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July 2017
Next meeting:
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
Annual General Meeting
As a member of Editors NSW, you are warmly invited to attend our first AGM as a branch of IPEd.
This is a great opportunity for you to find out more about the achievements of your wonderful, hardworking committee over the past twelve months. As well as confirming the results of the committee elections for 2017–18, we will be reporting on the year’s activities and outlining plans for the coming year, so please do come along and support us.
Attendance is free, and a light supper and drinks will be provided. For catering purposes, please make your booking at https://iped.memnet.com.au/MemberSelfService/EventBooking.aspx?selectedEventId=105.
6.30 pm for drinks and supper; 7.00 pm start.
Venue: Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street (near cnr Bathurst Street), Sydney.
September meeting:
Tuesday, 5 September 20176.30 pm for 7.00 pm start
Venue: Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street (near cnr Bathurst Street), Sydney.
Editors networks
InsideBook review 3
Member discounts 4
From the committee 4
Professional development 6
Melissa Faulkner has been in publishing for 20 years. She worked in-house for Melbourne University Press, Lonely Planet and Pearson Education, and has freelanced for various publishers, government organisations and in the arts sector. Her various roles have included commissioning, production, digital project management, custom project management and content development. Diversifying has given her a broad range of skills to promote. As more editing in traditional publishing goes offshore, she highlights the need to be a good networker to find where the work is available – where content is being written and edited. At the Editors NSW June meeting she presented her talk on networking.
Where to startI think a good starting point to begin the networking process is to think of all the potential clients to whom all your skills, work or background could appeal – then market yourself to them. Do not just rely on your main source of work orprevious, specific experience.
There is a variety of resources available to editors to see what other editors promote:• go through the IPEd Editors Directory and look at the websites of editorslisted there• look at websites of current andformer colleagues• a favourite website ishttp://carolynbain.com.au/editing-services/: an ‘arty site’, promotingwriting, editing and digital content• Helen Koehn’s websitehttp://editorialcombat.com/portfolio.htmloffers guidance on choosing a businessname and working in university, galleryand magazine publishing• the ‘Secret Editors Business’ Facebookgroup. continued on page 2
Photograph: Melissa Faulkner
Image: CC0
2 July 2017
It is also beneficial to create useful contacts through free networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Not only can you establish a group of informative contacts, you can use these networks to see how other editors promote themselves.I recently upgraded my website, and data analytics show it
was seen by more than 500 people in five days. This means my LinkedIn connections would have seen it and if people shared or liked the post, it has then been highlighted to all their connections.Building LinkedIn connections creates this opportunity.
You can connect with people from former workplaces. People change jobs, so they may welcome the familiarity of a past colleague, for example: Michelle Carlyle who was General Manager of Higher Education Pearson but is now an entrepreneur doing strategic coaching. Having a connection to a person with senior management experience gives me insights into executive-level connections and business approaches. Michelle knows that I am in contact with a variety of corporations, so there are potential clients for her through the LinkedIn associations. It is a network!You can also link with other people who are sole traders to
promote each other’s skills and businesses, where beneficial.Using such resources can be most effective if you choose
the ideas and words for your profile to take advantage of keywords that might be used in searches. For example:
I am a degree-qualified senior content manager and strategist. I love creating, sourcing and managing cross-platform content and targeting it smartly and accessibly to audiences, to meet business objectives. I also care deeply about building a healthy, satisfying team culture that values diversity, encourages ideas and creates an environment where people love what they do, respect others and strive to achieve.
Who you knowEditorial peers are a great resource. You can meet editors at a similar career point to you, unguarded, and vent about projects, compare prices, and discuss how to deal with a tricky author or client. My friend Michelle inspired me to go freelance many years ago. Michelle has been freelancing for 18 years and we can talk about our work confidentially and with total trust. This helps in the often-isolated world of freelance editing.Mentoring is another resource useful when working in
isolation or just starting out as a freelance editor. The national mentoring scheme offered by IPEd will match you with other editors at different points in their career. I was a mentee for Elizabeth Murphy in Canberra, for a grammar intensive. Now, I am a mentor on the business of editing. It is a rewarding experience and you can learn what is happening with different work experiences: being both mentee and mentor is a two-way street. Elizabeth and I keep in touch and I hear about what is happening on the Canberra editing scene. I share news about commercial publishing and she shares news about government agencies, for example. Another network established.
