stay on top of our field, we have to keep up with a dizzying array of books, articles, blogs, newsletters, interviews, Twitter chats, Facebook posts, webinars — and the list goes on. …
“Every word is gold,” my author said, “but I suppose you’ll have to shorten it.” Indeed I will: this book manuscript totals 180,000 words, and the trade publisher wants a 40 percent cut. That will be tough. Editors often need to reduce text. Newspapers, magazines, brochures, textbooks and reference materials …
How quickly can you edit and still do a good job? In another life I was an editor for a financial and business news service, and I was amazed at how quickly reporters and editors could churn out thousands of words, yet maintain high standards. I believe you can learn …