Do we offer a seminar on that?

The brochure for the Toronto branch’s fall 2009 seminars lists thirteen different topics, and I know a similar number are planned for the spring. The fees are set to make a small profit, money that supports many other branch activities.

It’s amusing to recall that the first Toronto program of seminars, in spring 1980, was envisioned not as a fundraiser but as self-education. Sandra Gulland, the chair responsible for that program, told the executive on December 10, 1979 that she thought the three seminars planned would pay for themselves and “perhaps even make money.” But no one was more surprised than Sandra herself when those three seminars made a profit of $2,450.

The seminars were on proofreading, copy editing, and surviving as a freelancer, all topics that continue to be offered by the Toronto branch at least once a year. The one on copy editing was given by Fred Kerner, then editor-in-chief of Harlequin and a man who insisted on meticulous editing, no matter what the material. I remember a lively discussion in which Toronto copy editors argued that they should not be responsible for knowing whether two streets crossed in Montreal. “Montreal is not a hamlet in Asia,” Mr Kerner commented, “and surely you all know how to read a map.”

Even more helpful to me were the suggestions from Sandra’s seminar “How to survive as a free¬lance editor.” I still have my notes. (The first line reads, “Have faith in yourself. Those original high estimates may be right!”) With them is Sandy’s handout: a two-page single-spaced list of the possible steps to be considered when working out an estimate. It would become the back¬bone of the Standard Freelance Editorial Agreement, which, after several updates, is still in wide use by EAC members.

In Toronto, and, I believe, in several other cities, the publishing industry depends on EAC seminars, even if a local university or community college has a certificate publishing program. When our organization was about ten years old, the nominating committee reported to a business meeting that it could find no one willing to stand for professional development chair. Pointing out that leaving the chair empty would skew the quorum required to hold executive meetings, a practical soul moved that the position be abolished for the coming membership year. Suddenly, a representative of a major publishing company leapt to her feet. Her house and others, she said, had come to count on the seminars; she pleaded that we somehow find a way to continue them. We did.

Credits:
Author | Lee d’Anjou

About the author
When Lee d’Anjou began freelance editing in 1970, she had one client, a few #2 pencils, some paste-on query slips, a dog-eared MLA style sheet, and a steel pica rule. By Christmas 2003, after several hundred manuscripts and authors, she was ready to retire. By June 2005, she had almost succeeded in clearing out her office and convincing her clients to call other editors. But she still cherishes her pica rule.