THE EDITORS' WEEKLY

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Aaron Dalton

The Ethical Imperative for Plain Language

September 10, 2019 by Aaron Dalton | 9 Comments on The Ethical Imperative for Plain Language

I used to speak of plain language in terms of it being “the right thing to do” and also the most effective thing to do from a utilitarian perspective (i.e., it gets results). But then I came across Russell Willerton’s book Plain Language and Ethical Action: A Dialogic Approach to Technical Content in the 21st […]

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Virginia St-Denis

Understanding My Reading Communities

September 3, 2019 by Virginia St-Denis | 8 Comments on Understanding My Reading Communities

While the communities changed, the need to connect with newspaper, magazine, journal, and website readers remains. However, how that’s done has changed.

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Wilf Popoff

Wasted Words: Professionalism

August 27, 2019 by Wilf Popoff | 8 Comments on Wasted Words: Professionalism

My phone chimes. It’s one of President Donald Trump’s people. Desperate Donald has written a book he hopes will cinch his re-election next year. But it needs a good editing. Can I do this? Of course I can. The question is, will I? The Donald is not my favourite politician. Far from it. The very […]

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Brendan O’Brien

The Aging Editor

August 20, 2019 by Brendan O'Brien | 19 Comments on The Aging Editor

A few months ago, some editors shared articles on Facebook about editing and aging. I didn’t read them properly, but I saw some of the comments. I recently turned 59 and have been a professional editor for more than three decades. I’m getting quite close to an age at which many people retire. What has […]

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Jessica Coles

Alone at the Intersection of Editing and Engineering

August 11, 2019 by Jessica Coles | 6 Comments on Alone at the Intersection of Editing and Engineering

This post is part of a new series of case studies by and for in-house editors. The focus of this series is on the personal experiences and various roles of in-house editors. A post will appear on the Editors’ Weekly every other month. If you’re interested in writing a post for this series, please email the Member Services Committee.  […]

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Marianne Grier

Lessons from the Big Buddha

August 6, 2019 by Marianne Grier | 2 Comments on Lessons from the Big Buddha

A recent family adventure took me to Phuket’s Big Buddha. As the name suggests, this marvel is a giant Buddha stretching 45 metres into the sky, overlooking the Andaman Sea. One of the top tourist sites on the island, the Buddha sits peacefully on his mountaintop, his white Burmese jade marble body glinting in the sun. […]

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Virginia Durksen

Inner Editor: My Big Editing Adventure

July 30, 2019 by Virginia Durksen | 14 Comments on Inner Editor: My Big Editing Adventure

The big adventure isn’t always in the story. Sometimes it’s in the editing. A few years ago I spent the morning with two classes of junior high students to talk about how to give editing feedback to each other. They were writing adventure stories. Part of their assignment was to find a magazine photo on […]

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Anita Jenkins

Iva Cheung: Winner of the 2019 Karen Virag Award

July 23, 2019 by Anita Jenkins | 6 Comments on Iva Cheung: Winner of the 2019 Karen Virag Award

The annual Karen Virag Award recognizes exceptional efforts by an individual or organization to raise the profile of editing in their community. A highly accomplished member of Editors Canada, Virag died in 2014. Recipients to date are Nancy Flight, Virginia Durksen, James Harbeck and Iva Cheung. Editors Canada’s awards season always presents the judges with […]

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Aaron Dalton

Empirical Editors: Acronyms

July 16, 2019 by Aaron Dalton | 13 Comments on Empirical Editors: Acronyms

Background I’m an in-house editor for the Alberta Energy Regulator. Authors are required to work with our group as they move towards publishing their documents. It’s essential that we cultivate and nurture relationships of respect and trust. One element of that is always being able to rationalize and justify our recommendations. There’s no room for […]

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Frances Peck

Vocation, Avocation: Margery Fee and Canadian Usage

July 9, 2019 by Frances Peck | 6 Comments on Vocation, Avocation: Margery Fee and Canadian Usage

We editors have our own celebrities. At the March meeting of Editors BC, which featured Stefan Dollinger, editor-in-chief of the DCHP-2 (A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, second edition), a name on the guest list caught my eye. Could it be? Really? It was. In the audience was Margery Fee, associate editor of the […]

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