From the president
It was exciting to host our first branch event via Zoom at the end of April and I hope it will be the first of many over coming months. Up next we have a Zoom event on 19 May 2020 with special guest Lauren Thiel who will be sharing her wisdom on getting all things finance under control as we come to the end of another financial year. Check the events page for more information. I do hope you can join us.
The branch committee is also keen to hear from members who would be willing to share their experience and/or their editing story at future events. Maybe it is how you came to be an editor. It could be a particular niche you have developed. Perhaps you have learnt something recently that you would like to share. With editors being such a diverse and talented bunch, I am sure there is much we can learn from each other and find encouragement at the same time. If you would like to share, please get in touch at edsa.president@iped-editors.org – we would love to hear from you.
As always, you can also contact me if there is anything I can help with as your local branch president. I am here to help you make the most of your IPEd membership.
Lauren Bevilacqua
edsa.president@iped-editors.org
New members
A warm welcome to our new associate members Selena Ewing, Charlotte Lemmon and Geof Barrington.
We hope you enjoy being part of Editors SA and take advantage of IPEd’s national networks. We look forward to seeing you at our workshops and other events throughout the year. Familiarise yourself with Zoom to get the most out of 2020’s offerings – there will be a lot more ‘distance’ events this year.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and keep an eye on our website for updates. The IPEd newsletter will keep you informed of local and IPEd-wide news and events. These are all good forums for socialising and networking and, of course, provide opportunities to build your knowledge and expertise.
Get involved and don’t be shy! We are thrilled to have you on board.
New member profile: Angelina Taylor
Photo credit: Angelina Taylor
Q. How long have you been an editor and how did your career begin?
A. I first began in November 2018. I was in university and looking for internship opportunities or full-time positions in editing. As many people probably know, these opportunities are rare. So, when I could not find any, I started a business to make my own experience. Through a lot of trial and error, I built a website by myself and began advertising. That is when I realised that advertising for editors rarely works. It is more about networking and word of mouth. In October/November 2019, I got an internship with HarperCollins and the experience taught me so much that I am able to bring a lot of practical publishing experience into my editing and advice for my clients.
Q. What type of editing makes up the majority of your work?
A. I mostly do fiction, but I have done memoir and autobiography as well. A small part of my work is academic, but fiction is where my interest is. Genre fiction, general fiction, it does not matter; I love it all. Finding the potential in a piece of fiction and the feedback from the author when they realise how much you are able to improve the piece is invaluable.
Q. What aspect of the profession do you find most challenging?
A. The business side is the hardest. Trying to communicate through advertisements, or on your website, to potential clients that you are worth the cost. It is difficult to pick up clients without having a referral from someone. Running a business is a skill in itself and I can understand why some editors would rather work for someone so they can just focus on the editing. Creating a business has been a steep learning curve, but I enjoy the freedom that comes with working for myself and having direct client contact. I now have some repeat customers with whom I have been able to build relationships and it is amazing to have clients who come to really trust your skill and knowledge.
Q. How would you like to build your skills as an editor?
A. Running online courses is a great way to build skills. I have also considered taking the accreditation exam, when I have time to study for it. But mostly, I think to build editing skills, like most things, is to keep doing it over and over again.
Q. What do you like about being a member?
A. The chance to meet others who do what I do has been fantastic. The Writers’ Week breakfast was a great opportunity to get to know other editors, what they do and how they source their clients. It is a great community and everyone was doing a different facet of editing. It has been really nice to meet people since working by yourself can be such an isolating experience.
Events report
by Melanie Dankel
Like everyone else, Editors SA is exploring new territory when it comes to connecting with our members and creating opportunities for professional development.
Book Club
On Thursday 30 April we hosted our first book club. Rather than picking a title and asking everyone to read it, we asked participants to bring along recommendations for everyone else. They could have picked a great title they had recently read or dusted off an old favourite. We will have a write-up of the event in next month’s newsletter, as the event will happen after the submission date for this newsletter.