Using contract work to build new contactsContract work, often the staple of freelancers, offers both networking and professional development opportunities; you can extend your skills base, if you think outside the square.
continued from page 1
Communications roles, for example, can use editing skills, particularly if you are familiar with social media. I know a few book publishing professionals who are moving into web coordinator roles, for schools and community organisations. NGOs often have part-time and contract jobs available and this gives you a chance to showcase your skills and experience, and again a new network may be forthcoming. Two organisations in this area are http://ethicaljobs.com.au/ and http://artshub.com.au/. Last year I worked as a contract commissioning editor for
LexisNexis. I learnt about legal case studies and legislation, contacting legal professionals and academics as part of the process. This helps as a stepping stone to other corporate work.
The future is nowDigital content is a growth area and many organisations are investing heavily in this method of branding. You can research companies that are aligned with content you have worked on or you can undertake courses that help bridge that gap. See if people in your networks are working in those areas and approach them.Create an action-plan spreadsheet and categorise your
contacts. This enables you to keep a list of key points of communication with each contact and what follow up is to be undertaken, and when. Make it a daily task to approach or reconnect with someone on your list.
In summary• make a list of all the potential clients• use the wide variety of resources available• build a contact list• reconnect with past colleagues• connect peers and mentoring programs• word your profile to use keywords that you think will be
used in searches• use contract or part-time work assignments to make new
contacts• maintain an action-plan spreadsheet and use it daily.
Susie Pilkington
Photograph: CC0
3 July 2017
Hail! The new Macquarie
The new edition of the Macquarie Dictionary – the seventh – published on the last day of February this year – is a thing of beauty twice over: it comes in two volumes, A–K and L–Z. When not being interrogated, the two return to intimacy in a robust but elegant slipcase, though I have to report that they are, from there, a little hard to separate.The Macquarie Dictionary is promoted and subtitled as
‘Australia’s National Dictionary’. Who could dispute this, given its more than forty-year publication record? I am nevertheless curious as to why, between the sixth and seventh editions, the title and subtitle have been transposed. Must be a reason, I suppose.
The new edition, sans slipcase, weighs in at just under four kilograms, about the same as the previous edition. Now, however, with two volumes, it becomes less of a weight-lifting exercise to consult the good book. Some young and athletic authors, and editors keen to stay fit, may see this as a step backwards – there are always losers as well as those who come up trumps. The slipcase blurb reports that thousands of new words and senses have been added to the seventh. Since there is little difference between the extents of the sixth and seventh at around 1,750 pages, there must be tighter typography in the new edition. As with previous editions, the design is excellent. These
volumes are all-round functional and pleasing to the eye. It is easy to find what you are looking for and, when you get there, access to the information is untrammelled. Typesetting was done in India; the printing in China. Well, our northern friends might have made the glass, but the wine is ours.
The blurb reports that the seventh edition features, as well as the host of new words and senses already mentioned:• a comprehensive record of English as it is used inAustralia [I guess that is just what a national dictionary ismeant to do]• illustrative phrases, many from Australian literature,which show how a word is used in context• words and phrases from regional Australia [is that anothercountry?]• extensive usage notes• etymologies of words and phrases.
There is a foreword – located after the contents, I quibble –by nationally treasured author Kate Grenville who applauds
‘The change in the publishing world that brought about the wealth of Australian writing that we now enjoy also produced the Macquarie Dictionary … The dictionary gave a validity to Australian English that meant that it could no longer be swept aside by foreign editors.’
