Saturday, May 6, 2023 | Lynnwood Event Center | Lynnwood, WA
Amy J. Schneider, owner of Featherschneider Editorial Services (featherschneider.com) since 1995, is the author of the brand-new Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction. She is a full-time copyeditor and proofreader of trade and scholarly nonfiction books and best-selling fiction in a variety of genres for large and small publishing houses. Her book covers how to cultivate the proper mindset; managing workflow; ensuring continuity by keeping track of general style and facts about characters, locations, and the plot and timeline; dealing with informal grammar, conscious language, and different forms of English; copyediting dialogue (see her session on this in the first after-lunch time slot); and blending fact and fiction within the story.
Amy has also written articles and presented in-person and online sessions, both solo and on panels, on editorial topics including fiction copyediting, style sheets, macros, templates, the business of freelancing, and mastermind groups for a variety of 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. She has led two mentoring groups for aspiring freelance editors for Copyediting.com. When she's not working in the soft glow of her four-monitor desktop, she enjoys running, singing, and teaching her springer spaniels to do silly tricks (not all at the same time).
Presenter Bios A-M
Erin Brenner (Copyediting Challenges in Nonfiction: Learning from Other Editors; Panel Discussion with the Quad) is an award-winning copywriter who has been a communications professional for two decades, providing work for clients since 2005. Before running her own company, she worked for ClickZ, IDC, and Epsilon, which gave her a deep understanding of marketers’ needs. Erin shares her expertise in communications and business by speaking at industry conferences, such as those for ACES, Editors’ Association of Canada, and MagsBC. She also provides staff training in writing for private companies, such as Slipstream and Meister Consultants Group. Read more of her work on Right Touch Editing’s blog.
Karin Cather (The Paper It’s Written On, with Dick Margulis) is a former prosecutor and child welfare attorney who has provided editorial services since 2015. She was the project manager for the Editors Canada publication From Contact to Contract: How Editors Get Clients to Work with Them and coauthor with Dick Margulis of The Paper It’s Written On: Defining your relationship with an editing client. Karin specializes in developmental, structural, line, and copyediting, as well as manuscript evaluations, of detective fiction, dystopian fiction, fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and memoirs written by first responders and attorneys, as well as forensic court reports. Karin also ghostwrites novels in those genres, including a police procedural–science fiction crossover, A Million Monkeys, and the sequel, Sick Puppies. Her professional website can be found at catheredit.com.
Joanie Eppinga (Saving Your Own Voice: Freelancing Outside the Box) is the owner of Eagle Eye Editing & Writing and has edited academic articles and journals, manuscripts, dissertations, websites, policies and procedures for hospitals, training manuals, and a variety of other written materials, including documents and website content for the federal government. Her specialties include editing academic journals, college-level writing and editing courses for distance education, editing web pages, formatting Word documents, and writing articles for newspapers and magazines.
Rachel French (Five Keys to Retiring Fearlessly) is a financial advisor with Thrivent Financial. She loves learning about each person’s unique journey and goals and helps them create a holistic plan to make their dreams a reality. As an avid photographer and Coast Guard veteran, she learned that every aspect of a picture creates a deeper story and that we are more successful in achieving our dreams when we reach out to those around us for assistance and guidance.
Marnette Falley (Your Life and Your Options: Three Ways to Better Understand What You Really Want, with Portia Stewart) is a coach, strategist, and creative problem solver who believes every professional deserves to do work they love with teams that thrive. She uses media and insight-producing coaching tools and skills to help clients more quickly achieve their professional goals. Her professional website can be found at sunroadcoach.com.
Tanya Gold (Exploring “Passive” Income for Editors Who Need Flexibility) is a frequent and popular speaker on writing, editing, and the publishing industry, a field she’s worked in for over 23 years—the last 12 as an independent editor, writing coach, translator, and instructor. She is passionate about supporting her fellow editors through her courses and business coaching. Her professional website can be found at tanyagold.com.
Sarah Grey (A Non-Techie’s Guide to Working with Programmers; Panel Discussion with the Quad) has nearly two decades of experience in writing, developmental editing, copyediting, book indexing, proofreading, copywriting, author coaching, and project management. She was awarded the ACES 2015 Robinson Prize for Excellence in Copy Editing laureate, in recognition of her contributions to the field. Sarah is experienced at working with high-profile authors, including diplomats, CEOs, Google and Microsoft developer advocates, and the rock band They Might Be Giants. Through her work for a technical/computer science publisher, she’s done extensive personal coaching of executives and leaders in AI software engineering, software architecture and development, data analysis and visualization, cloud computing, and computer security. Find her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/sarahgrey.
Mary-Colleen Jenkins (LinkedIn for Editors: Learning, Growing, and Building a Professional Community) is an educator, communications and writing coach, and editor. She develops and delivers targeted professional development workshops on writing and communication, to build skills and create efficient processes that make communicating ideas easier. She also provides one-on-one or small group coaching sessions to focus on specific areas of challenge. Her work is informed by decades of experience teaching writing, editing, and communication courses at the college and professional level. She has taught in the Technical Writing and Editing Certificate Program at UW (2011–2013), the Editing Certificate Program at UW (2017–2020), and the Engineering Communication Program at UW (2014–2022). Find her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/mcjseattle.
