seminars

Meet the Instructor: Peter Moskos

by Connie Behl

Peter Moskos_CROPPEDEditors BC is pleased to present Peter Moskos and his workshop Plain Language: The Basics, which explores the purpose and key techniques of plain language. The workshop will be held in Vancouver on February 24 and in Victoria on May 14, with the Victoria workshop put on in conjunction with the Professional Editors Association of Vancouver Island.

Peter is a writer and editor who specializes in plain language. He has a passion for simplifying complex documents and making them clear and easy to follow. He has written and edited reports to Parliament, technical reports, manuals, student handbooks, training materials, speeches, legislation, marketing materials, and advertising brochures. Now based in Vancouver, Peter is retired but continues to offer courses in plain language and in how to build a writing and editing business.

Peter played a formative role in the development of Editors Canada’s certification program and for his contribution was designated an Honorary Certified Professional Editor. In the past, Peter taught in Douglas College’s Print Futures program and was an online instructor for Ryerson University’s Diploma in Publishing.

Connie Behl, a member of Editors BC’s professional development committee, recently interviewed Peter about his journey from teacher to editor, his perspectives on plain language, and challenging plain language work he’s faced.

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Event Review: A Matter of Style

Written by Eric Damer; copy edited by Karen Barry

Review of seminar Stylistic Editing: Beyond the Basics with Nancy Flight (offered by Editors BC on October 31, 2015)

When the manuscript you’re editing has sound structure, good grammar, and perfect punctuation, is there anything left to fix? If the manuscript remains awkward, dull, or confusing, then perhaps it is time for some stylistic editing. Our “Halloween” workshop on October 31 with Nancy Flight explored ways to “clarify meaning, improve flow, and smooth language.”

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Meet the Instructor: Barb Adamski

Written by Lynn Slobogian; copy edited by Erin Parker

Barb AdamskiBarb Adamski, a freelance writer and editor for over a decade, will be teaching Editors BC’s November seminar, Freelance Editing 101. The seminar will cover what to consider before setting up shop; how to find and keep good clients; and the benefits, pitfalls, and not-so-fun (yet necessary!) aspects of freelancing.

Lynn Slobogian, Editors BC’s professional development chair, recently chatted with Barb about her path into freelance editing, how the profession might evolve over the next 10 years, and overcoming some of the challenges new freelance editors face. Continue reading →

Meet the Instructor: Nancy Flight

by Lynn Slobogian

Nancy Flight is associate publisher of Greystone Books. She has been editing books for more than 40 years, both as an in-house editor and as a freelancer, in Canada and the United States. She has worked with such authors as David Suzuki, Evelyn Lau, and Wade Davis, among many others. She received the 1988 Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence for her work on Genethics: The Art of Engineering Life, by David Suzuki and Peter Knudtson.

In addition, she has taught in the SFU Master of Publishing program, the Banff Book Editing Workshop, the SFU Book Editing Workshop, and the SFU Book Publishing Workshop, and has taught writing at SFU.

Nancy is also a past president of Editors Canada and of the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia, and has served on the executive council of the Association of Canadian Book Publishers. She was responsible for revising the standards for stylistic editing during Editors Canada’s review of professional standards in 2009. She currently sits on the Langara College Publishing Advisory Committee.

Nancy will be teaching Editors BC’s October seminar, Stylistic Editing: Beyond the Basics, on October 31. Lynn Slobogian, professional development chair, chatted with Nancy about her extensive editing career, her predictions for the future of publishing, and choosing one’s battles while editing. Read on.

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Event Review: Getting the Message Across: Clear Writing Tips with Frances Peck

Written by Amy Haagsma; copy edited by Karen Barry

Review of seminar Getting the Message Across: Clear Writing Tips with Frances Peck (offered by EAC-BC on March 19, 2015).

Frances Peck is a writer, Honorary Certified Professional Editor, and long-time EAC member and volunteer. She has taught at the University of Ottawa, Douglas College, SFU, and UBC; presented seminars for EAC branches across Canada; and delivered training for a number of government and private-sector organizations.

One of Frances’ specialties is editing and rewriting for clarity, making her the perfect choice to teach EAC-BC’s recent half-day seminar, Getting the Message Across: Clear Writing Tips. The seminar focused on techniques to improve clarity in workplace and public documents to better communicate the intended message.

