On April 25, EAC-BC co-hosted PubPro 2015, the third annual unconference for managing editors and publication production specialists. A recap of the event and part 1 of the session summaries are below; part 2 is available here.
By Iva Cheung
For the third year in a row, EAC-BC teamed up with Publishing@SFU to host PubPro, an unconference for managing editors, production professionals, and anyone who manages publication projects.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
