Tag: editor advice

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Alex Benarzi

Editing with Vision Loss: Accessibility Tips

September 19, 2024 by Alex Benarzi | 2 Comments on Editing with Vision Loss: Accessibility Tips

Editors with vision loss? It is not possible. After all, editing is a visual practice, isn’t it? How can you catch every typo and every errant comma in a manuscript when you struggle to see? Yes, I have heard these and similar comments. I am here this week to show you how I, a professional […]

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Two people are at a desk with papers, pens, and a cup of coffee. The dark-haired person holds a book and is leaning toward the light-haired person.
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Lucy Kenward

Last But Not Least: An Interview with Leslie Vermeer

August 22, 2024 by Lucy Kenward | Leave a Comment

Leslie Vermeer is a longtime editor and academic who teaches editing and publishing. She is also the author of The Complete Canadian Book Editor and, most recently, Last But Not Least, a book about proofreading that includes tips and practical exercises. She spoke with Lucy Kenward about her newest book. The following interview has been […]

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Alex Benarzi Holly Vestad

Free (or Cheap) Tools for Freelance Editors: Part 3

August 15, 2024 by Alex Benarzi | 2 Comments on Free (or Cheap) Tools for Freelance Editors: Part 3

Back in April, Editors Canada released the revised edition of Professional Editorial Standards, and we noticed the addition of IDEA (inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility) concepts. Understanding how language can be biased, coded, inaccessible, harmful or careless is foundational to the work we do as editors.  In this final article of our series on free […]

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Suzanne Bowness

Suzanne Bowness: An Editor’s Top 3

May 2, 2024 by Suzanne Bowness | 1 Comment on Suzanne Bowness: An Editor’s Top 3

In this series, experienced editors reflect on their Top 3 tools, rules and suggestions for clients and colleagues. Suzanne Bowness is a writer, editor and communications consultant. She has written for publications from The Globe and Mail to University Affairs magazine. Since 2002, she has provided content creation, editing and consulting services to corporate clients through […]

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Katherine Morton

Katherine Morton: An Editor’s Top 3

March 28, 2024 by Katherine Morton | Leave a Comment

In this series, experienced editors reflect on their top 3 tools, rules and suggestions for clients and colleagues. Katherine Morton is an Editors Canada certified copy editor. She has been editing throughout her more than 20-year career and has been freelance editing for the past few years. With a Master of Business Administration and a […]

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Ameera Ahmad

Seasoned Editors’ Tips for Newcomers

November 16, 2023 by Ameera Ahmad | 7 Comments on Seasoned Editors’ Tips for Newcomers

Making a mid-career change can be as thrilling as it is terrifying. When I decided to pivot into the world of editing and publishing from a career in legal and regulatory work, I was overwhelmed with questions, doubts and the general uncertainty that comes with stepping into a new field.  That’s when I realized that […]

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Two smiling people with thought bubbles above them stand on either side of a giant question mark. The short-haired person holds a laptop, and the long-haired person holds a dramatically oversized magnifying glass.
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Laura Bontje

Preparing for Traditional Publishing: Tips from Agents and Editors

June 29, 2023 by Laura Bontje | Leave a Comment

When a client comes to me for editing, one of my first questions is how they hope to publish. Why? Because an author who is self-publishing will use freelancers for each stage of the editing process, whereas an author who secures a traditional publishing contract will receive additional editing through their publisher.   The journey to […]

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Illustration of five people adding charts and graphs to an enormous book. One person stands on the ground, one uses a ladder, one sits atop the book, one stands on a graph on the page, and one stands on a stack of other books so they can bring the graphs down like artwork on cables.
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Melinda Martin

Document Prep Tips from a Book Designer

June 15, 2023 by Melinda Martin | 2 Comments on Document Prep Tips from a Book Designer

After a book has been professionally copy edited, a book designer will begin the layout. My goal is to help you, your self-publishing clients and their book designers work smarter, not harder. I often say, “It’s not the doing but the re-doing that costs.” More than just money, re-work costs us the most valuable asset […]

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Laura Bontje

Freelancing While Parenting Young Kids

May 25, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 7 Comments on Freelancing While Parenting Young Kids

Laura will be co-presenting “Introduction to Picture Book Editing” at Editors 23: Editors in Real Life, taking place from June 17 to 18 at Toronto Metropolitan University. Conference registration is limited, so reserve your spot now! Do you want to know the trick to keeping it together when freelancing with young kids? So do I. […]

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Gael Spivak

Leading a Team in a Corporate Workplace

May 11, 2023 by Gael Spivak | 1 Comment on Leading a Team in a Corporate Workplace

I’ve been leading a small team of writers and editors since 2014. Here are some tips I’ve figured out over that time. Play to people’s strengths Let people do what they enjoy and are good at (as much as possible). In my workplace, writers and editors are usually assigned subject areas. That makes sense, in […]

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Illustration of two happy people sitting in chairs with laptops. One wears a collared shirt, vest, and tie; they have light-brown skin, short black hair and a black beard and mustache. The second person wears a yellow dress and grey blazer; they have medium-brown skin, and their black-and-mauve hair is in a long braid.
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Suzanne Methot

Editing Indigenous Writing: A Nuanced Partnership

March 16, 2023 by Suzanne Methot | 11 Comments on Editing Indigenous Writing: A Nuanced Partnership

A lot of Indigenous writing is under-edited, because many non-Indigenous editors don’t feel like they have a way in to the text and are scared of making a mistake. Other times, it can be over-edited, because the editor has shoehorned the story into a format that reflects European values and beliefs. Some Indigenous writers are […]

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Audrey Jamieson

Encouraging Coworkers to See the Benefits of Editing

March 9, 2023 by Audrey Jamieson | 10 Comments on Encouraging Coworkers to See the Benefits of Editing

