As if you didn’t have enough politics to think about, it’s time to elect your 2013–2014 branch executive. Elections will take place at EAC-BC’s May 15, 2013, monthly meeting, the last before summer break. If you’ve ever considered volunteering for the organization, take a look at the opportunities below. And if you’ve never considered volunteering and never will, come anyway and have some wine!
To get involved, chat up someone on the current executive at the May 15, 2013, meeting or email the branch coordinator or chair of the committee that you’d like to join.
Elected positions
We will be electing the following executive positions:
The following volunteer positions are also available. These are not executive positions and not subject to election. If you’re interested in getting involved—but not ready to commit to an executive position—volunteering for one of these positions or on one of these committees is a great way to gain experience.
This summer, editor Cheryl Cohen will be offering four sessions of her hands-on editing workshop, which she describes as an “intensive, fun encounter.” Topics will include: substantive editing; copy editing; proofreading; the editor–writer relationship; and tips on how to become a professional editor. Each participant will receive an 18-page handout.
About the instructor:Cheryl Cohen is an experienced freelance editor who has worked on many high-profile books, including Miriam Toews’ widely read novel A Complicated Kindness, which won the 2004 Governor General’s Award for English Fiction. Cheryl spoke about the state of the publishing industry—and how writers should adapt—at the Professional Editors Association of Vancouver Island (PEAVI) May 13, 2013, meeting.
Time: 10h00–16h00
Cost: $85 for everyone who registers (with deposit) by August 3, 2013 (after: $100)
This summer, editor Cheryl Cohen will be offering four sessions of her hands-on editing workshop, which she describes as an “intensive, fun encounter.” Topics will include: substantive editing; copy editing; proofreading; the editor–writer relationship; and tips on how to become a professional editor. Each participant will receive an 18-page handout.
About the instructor:Cheryl Cohen is an experienced freelance editor who has worked on many high-profile books, including Miriam Toews’ widely read novel A Complicated Kindness, which won the 2004 Governor General’s Award for English Fiction. Cheryl spoke about the state of the publishing industry—and how writers should adapt—at the Professional Editors Association of Vancouver Island (PEAVI) May 13, 2013, meeting.
Time: 10h00–16h00
Cost: $85 for everyone who registers (with deposit) by June 29, 2013 (after: $100)
The Member Services Committee is looking for 1 chair (executive position) and 2–3 committee members (non-executive positions; appointed, not elected).
The Member Services Committee encourages membership in EAC and strives to improve the membership experience of prospective members, new members, and current members. Committee members welcome people at EAC-BC monthly meetings, answer telephone and email inquiries, assist the Communications and Social Media Committee at Word on the Street and at other public events, and work with the Professional Development Committee on seminars held outside the Lower Mainland. Any member in good standing may join this committee.
Time commitment (chair): 4 hours per month
Time commitment (committee members): 1–2 hours per month
The West Coast Editor Committee is looking for 5 committee members (non-executive positions; appointed, not elected).
The West Coast Editor Committee is responsible for producing EAC-BC’s online newsletter. Committee members are responsible for the entire editing and production process, from gathering and editing content to setting up production schedules, designing layouts, maintaining the style guide, and uploading content. Any member in good standing may join this committee.
Time commitment (co-chairs): 8+ hours per month
Time commitment (committee members): varies (committee members may choose to copy edit, proofread, or write articles)
The Programs Committee is looking for 1–2 committee members (non-executive positions; appointed, not elected).
The Programs Committee plans and coordinates the programs for EAC-BC’s monthly meetings. Committee members are responsible for ensuring that rooms are booked for the meetings, planning program topics, recruiting guest speakers, composing program blurbs and post-program write-ups for West Coast Editor, obtaining gift certificates for guest speakers, and introducing guest speakers at the meetings. Committee members are also responsible for recording speaker presentations and delivering the recordings to the webmaster for uploading to the EAC-BC web page. Any member in good standing may join this committee.
Time commitment: varies (committee members may volunteer on an event-by-event basis)
The Social Committee is looking for 1 additional committee member (non-executive position; appointed, not elected).