Jenny MacLeod (Taxes, Licensing, and Banking in Plain English) has been working one-on-one with self-employed women for 10 years, providing organic coaching, friendly tax education, and resources and tools. Now, she’s on a new mission to help people go beyond surviving . . . and to thrive in work and life! A big part of this includes taming the business and tax chores and getting comfortable and proficient with numbers and money. Her newest offerings include classes on Eventbrite, guest speaking, Sidekick Services (tax reminders + how-to articles via email), one-time consults, and an online business apothecary. She released a book in 2017, How to Become Self-Employed in Seattle: A Guidebook, Companion, and Reference, and has more books in the works. Her professional website can be found at jennygirlfriday.com.
Dick Margulis (The Paper It’s Written On, with Karin Cather) enjoyed a long and varied career before becoming a full-time book editor and designer in 2004. As sole proprietor of Dick Margulis Creative Services, he primarily helps individuals become their own publishers, providing editing, design, and project management services. In short, he makes books. He has presented at numerous conferences for Communication Central, ACES, and Editors Canada.
Presenter Bios N-Z
Lori Paximadis (Systems and Shortcuts for Working with Indie Authors) has been a successful full-time freelancer for more than half of her 30-year career in publishing. Her background in project management and production and her broad experience make her a sought-after copyeditor and proofreader for fiction and nonfiction. Her clients range from Big Five publishers to indies. She has been presenting and training on the topics of systems and efficiency since 2016. Find her online at LoriPax.com and SystemsAndShortcuts.com.
Heather Pendley (Creating an Index) is a freelance indexer and copyeditor and owner of Pendley’s Pro Editing & Indexing. She serves on the American Society for Indexing (ASI) board and is its Training in Indexing course administrator. Heather is treasurer of the San Diego Professional Editors Network (SD/Pen) and is a past member of EFA’s Board of Governors. She has written for and been interviewed by ASI and ACES (The Society for Editing) and has presented at ASI and ACES conferences.
Katherine Pickett (Launch Your Editorial Business Now) began her career in book publishing in 1999. After working first at several publishing houses, in 2006 she started her own company, POP Editorial Services, offering copyediting, proofreading, developmental editing, and writing services to authors and publishers. Her work with self-publishers prompted the workshop series “Sell Your Book!” and “Publish That Book!”—the basis for her award-winning book, Perfect Bound: How to Navigate the Book Publishing Process Like a Pro, now in its second edition.
Laura Poole (Panel Discussion with the Quad; see Brenner, Grey, Paximadis, and Schneider) is a copyeditor for scholarly nonfiction in the humanities, working exclusively for university presses and other scholarly publishers. She has over two decades of experience in editing and freelancing and is widely known and respected as a teacher and trainer for editors, including mentoring and coaching. A member of ACES and the Northwest Editors Guild and an Advanced Professional Member of the CIEP, Laura received the 2020 ACES Robinson Prize. She is a member of ACES and the Northwest Editors Guild, and an Advanced Professional Member of the CIEP. In her spare time, she bakes and quilts. Her professional website can be found at archereditorial.com.
Amy J. Schneider (Talking Points: Copyediting Dialogue in Fiction; Panel Discussion with the Quad) Please see the Keynote speaker section above for Amy's bio.
Lindsay Schopfer (Developing Your Editing Bedside Manner) is the award-winning author of four novels and two collections of short stories. His steampunk-flavored fantasy series, The Adventures of Keltin Moore, received an OZMA Award from the Chanticleer International Book Awards, and his short fiction has appeared in a variety of anthologies and online periodicals. Lindsay’s workshops and master classes on the craft of writing are top-rated in writing conferences across the Pacific Northwest. Currently, he teaches creative writing for South Puget Sound Community College and is an active member of the Northwest Editors Guild. His professional website can be found at lindsayschopfer.com.
Portia Stewart (Your Life and Your Options: Three Ways to Better Understand What You Really Want, with Marnette Falley) is a creativity consultant experienced in leading innovation workshops. As a media professional, registered yoga instructor, and meditation coach, she’s developed workshops that combine mindfulness and movement. Her passion for learning helps the creatives she leads and mentors to develop their skills and maximize their performance. She and Marnette Falley speak regularly on creativity, innovation, and leadership. Her professional website can be found at mindfullcreatives.com.
Ruth Thaler-Carter (The Business of Getting—and Keeping—Editing Business) began editing as a natural extension of her writing career. She provides editing (and proofreading) to magazines, newspapers, newsletters, websites, associations, nonprofits, authors, and more in a diverse range of fields and subjects. Her editing career demonstrates that there is much more to editing than working just for newspapers or publishers. Ruth writes about editing and related matters for the An American Editor blog and the EFA and ACES newsletters, among other publications. She also has written for Copyediting and the Editorial Eye newsletters. Her professional website can be found at writerruth.com.