Working as an in-house editor often means you will be editing the work of untrained writers. You may come across colleagues who don’t want to be writing in the first place, so how do you convince them that your editing services are valuable? Sometimes you can’t. Sometimes people reject edits and say, “Scrap the whole […]

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Laura Bontje

Editing for Authors on a Budget

February 16, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 6 Comments on Editing for Authors on a Budget

As a freelance fiction editor, I find it incredibly rewarding to help an author shape their story or find their voice. And as an author, I know firsthand how transformative the insights of a strong editor can be. But professional editing can be expensive, so what do you do when an author has a limited […]

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Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa

Freelance Tips from an Editor with ADHD, Part 2

February 9, 2023 by Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa | Leave a Comment

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed how getting to know yourself well, setting up your environment for success and exploring scaffolding strategies are keys to freelance business success for editors with ADHD or other forms of executive dysfunction. In this article, I will share my next two tips: Embrace routines and self-care On […]

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Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa

Freelance Tips from an Editor with ADHD, Part 1

December 15, 2022 by Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa | 6 Comments on Freelance Tips from an Editor with ADHD, Part 1

Neurodivergent or neurotypical, freelance business owners share many of the same struggles: choosing a niche, finding clients, balancing admin time with billable time, juggling deadlines and allocating time, money and energy. In my previous article, I shared my story of how I discovered I had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) just as my editing journey was beginning. […]

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Laura Bontje

The Pros and Cons of Sample Edits

December 1, 2022 by Laura Bontje | 6 Comments on The Pros and Cons of Sample Edits

If you asked 10 editors how they approach sample edits, you’d probably get 10 different answers. Some editors charge for sample edits, some offer samples for free and some don’t do sample edits at all. Some editors begin on page one, and others edit an excerpt from the middle. So if you’re a new freelancer, […]

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Letitia Henville

How (And Why) I Developed a Digital Tool for My Freelance Clients — And Then Gave It Away for Free

September 13, 2022 by Letitia Henville | 1 Comment on How (And Why) I Developed a Digital Tool for My Freelance Clients — And Then Gave It Away for Free

This past June, I launched a new digital tool for academic writers — my preferred clients — at writingwellishard.com. This tool enables academics to compare features of their own writing with the features of a writing sample of their choice. For instance, users could see whether they write sentences that are, on average, longer or […]

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Illustration of a book lying open. A mountain landscape bursts from the pages as a rocket takes off, launching from the book into a cloud of letters and symbols.
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Laura Bontje

Editing Picture Books without the Pictures

September 6, 2022 by Laura Bontje | 2 Comments on Editing Picture Books without the Pictures

Picture books: the artwork is so integral that it’s part of the name. But unless you’re working with an author/illustrator, editing a picture book usually means analyzing a text-only manuscript. For contemporary picture books, the illustrations are more than adornments; they’re a critical part of the storytelling. At the manuscript stage, it’s a balancing act: […]

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Mary Rykov

Reflections on Mentorship

August 16, 2022 by Mary Rykov | 4 Comments on Reflections on Mentorship

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. — Lao Tzu The mentor role is ancient and storied. Mentor, in Homer’s Odyssey, is the friend of Odysseus who tutors Telemachus, Odysseus’s son. Athena, disguised as Mentor, steers young Telemachus’s search for his father. Those ancient Greeks did spin good yarns. Here I explore the […]

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Suzanne Bowness

Long Live Long-time Freelancing

July 5, 2022 by Suzanne Bowness | 7 Comments on Long Live Long-time Freelancing

My name is Sue, and I’m a long-time, full-time freelancer. While most of the time I’m in the trees of my business, once in a while I zoom out to the forest and think about how different my way of working has been from that of other people. For 20 years, I’ve been the only […]

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Lynne Williams

Safety and Respect: A Look at Editors Canada’s Workplace Harassment Policy

June 21, 2022 by Lynne Williams | Leave a Comment

In March, the Canadian Labour Congress released findings from a national survey on workplace harassment. It was the first of its kind in Canada and revealed that 7 in 10 workers have experienced some form of harassment at work. The study’s researchers also found an increase in online harassment since the start of the pandemic, […]

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Amy J. Schneider
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Amy J. Schneider

Amy J. Schneider: An Editor’s Top 3

May 24, 2022 by Amy J. Schneider | 1 Comment on Amy J. Schneider: An Editor’s Top 3

In this series, experienced editors reflect on their Top 3 tools, rules and suggestions for clients and colleagues. Amy J. Schneider has been a full-time freelance copyeditor and proofreader of fiction and non-fiction and the owner of Featherschneider Editorial Services since 1995. Since 2012 Amy has written articles and presented in-person and online sessions on […]

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Jen Campbell
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Chantelle Behrens

An Interview with Jen Campbell, Editors Canada Conference Keynote Speaker

May 17, 2022 by Chantelle Behrens | Leave a Comment

Jen Campbell is a bestselling author, award-winning poet and disability advocate. She has written 10 books for children and adults, spanning nonfiction, poetry, short stories and picture books. She reviews books on BBC Radio, is the books editor for TOAST Magazine, has an iTunes top 100 podcast called BOOKS WITH JEN and runs a YouTube […]

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Lorina Stephens
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Aerin Caley

An Interview with Lorina Stephens, Editors Canada Conference Keynote Speaker

May 3, 2022 by Aerin Caley | Leave a Comment

Lorina Stephens didn’t start her career in writing and publishing. She has been a manager and bookkeeper for companies as diverse as a civil engineering firm, Faberge of Canada, and her own custom glass installation company. She has also created and sold historically accurate clothing patterns and has explored other arts such as sculpture, printmaking […]

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