The Social Committee reports to the Programs Committee and is responsible for catering at EAC-BC’s monthly meetings and for maintaining the needed supplies. The committee is also responsible for organizing and hosting a dinner party each December and looking into the logistics of hosting outreach events in Victoria and the Okanagan. Any member in good standing may join this committee.
The Communications and Social Media Committee is looking for 1 chair (executive position) and 2 committee members (non-executive positions; appointed, not elected).
The Communications and Social Media Committee is responsible for EAC-BC’s communications via traditional and social media as well as organizing events for public and member attendance. Any member in good standing may join this committee.
Time commitment (chair): 4–5 hours per month
Time commitment (committee members): 2–4 hours per month (there are also many opportunities to volunteer on an event-by-event basis)
Want to hear about interesting literary and cultural events in BC? Want to keep up with professional-development opportunities from other organizations? Want your daily fix of amusing puns and other wordplay? You should be following @EditorsBC on Twitter, friending EAC-BC on Facebook, and perusing discussions in the EAC group on LinkedIn.
We will be streamlining our communications over the coming months, and the news and interest items from outside organizations that we once emailed to our membership will soon be available exclusively on our social-media sites and here on West Coast Editor.
So if you use Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn but are not taking advantage of EAC-BC offerings, now is the time to start. Branch and national news and events will continue to arrive in your inbox regularly.
P.S. Don’t fret, Gentle Reader—West Coast Editor staffers did not fall asleep while proofreading this page. “Teh Interwebz” is hacker speak (a.k.a. 1337 speak) for “the Internet.”
Couldn’t attend EAC-BC’s April 17, 2013, panel discussion on subcontracting? Listen to the audio recording.
Couldn’t attend EAC-BC’s April 17, 2013, panel discussion on subcontracting? The discussion featured editors Patricia Anderson, Amelia Gilliland, and Eve Rickert, who discussed what works and what doesn’t in the subcontracting relationship, no matter which side of the contract you find yourself on. The discussion was moderated by Frances Peck, EAC-BC programs co-chair.
Register now for EAC Conference 2013 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
This year, conference will feature sessions built around five themes: arts and sciences; business and government; career building; language and culture; and techniques and technologies. Four pre-conference workshops are also being planned.
The Lord Nelson overlooks the Halifax Citadel. It is within walking distance of pubs, cafés, restaurants, jazz clubs, cinemas, and theatres. Photo courtesy of The Lord Nelson.
The Lord Nelson is EAC’s official conference hotel: pre-conference workshops, conference sessions, Welcome Reception, and Saturday-evening banquet will be held there.
To qualify for a reduced EAC guest-room rate, book your room by April 12, 2013. Rates range from $119/night for a “Petite Room” to $189/night for a “Premiere Room.”
Reserve by phone: call 1-800-565-2020 (room code: Editors’ Association of Canada). Reserve online (room code: 37015126).
No plans before the April 17, 2013, EAC-BC meeting? Drop by the Elephant & Castle for a pay-as-you-go meal or drink. It’s a great chance to meet, mingle, network, gossip, debate, or just plain catch up with other editors. Members and non-members welcome.
Time: 17h00–18h45
Location:Elephant & Castle, 385 Burrard Street (Marine Building), Vancouver
EAC-BC has teamed up with SFU Publishing Workshops to organize PubPro 2013, an unconference for BC-based managing editors and publication production specialists happening on Saturday, April 13, 2013. With PubPro just around the corner, West Coast Editor checked in with organizer Iva Cheung to find out what’s going on behind the scenes.
WCE: What prompted you to organize PubPro 2013?
Iva Cheung: I’ve been wanting to do this kind of event for quite some time. A few years ago, when I worked in house at D&M Publishers, I created an editorial wiki, which ended up being enormously useful to and popular with our in-house and freelance staff. I’d been thinking of creating quality-control checklists as well, when I found out that Grace Yaginuma, an editor at Whitecap at the time, had already developed a brilliant checklist for proofreaders. I asked if I could adapt her checklist for our own purposes. She responded, “Of course!” and in turn asked if she could see my wiki; I was only too happy to share the link. At that point, we discussed how frustrating it was that those of us who develop and implement in-house editorial systems didn’t really have a forum to compare notes about these kinds of issues.