Too bloody right, sport! The Macquarie Word of the Year 2015 ‘captain’s call’ is
among the new entries in the seventh edition, as are the honourable mentions for that year, ‘lumbersexual’ and ‘deso’, and the people’s choice runners-up, ‘keyboard warrior’ and ‘wombat gate’. I initially imagined that ‘wombat gate’ might refer to a scandal surrounding the failure of a politician to declare the gift as a pet of one of these portly marsupials, possibly hairy-nosed, on their register of pecuniary interests.
It turns out that it is just a type of farm gate with a bit of a gully under it to let the lumbering beasties in and out during their nocturnal perambulations. Boring.Production of the new edition was no doubt too far
advanced for ‘fake news’, the 2016 winner, to make print. Perhaps by the eighth edition that scourge of the truth will be a thing of the past. One can but hope.Some entries from earlier editions have disappeared – for
example, that for Clarke [sic] Gable, star of, among other films, the classic Gone with the Wind. Interesting decision. Even-handedness applies, however: Vivien Leigh has also been blown away.Two of my pet hates are the serial murder and
unconscionable dilution of the meanings of the words ‘enormity’ and ‘dilemma’. I was delighted to see that their true primary definitions have been retained by the seventh-edition editorial team. Hyperbolic journos and pollies take note: the enormity of your sins has not gone unnoticed – stick to just the big problems guys.The new edition will cost you between $100 and $120,
depending on where you shop. With your purchase, you will also receive a one-year subscription to the Macquarie Dictionary and Thesaurus online. Awesome!
Ed Highley
(This review originally appeared in the May-June 2017 issue of The Canberra editor.)
Book review
Photograph: Pan Macmillan Australia
4 July 2017
At the July committee meeting we finalised the procedures for our first AGM as the NSW branch of IPEd. This is a wonderful opportunity for the committee to present details of the past year’s achievements and to highlight future plans and activities for the branch. You have all received notice of the event and we look forward to sharing the evening with those free to attend.
As we prepared for the AGM, starting last month, we are fortunate to have almost all the committee renominate for their roles, and to have received a nomination for the one role that will be vacated at the AGM. The new committee will be announced at the meeting.
Our budget officer, Russell Noakes, is finalising the budget for July to December 2017. This is vital so that national office has an understanding of our requirements to maintain Editors
NSW services to the branch members for the coming six months.
The website coordinator, Adam Raffel, reported that all links to the Editors NSW Editorial Services Directory (ESD) have now been taken down from the branch website. The national Editors Directory serves the professional membership for listings ($40 per year).
Our social media experienced a spike of shares recently for a post about why ‘tick-tock’ sounds correct, but ‘tock-tick’ doesn't. Something about ‘ablaut reduplication’. Check our Facebook page if you want to know what that is.
We announced the lucky registrants who are to be subsidised by Editors NSW to attend the IPEd national conference in September.
The ‘winners’ have been notified and will have their registration fees
refunded in return for reporting back to the members (via Blue Pencil newsletter or at a meeting) on an as-pect of the conference. It is good to be able to bring such a benefit to mem-bers and we see a great return from news of the conference that we could not otherwise bring to the greater membership.
That’s all for July.
Julie Ganner and Susie Pilkington
From the committee
Copy deadline for the next (August) issue of Blue Pencil
is Friday, 18 August.
http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au.
http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au.
5 July 2017
WorkshopsWriting and Editing Life WritingWednesday, 16 August 2017, 9.30 am – 4.30 pmPresenter:Rae Luckie has been mentoring, editing and facilitating writing workshops for 20 years. With a PhD in auto/biographical writing, she is a non-fiction mentor for the Australian Society of Authors, is the NSW Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) manuscript assessor, and has judged the FAW Walter Stone Award for Life Writing since 2010. Her published works include ‘Writing Through Grief’ in Dr Eric D Miller (ed.), Stories of Complicated Grief, ‘Love Began…’ in Selwa Anthony (ed.), What is Mother Love?, ‘Among My Souvenirs’ in Frank Moorhouse (ed.), Best Australian Stories 2004 and ‘It Might Come in Handy One Day’ in Mark Thomson (ed.), More Blokes and Sheds.
