Profiled: Leanne Johnson

 

What do you do work-wise?
I have a lot of jobs these days. My main job is making art. I am a text-based artist, which means I work with words, but I work more like a visual artist than a writer. I began teaching in 2010, and I teach publishing and editing courses at SFU and Langara. I also work as a publishing consultant, most recently, with the Banff Centre Press. Making art, teaching and consulting are often like working on a puzzle. That is what interests me. How to make something work, whether it is a story, a lesson or a business plan, curiosity drives me as well as a need to figure out the shape of things.

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From Proofreading to Plain Language: A Review of SFU’s Editing Program

by Amy Haagsma

In September 2012, I attended an information session at SFU on the Continuing Studies Writing and Communications program. When the presenters spoke about career options in editing, I realized that I had been an “undercover editor” for quite some time. Although my title did not include the word “editor,” this described a large part of what I did at work. I decided to take a few courses in the Editing Certificate program to learn more about the field and improve my skills.

Whether you’re new to editing or a seasoned pro, the program has something for everyone. SFU offers a variety of editing courses and the only editing certificate program in Western Canada. The courses can help you learn the craft, formalize your qualifications, brush up in certain areas, or expand your service offering. The material also forms a good basis for EAC certification.

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May 24, 2014: PubPro 2014

What: PubPro 2014: Second Annual Unconference for Managing Editors & Publication Production Specialists
When: 930-1630, May 24, 2014
Where: 515 West Hasting Street, SFU Harbour Centre, Vancouver
Cost: $50 (EAC members), $60 (non-members) until May 2; $65 (EAC members), $75 (non-members) after May 2
More: Unconference includes afternoon networking tea (can sign up for tea only)

Full-day schedule of PubPro 2014. Register now. Registration closes on May 16 at 5PM.

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Book Review: Unearthing Canada’s Hidden Past…

by Eric Damer

Review of Unearthing Canada’s Hidden Past: A Short History of Adult Education by Michael Welton (Thompson Publishing, 2013).

Ours is a learning society that goes well beyond schooling for youth. Historian Michael Welton adds that all societies are learning societies and always have been. Adults have always learned new job skills, cultivated leisure interests and even tried to change their society to make it a bit more fair, inclusive and democratic. This last activity—learning for progressive social change—interests Welton the most in this accessible account of adult education in Canada over several hundred years. Unearthing Canada’s Hidden Past: A Short History of Adult Education invites the reader to consider not only how adults have learned to adjust to their world but also how they have learned to change it. Welton has a special plea for adult educators to “keep faith with our emancipatory traditions” (p. 229) to tackle some of the pressing problems of our current age.

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Some perils of self-publishing: Part 2

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by Ben Nuttall-Smith

Here is the second part of Ben’s perilous journey through the labyrinth of self-publishing, from design to promotion and everything in between. Your insight?

Blurbs

I asked some of the published authors I’d befriended over the years to read my manuscript. I’ve had fellow authors blurb (endorse) all my books and I will forever be indebted to every one of them. I have since endorsed other new writers. It’s all in the family and good promotion. My name appears on other book jackets and people might look for my books. Continue reading →

April 16, 2014: Branch meeting & talk

What: EAC BC-branch meeting & presentation on international editing (see below)
When: 19:00-21:00, Wednesday April 16, 2014
Where: 535 Hornby Street (4th floor), YWCA, Vancouver
Cost: Free for EAC members; $10 for non-members

Not only in Canada, eh? International editing 

There’s a whole world out there in need of editors. Curious? Three panelists, moderated by Anne Brennan, will share their experiences of working for international clients, hiring international team members, grappling with editorial styles, marketing their services and—of course—getting paid.

Theresa Best has over 15 years of publishing experience. She spent several years as an editor at the UK’s statutory body for education. Also, she worked as a commissioning editor at Routledge Education and an editor at Guardian News & Media, publisher of the Guardian newspaper. She teaches editing at SFU.

Anne Brennan, CPE, worked in-house for 25 years, mostly as a managing editor for magazines, websites and distance learning materials, before going freelance in 2008. Now she edits educational, technical and corporate material, develops websites and manages projects.

Eva van Emden is a freelance editor with a background in biology and computer science. She has worked for clients in the United States, Europe and Asia, editing magazines, academic papers, grant proposals and self-published books, as well as doing the occasional translation.

Carol Zhong edits journal articles for academics in Hong Kong and Europe and manuscripts for a university press in Hong Kong. Before becoming an editor, she taught ESL and English in Canada and China, was a lexicographer for Longman in the UK and edited in-house at the Open University of Hong Kong.

Some perils of self-publishing: Part 1

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intro by Anastasia Koutalianos; piece by Ben Nuttall-Smith.

I met Ben at a writing fair last month and asked if he would be so kind to share his self-published trials and tribulations with WCE. He kindly agreed. So here is part 1 of 2, a cautionary but adventurous tale on the realities set before the indie author. The title says it all…

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You’ve written a book and you’d like to get it published. You’ve heard so many discouraging stories about finding a publisher that you’re ready to give up before the rejection letters pile up. You’ve heard exciting stories about doing it yourself so you decide to self-publish. Continue reading →

Event Review: Social Media for Writers

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by Frances Peck

Review of Social Media for Writers, a professional development day hosted by the Professional Writers of Association Vancouver Chapter (PWAC) on March 22, 2014.

Does the term social media make you giddy with anticipation or sick with anxiety? I’ll own up to being in the second camp. The idea of devoting an entire day to that zany online world was, for me, like contemplating a colonic irrigation: people say it’s good for you, but you’ve got to wonder if all the mess and exposure are really worth it.

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