From the committee
Every June for the last several years, members of Editors Tasmania have celebrated the longest night of the year with an informal gathering to chat about books: those we’ve read, those we’ve edited, those that have particularly entranced or annoyed us. Usually it coincides with Winter Feast, one of the highlights of David Walsh’s Dark MOFO. By the time you read this, we’ll have had our first virtual bookchat, welcoming readers from across the region.
In July, people who are considering sitting the accreditation exam in December will have the opportunity to attend workshops to help them to prepare; in August we’ll have a (virtual) Branch General Meeting, when we’ll report on the year’s progress and encourage you to consider taking a place on the committee. Later in the year we hope to have a full-day copyediting workshop, but this will depend on the relaxation of current restrictions.
By the time Dark MOFO 2021 rolls around, we’ll be putting the finishing touches on our 10th national conference, Editing on the edges. An exciting conference relies on great speakers: if you have an idea for a workshop, panel or other presentation, see our call for presenters elsewhere in this issue of Gatherings.
Social media as a tool for editors
At the end of May, the Tasmanian branch of IPEd enjoyed a lively presentation from Rachel Edwards.
Rachel wears several hats: local ABC radio producer, facilitator in a prison literacy program and manager of a small publishing house, Transportation Press.
Editors Tasmania invited Rachel to talk about how useful social media may be as a tool for freelance editors. The main platforms mentioned were LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, all of which have pros and cons.
Facebook can be used to establish a literary space to create events and celebrate the success of writers. It can also be used for crowd-funding to pay writers and printers. Instagram is excellent for sharing photos and information about books and authors. LinkedIn is popular, but perhaps more appealing to the corporate sector.
Twitter has a rich literary culture and is used by many editors, writers and publishers both as a promotional tool and to comment on various ideas. The ability to follow anyone opens a world of interesting ideas and there is something satisfying in the discipline of writing concisely, with a limited number of characters. Twitter works well as a business platform.
In deciding which platform is the most suitable we first need to know what we want from this very public space. There are obvious concerns about security and one can expect offensive comments and responses.
Social media can also be time-consuming and Rachel said she tries to limit herself to two posts a day whenever possible. It was agreed that, with a couple of caveats, social media can be a useful tool for a freelance editor’s business.
Sheelagh Wegman AE