Description:With the increasing popularity of memoir and genealogy, there are many opportunities for editors in the field of life writing. Life writing includes memoir, autobiography, biography and family history, and each subgenre has its own specific requirements.This workshop is ideal for those interested in editing,
assessing or mentoring writers in this rapidly expanding field. It is also useful to those interested in techniques to improve their own life writing.The workshop covers:
• enhancing life writing: practical creative writing • ascertaining the client’s needs, expectations and intended audience • exploring possibilities: from memoir and family history to historical fiction • enriching writing: research and TROVE
• opening a can of worms: family secrets and the ethics of life writing • towards publishing: pitfalls and perils; copyright, defamation and permissions.This is an interactive workshop involving class instruction,
creative writing exercises and Q&A. You will receive a sample client questionnaire, sample publications and handouts addressing research resources and publishing issues. Participants are asked to bring some smooth, lined writing paper and a free-flowing pen, preferably with a wide barrel.
Venue for workshop:UTS Short Courses venueLevel 7, 235 Jones StUltimo NSW 2007
Cost of workshop: Members $220, Affiliate members $220, Non-members $350, Concession $132 (members distance rate more than 200 km from Sydney CBD). Includes all drinks and meals through the day, including tea and coffee at registration.
Upcoming workshopsOther Editors NSW workshops to be offered this year include: • ‘Writing for the Web’ with Grant Doyle • ‘Punctuation for Editors’ witht Glynis Osborne.
If you have any suggestions for workshops that would interest you, please email your ideas to our workshop coordinator, Lilla Wendoloski, at [email protected].
Lilla Wendoloski
Professional development
Image: CC0
6 July 2017
Editors NSW 2016–17 committee President: Julie Ganner
Email: [email protected]:
Zoë Hale Email: [email protected]: Rhonda Daniels
Email: [email protected] officer: Russell Noakes
Email: [email protected] councillor: Michael Wyatt
Email: [email protected] Board representative (NSW): Linda Nix
Email: [email protected] coordinator: Teresa Llewellyn-Evans
Email: [email protected] coordinator: Lilla Wendoloski Email: [email protected]
Website coordinator: Adam Raffel Email: [email protected]
Mentoring coordinator: Shannon Kelly
Email: [email protected] media coordinator: Shannon Kelly
Email: [email protected] editor: Elisabeth Thomas
Email: [email protected]
Freelancers lunch host: TBC
Email: [email protected]
Office manager: Susie Pilkington
Email: [email protected]
Editors NSWPO Box 828, Willoughby NSW 2068 Voicemail: (02) 9294 4999http://www.editorsnsw.com
© 2017 Editors NSWISSN: 2202-1361 (Online)
Blue PencilEditor: Elisabeth ThomasAssistants: Robin Appleton and Zoë Hale Blue Pencil is available in interactive digital format (PDF). Open with Adobe Reader to get the best results. Published: generally 11 issues a year (combined December – January issue).Your comments and contributions are welcome. Post them to the Editor, Blue Pencil, Editors NSW, PO Box 828, Willoughby NSW 2068, or email the editor at [email protected]
Copy deadline for the August issue is Friday, 18 August 2017.The views expressed in the articles and letters, or the material contained in any advertisement or attachment, are those of individual authors, not of Editors NSW.
Advertising ratesFull page $375; half page $200; one-third page $125; quarter page $100; one-sixth page $75 (half of one column). Circulation: approximately 400. Please note that the committee reserves the right to decide whether advertisements are appropriate for this newsletter.
MembershipEditors NSW is a branch of Institute of Professional Editors Limited.Details of memberships are available on the IPEd website http://iped-editors.org.
Professional listingUse IPEd’s national Editors Directory (ED) http://iped-editors.org/Find_an_editor.aspx for professional members.
Committee meetingsAll members are welcome to attend Editors NSW committee meetings, generally held on the second Tuesday of each month. Please contact the office manager for details if you wish to attend the next meeting.
IPEd contactsChief Executive Officer, [email protected] Officer, [email protected] Officer, [email protected] Officer, [email protected] Secretary, [email protected] Officer, [email protected] Image: CC0
