Saturday, May 6, 2023 | Lynnwood Event Center | Lynnwood, WA
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Presentation Schedule and Descriptions
In-Person Activities
Newcomers Meetup
Those who are just starting out in editing as well as first-time Red Pencil attendees and new Guild members are welcome to drop in for an informal chat with experienced Guild members.
Luncheon / Discussion Tables
Grab a buffet lunch and a seat to talk with friends or join one of the marked discussion tables for an editing-related chat.
Breaks / Exhibitors
Fifteen-minute breaks between sessions provide an opportunity to speak with exhibitors, have copies of presenter books signed, and catch up with other attendees.
Virtual Activities
Welcome Chat
Online via Zoom, 7:45 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Pacific time (drop in anytime)
Gather with other virtual attendees as the conference day begins, to start with some networking, conversation, and connection.
Links and info distributed by email to virtual conference ticketholders.
Lunchtime Gathering
Online via Zoom, 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Pacific time (drop in anytime)
During the conference lunch break, gather with other virtual attendees for topic groups and discussions. Join a topic group, or suggest your own topic.
Links and info distributed by email to virtual conference ticketholders.
Post-Event Discussions
Online via Zoom, dates and times TBD
Two to four hosted virtual gatherings after the in-person conference, during the 30 days of conference recording availability. Come together to discuss a conference presentation available by video, or join a small discussion group (by type of editing, genre, or seasons of an editing career) for further connection.
Keynote Presentation - 9:45 to 10:30
Amy J. Schneider was an obvious choice for our 2023 keynote speaker. Her new book, The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction, was just released, and she’ll share with conference attendees the story of how she came to write it—and the career path that led her to this achievement. A full-time copyeditor and proofreader of trade and scholarly nonfiction books and best-selling fiction since 1995, Amy has always generously shared her expertise and wit. She’s written articles and presented in-person and online sessions, both solo and on panels, for editing organizations including ACES: The Society for Editing, the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), Editors Canada, and the Northwest Editors Guild. Her presentations are a highlight of any conference, and we eagerly anticipate what she’ll bring to Red Pencil 2023.
Session 1 - 10:45 to 11:45
The Paper It's Written On (live-streamed)
Dick Margulis and Karin Cather
The independent editor is in business, and the relationship with the client is a business relationship. A contract is a tool the editor can use to help shape that relationship and keep a project moving toward a successful conclusion. In this session, the coauthors of The Paper It’s Written On will encourage reluctant editors to take better control of their businesses by writing effective contracts, and explain the what, why, and how.
Launch Your Editorial Business Now
Katherine Pickett
In this hands-on session, exercises will spur the momentum and excitement of building a business from scratch. We’ll cover getting the right training, choosing your business model, growing your network, managing business finances, and maintaining your business once launched. Handouts include numerous resources and at-home exercises: where to get training, resources for business formation, a networking calendar, and software tools. By the end of this session, attendees will know what steps they need to take to realize their dream of working for themselves.
Exploring “Passive” Income for Editors Who Need Flexibility
Tanya Gold
Many who live with a disability or chronic illness turn to freelancing or start our own businesses to have the flexibility we need. This flexibility can be amazing and empowering, but taking the time needed for our well-being can sometimes result in decreased income. In this interactive workshop, we’ll discuss ways to increase your income that you can develop and maintain on your own time, at your own pace, on your better days. You’ll reflect on content you’ve likely already created, ways to repackage it for your clients, and how to promote it when you have the capacity.
Indexing Basics: What Editors Need to Know
Heather Pendley
It is important to comprehend the ins and outs of a final step in the publishing process: creating an index. In this session, you will discover the differences between a computer-generated and a human-generated index and determine whether a publication needs a back-of-the-book or embedded/hyperlinked index. You’ll see examples of some of the tools used in creating indexes, such as Word, InDesign, and dedicated indexing software programs. After this session, you will understand what type of material benefits from an index, who should attempt it, and why (and how) it's done.
Session 2 - 1:15 to 2:15
Talking Points: Copyediting Dialogue in Fiction (live-streamed)
Amy J. Schneider
Dialogue in fiction consists of so much more than “they said, she said, he said.” In this session you’ll learn to handle the mechanics of many types of dialogue in order to maintain each character’s voice while keeping the dialogue understandable for the reader and letting the story shine through. Topics covered are dialogue tags, verbs of utterance, and action beats; punctuating dialogue; formatting unspoken dialogue (direct thought, indirect thought, imagined or remembered dialogue, telepathic communication); informal dialogue (dialect, slang, and offensive language); sounds and other nonverbal expressions; non-English language and translated dialogue; and electronic communication.
Taxes, Licensing, and Banking in Plain English
Jenny MacLeod
Many self-employed folks worry about meeting tax and license requirements, and with good reason! There are multiple levels of government to work with, each with different portals, taxes, and reporting requirements. This worry can steal energy from one’s primary work and add stress, waste time, and be expensive. Eventually tax and license requirements become the Monster in the Closet! In this session, we turn that monster into a purring kitten as we sort out the exact tax and license requirements to meet each year, as well as tips and hacks to make it all easier.