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Event Review: Eight-Step Editing

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Written by Amy Haagsma; copy edited by Joanne King

Review of seminar Eight-Step Editing with Jim Taylor (offered by EAC-BC on February 21, 2015).

Jim Taylor has been a writer and editor since 1958. In 1971, he began teaching editing to business executives, using many of the concepts that would later become Eight-Step Editing. A casual mention of his process caught the attention of his EAC colleagues, and he was encouraged to develop it into a seminar. Jim confessed that, when first asked about the steps he used, he didn’t have a number in mind but surmised that it must be “about eight.”

In the spring of 1984, Jim officially rolled out Eight-Step Editing for EAC. Over the years, his seminar has achieved an almost-legendary status. Although Jim retired in 2007, he has graciously taught the seminar for EAC-BC a number of times since then.

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Event Review: Building a Successful Editing Business

Written by Amy Haagsma; copy edited by Meagan Kus

Review of seminar Building a Successful Editing Business with Peter Moskos (offered by EAC-BC on January 24, 2015).

I was excited to see the topic for EAC-BC’s January seminar: Building a Successful Editing Business. The timing couldn’t be better—as a newish editor who is just venturing into freelancing, I really needed some advice in this area!

The seminar was led by Peter Moskos, a fixture within EAC and a member for 26 years. Now retired, he previously co-founded the highly successful Gordon Writing Group and was the company’s managing partner from 1995 to 2004.

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Rows of desks face a projection screen in a classroom-like environment.
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March 19, 2015: Getting the Message Across: Clear Writing Tips with Frances Peck

What: EAC-BC professional development seminar
When: Thursday, March 19, 2015, 8:30 am – 11:30 am
Where: Library Square Conference Centre, 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver | map

Workplace documents have one goal: to deliver a message quickly and clearly to a particular audience. But too often that message gets buried by weak organization, wordiness, abstract language, jargon, unhelpful design, and other barriers to readability.

This half-day introduction to clear writing shows you how to remove those barriers and build a document that says what it means. We’ll talk about the all-important reader, including the different types of readers and their varying needs. We’ll cover seven practical techniques for making written documents clearer. We’ll finish with a look at how page layout affects readability. (Detailed agenda below.)

The workshop includes short exercises to help you apply what you learn. You’ll also receive a list of recommended resources.

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Rows of desks face a projection screen in a classroom-like environment.
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February 21, 2015: Eight-Step Editing with Jim Taylor

What: EAC-BC professional development seminar
When: Saturday, February 21, 2015, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Where: Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel, 1133 W Hastings Street | map

Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned editor, a would-be writer or a supervisor of others’ writing, this course will help you make your words work better.

Using a step-by-step process, the program identifies the most common factors that become obstacles for readers. It not only helps recognize the problems, it shows quick and simple techniques for fixing them. Professional editors tend to make these corrections intuitively. Eight-Step Editing helps them ensure they haven’t overlooked some crucial readability factor in their zeal to track down spelling or punctuation inconsistencies. Novice editors often suffer from paralysis. Eight-Step Editing gives them a starting point that doesn’t depend on subjective assessments of a manuscript’s worth. Freelance writers can use the Eight-Step process to improve their own materials before submission, enhancing their chances of acceptance. Business writers, trapped in traditional formulas from the filing cabinet, will benefit from a fresh vision for writing prose that can persuade and motivate. At the same time, supervisors and administrators who approve letters and reports will understand better what to look for.

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Event Review: Beyond Track Changes

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Written by Amy Haagsma; copy edited by Meagan Kus

Review of seminar Beyond Track Changes with Iva Cheung, Grace Yaginuma, and Ann-Marie Metten (offered by EAC-BC on November 29, 2014).

For most editors, the majority of our onscreen editing is done using Microsoft Word. For many of us, it’s a love–hate relationship: we’ve learned to live with (or work around) the “features” we dislike.

EAC-BC’s November seminar, Beyond Track Changes, promised to help us get the most out of Word, tame its most irritating features, and work more efficiently, as well as to demystify advanced features like wildcard searches and macros. Naturally, the seminar sold out quickly!

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