Improve your financial finesse with Editors SA
Join us on 19 May as Lauren Thiel from The Real Thiel joins us via Zoom to answer all our burning questions about tax time, how best to structure our freelance finances and what are some of the pitfalls that creatives often fall into. We are inviting members to send in their questions beforehand so Lauren can be ready to deliver the best advice. Bookings close Monday 18 May.
We also encourage all our members to take advantage of the valuable Zoom events that the other branches are offering. There has never been a better time to virtually connect with other editors.
Members helping members
In the past we have held several successful ‘members helping members’ events, where members have had the opportunity to share their skills. Would you be interested in putting your hand up to be a presenter? If you would like to contribute, please contact our professional development team at edsa.events@iped-editors.org to find out more.
Melanie Dankel is an Editors SA branch committee member and a professional development officer and can be contacted on edsa.events@iped-editors.org.
Communications report
by Lauren Pitman
Now that we are interacting with each other online instead of at face-to-face events, we feel it is more important than ever to get to know each other and keep in touch. While we have a regular member profile in the newsletter, we would love to learn more about our members. So, we invite you to write about yourself. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Tell us about what you do – what does a typical day look like, who do you work with, what content do you work with?
- What has been your most interesting or challenging experience so far – did you do an internship or work overseas, have you worked with anyone famous?
- Tell us about your editing niche – what is it, how did you get into it, what makes it special?
If you would like to send in a piece to be published in the newsletter and/or on social media, please email me at edsa.comms@iped-editors.org.
Your submission could be in text, a photo or series of photos, or you could record a video – it is up to you! Get in touch to have a chat and I can provide more questions and ideas if you would like.
Please also visit us on social media, like and follow our pages, and share our events. We are really keen to build our public profile, especially to those who share common interests or are looking to hire an editor – we want to be easy to find! Find us on Facebook (facebook.com/EditorsSouthAustralia/) and Twitter (twitter.com/EditorsSA | @EditorsSA).
Lauren Pitman is an Editors SA branch committee member and the Communication and Marketing Coordinator and can be contacted on edsa.comms@iped-editors.org.
Book reviews: digital marketing
by Jo Vabolis AE
With a bit more time to spare due to current social distancing, I have been taking a look at some of the resources available in my local library. My latest two selections have a focus on digital marketing – an essential topic for self-employed editors. I have summarised some of the key messages from each book.
Morris, T & Ballantine, P 2015, Social media for writers: marketing strategies for building your audience and selling books, Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio.
- We may not like the idea of marketing, but if we do not talk about our product or service, no one else will.
- We should take the online environment seriously and make the most of the tools available to us.
- It is vital to maintain a professional presence on our chosen social media channels at all times, not just when we are trying to sell something or market our skills.
- Build a positive reputation by being generous (eg. share useful content, answer questions).
- Evaluate new social media channels before committing – do they offer new audiences?
- Be wary of SEO ‘experts’; trends and algorithms change and trying to game the system no longer works.
- Focus on creating quality content and adapt this content for each channel.
Wrigley, C & Straker, K 2018, Affected: emotionally engaging customers in the digital age, John Wiley & Sons Inc., Australia.
- ‘Affect’ is the consumer’s psychological response to the design and message of a product, service or system.
- Creating ‘digital affect’ is the key to online marketing success — we must engage our customers on an emotional level to carefully craft digital relationships.
- In order to survive, businesses must create deeper connections with their customers beyond just product-centred interactions or services.
- Recognise that we do not always make informed, atonal decisions; we are driven by subjective factors such as emotions; emotion is the link between experience and subsequent behaviours; positive emotional experience = repeat customers.In a truly efficient multi-channel digital strategy, no channel stands alone.
- Culture is key — what works for one market may not work for another.
Jo Vabolis is an Editors SA branch committee member and the South Australian delegate to the IPEd Accreditation Board and can be contacted on edsa.comms@iped-editors.org.