Five Keys to Retiring Fearlessly
Rachel French
This session is relevant for editors who are at or approaching retirement age, or for anyone planning ahead for their later years. We’ll address collecting Social Security benefits while working, making rollovers to Roth IRA accounts, planning for the two-year income look-back for Medicare, "catch-up" contributions to retirement accounts, and recent changes with the new SECURE Act 2.0 that can impact making distributions from retirement accounts.
Systems and Shortcuts for Working with Indie Authors
Lori Paximadis
Working with indie authors presents special challenges for editors, especially if you are used to working with publishers. The proposal and onboarding processes usually involve more back and forth than with publisher clients, and indie authors often need more education, hand-holding, and reassurance, as well as more frequent progress reports. This session will give you a foundation for developing time-saving systems for working with indie clients and creating resources for clients that will showcase your professionalism and help build trust.
Session 3 - 2:30 to 3:30
The Business of Getting—and Keeping—Editing Business (live-streamed)
Ruth Thaler-Carter
Being a freelance editor is more than being a skilled professional; it means being in business, and that means finding clients, connecting with colleagues and prospects, and securing new work as we go along. We’ll cover sources of clients, good and bad; connecting and communicating with new and ongoing clients, including estimating fees/rates, setting boundaries, managing contact, responding to issues, and getting recommendations/referrals; how to turn single assignments into ongoing work; and expanding into other fields/topics.
Copyediting Challenges in Nonfiction: Learning from Other Editors
Erin Brenner
In this session, attendees will copyedit short texts and then share their edits with the group. By sharing our approaches to editing, we’ll learn from each other and learn that there’s no one right way to edit. It’s a great opportunity to see a range of editing styles and talk about the finer details of the choices we make. Participants will gain confidence in their own editing while learning new ways to think about the challenge of not just correcting, but polishing prose to support both authors and readers.
Saving Your Own Voice: Freelancing Outside the Box
Joanie Eppinga
People entering the freelance editing world often hear that they “must” do this or “shouldn’t dream” of doing that. Newbies often express feeling inadequate or intimidated when they think of running a business, and hearing about all the pieces they must have in place makes those feelings worse. In this session, Joanie shows editors at all levels that they can run their businesses in creative and even idiosyncratic ways. Many “musts” are negotiable; their ideas about running a freelance editing business can be more open and expansive, and their work can leave them feeling energized rather than worn down.
A Non-Techie's Guide to Working with Programmers
Sarah Grey
Interested in serving technical clients but unsure where to start? Need to quickly ramp up your skills in an unfamiliar field? Sarah will share lessons from her own transition, including rapid learning of vocabulary and usage, querying authors with confidence, working with (and learning from) texts that include code, and exploring the differences between publishing-industry and tech-industry standards and expectations about writing style and tone, book structure, plagiarism, and citations.
Session 4 - 3:45 to 4:45
Level Up Your Business with the Quad (live-streamed)
Laura Poole
The Quad, a mastermind group of successful editors, has been active in its current incarnation since 2015, supporting each other with daily chats, yearly retreats (some virtual), work sprints, emotional support, and more. Three Quad members have won the ACES Robinson Prize, and two have written books for publication by a major university press. We will discuss how to grow your freelance business beyond the start-up phase and the various ways we did it—including how we supported ourselves with a mastermind group, added new services, ran a team of subcontractors, raised our rates, changed our clients, wrote books, and more.
LinkedIn for Editors: Learning, Growing, and Building a Professional Community
Mary-Colleen Jenkins
LinkedIn can be so much more than a useful digital address book for storing contact info! This session promises to energize you with the platform’s full potential, from profile basics for both new users and those dusting off a neglected profile to tips for building your community, pursuing professional learning opportunities, showcasing your skills, and using your profile as a mini-website. Participants will actively draft content with “Quick Fire” activities and identify connections and strategies to pursue post-conference, supported by detailed handouts.
Developing Your Editing Bedside Manner
Lindsay Schopfer
Do you worry about striking a balance between being mindful of your client's feelings and maintaining your professionalism? Your bedside manner is just as important as your expertise when it comes to repeat business. In this fun and informative look at the editor-author relationship, participants will learn how to establish the proper expectations with a client, maintain a friendly yet professional relationship, and avoid becoming emotionally compromised during a project.
Your Life and Your Options: Three Ways to Better Understand What You Really Want
Marnette Falley and Portia Stewart
It’s harder than it seems to articulate what will really make you happy. And sometimes tougher yet to decide what steps will get you there. Is it time to make a big change—to a new job or even a new career? Is it time to focus on building new skills to set better boundaries or influence others more? Is it time to start a new project—or time to end one? Is it time to fire that awful client? In this interactive session, Portia and Marnette will share three strategies that help break an endless circle of the same thoughts and get you to new ground.