I took a first stab at filling this void at the 2011 EAC conference in Vancouver, where I led an open discussion group for in-house editors. Our group had an hour to talk about a massive list of potential topics, which, as one of my colleagues pointed out, could have filled an entire retreat. The feedback I got from that session was that we need more opportunities for in-house editors to brain share.
Ironically, it’s only now that I no longer work in house that I finally have the flexibility to plan something like PubPro. I decided to limit the event to production and project-management issues, because those are the ones that are most lacking in professional-development opportunities and that are best suited to the kind of peer-to-peer learning you get with an unconference format.
WCE: Why did you decide to make PubPro 2013 an unconference?
Iva: A few reasons, actually. First, I really wanted to keep the event affordable for everyone. Having worked in book publishing, I know how tight the purse strings can be for editorial and production staff. At an unconference, the participants are the speakers, so gone are the costs of speakers’ fees, as well as speakers’ transportation and accommodation costs. We’re keeping things simple and low key: no pre-printed name badges, no branded conference swag—just a good venue, a solid logistical plan, and a great team of volunteers.
Second, I knew that a lot of publication-production professionals have been at their jobs a long time, and they’re experts at what they do. They’ve each jury-rigged their own systems at their own organizations—some of which work better than others. There’s no one production guru who has all of the answers; the best way for people in managing editors’ roles to develop professionally is to hear what others are doing and learn from one another. An unconference fosters that kind of cross-pollination.
Finally, I wanted this event to be useful for the participants. Being a managing editor or production manager is so multifaceted that I didn’t want to be the one dictating what topics would and wouldn’t be discussed. With an unconference, the participants set the agenda, and they get to steer the sessions in the directions that they feel will be the most productive.
Oh—and I also want to mention that in addition to running the unconference sessions, we’re inviting freelancers to join us for the networking tea portion of the afternoon. If we’re going to have a gathering of managing editors, we certainly can’t pass up the opportunity to put them in the same room as those of our members who might want to work for them!
PubPro 2013 volunteers Lara Kordic (left) and Grace Yaginuma (centre) help Iva Cheung sort through materials for unconference goodie bags. Photo by Viola Funk.
Door prizes to be awarded at PubPro 2013 include “Book Production,” by Adrian Bullock and International Paper’s “Pocket Pal.” Photo by Iva Cheung.
Iva: I don’t want to jinx it, so let’s just say that I’m taking it one step at a time! I’d love for it to grow into an annual tradition and for it to prompt publication-production professionals to come together as a community. Of course I want the first year to be a success, but at the same time I recognize that these kinds of events often take a couple of years to build momentum.
If this year’s event works out, I’d not only like to run it again in BC but also consider offering a similar event as a pre-conference workshop at the 2014 EAC conference in Toronto. EAC-BC chair Peter Moskos has encouraged me to go that route, and that’s what I’m aiming for.
Iva: Response has been very positive so far; many people I approached about attending have said something like, “This is so needed,” or “This is the first time I’ve seen a professional development event for someone doing my kind of work.” Then again, I suppose only the final registration numbers will tell whether this enthusiasm translates into participation!
We are really fortunate to have the support of our sponsors—Friesens, Hemlock Printers, Ingram, and West Coast Editorial Associates—which allowed us to lower our event fees and to book an additional room to offer more options for sessions. And I’ve had a really supportive network of colleagues help with all aspects of planning.
WCE: What has been your biggest challenge in organizing PubPro 2013?
Iva: I’d say the most challenging part has been marketing the event to the right people. Publication project managers have all sorts of titles—managing editor, production editor, editorial coordinator, publishing director, and so on—but they all play basically the same role. I’ve found it hard to reach out to people, especially those in organizations that aren’t focused specifically on publishing necessarily but who still have to hire freelancers and create schedules and work to project budgets. In essence, I’m in a bit of a Catch-22: this event is needed precisely because there’s no established community of these kinds of professionals, but because there’s no established community, there isn’t one place I can go to promote PubPro.
WCE: How will you be spending the last few days before the event?
Iva: Obsessively checking the registration page to see how many participants we have! Seriously, though, we’ve booked the rooms, set up the registration infrastructure, and told as many people as we could about it. Until registration closes and we have the solid numbers to finalize catering and get our last-minute supplies and printing done, our efforts will be on getting as many people out to this event as we possibly can.
