EAC: National e-news update, March 17, 2010

News, events, tips and updates for members of the Editors’ Association of Canada

In this issue:

1. CONTEST NEWS: Susan Reaney wins free EAC membership
2. CONFERENCE 2010: Plan your Montreal experience
3. NETWORKING: Small group get-togethers
4. WEBSITE: Newsfeeds and podcasts
5. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!
6. PEN CANADA: Freedom of expression
7. INDUSTRY NEWS: Canadian booksellers vs. Amazon
8. CULTURAL HUMAN RESOURCES COUNCIL: Human resources survey
9. SHOP EAC: New products


1. CONTEST NEWS: Susan Reaney wins free EAC membership

Congratulations to BC branch member Susan Reaney, the latest winner of EAC’s free membership raffle.

Want to win a year’s free membership in EAC? There are just two more chances to win! Each month until May 2010, the national office will draw one winner from EAC’s Membership List. The winners will receive one year’s free membership in the association.

How do I enter the raffle?

Make sure you’re listed in EAC’s Membership List. That’s it!

Not listed? Visit the Membership List FAQ for step-by-step instructions. The sooner you get listed, the more chances you will have to win!

Remember: There is no cost for members to activate their profiles or to search the Membership List. The Membership List is only accessible to EAC members, not to the public.

Next draw date: April 12, 2010.

Visit the Members’ Area for complete contest details.


2. CONFERENCE 2010: Plan your Montreal experience

Don’t miss out on the fun and excitement—and the savings! If you haven’t registered for EAC’s 2010 conference yet, don’t delay! Register by April 1 to save $80 off the regular conference fee. Visit the conference website to register now.

Ready to book your trip? Stay in the heart of the action and don’t miss a moment of this one-of-a-kind conference experience. If you’re looking for a place to stay, check out the conference website for exclusive EAC hotel rates during the conference. We have listed accommodations—ranging from hotels to residences—that fit everyone’s budget. Make sure to book before the cut-off dates to ensure price and availability.

Full- and half-day options for pre-conference workshops

EAC’s Quebec/Atlantic Canada branch is offering four exciting pre-conference workshops on Friday, May 28: two in English and two in French. Refresh and enhance your editing skills with one of the full-day workshops, or leave some time to explore the delights of Montreal by taking one of the half-day workshops!

Eight-Step Editing (full-day)

Already a legend, Eight-Step Editing is the classic workshop that gives both writers and editors techniques to improve readability. If you haven’t taken this workshop before, or you haven’t taken it in a while, now’s your chance!

Tour de la question : la révision de A à Z (full-day)

Quoi corriger et comment? Combien de temps allouer? Doit-on imposer la nouvelle orthographe? Que penser de la féminisation? Cet atelier vous renseignera sur les principes de base de la révision, sur les pièges les plus fréquents, sur des ouvrages connus et méconnus.

Estimating: The Key to Making Money (half-day)

Whether you’re an in-house or freelance editor, being able to estimate costs accurately is important. Discuss the standard practices and learn some practical tips for breaking down a job according to task, costing out each task and tracking your estimating accuracy.

Initiation à la recherche de clients (half-day)

En assistant à ce séminaire, vous apprendrez comment vous lancer en affaires, comment dénicher des clients, combien de clients il vous faut, les cinq étapes de l’obtention d’un premier mandat et comment garder vos clients.

These pre-conference workshops will take place at the Grande Bibliothèque. Visit the conference website for more information and to register now.


3. NETWORKING: Small group get-togethers

Connecting with your fellow members is one of the greatest benefits of membership in EAC, but Canada’s vast geography and language difference can make it a challenge. Want to get to know some of the members in your area? EACers are trying to establish small groups in the following areas:

  • Winnipeg
  • Simcoe
  • Kingston
  • National Capital Region (francophones)
  • Halifax
  • Newfoundland

If you live in one of these regions, EAC volunteers may contact you to invite you to attend a small group get-together.


4. WEBSITE: Newsfeeds and podcasts

Monthly branch meetings are a great way to network with fellow editors, catch up on the activities of the branch and take in an informational program. Typical programs have covered topics as diverse as working with self-publishing authors, taxes, the magazine industry and working with translators. They are presented by skilled professionals with specialized knowledge, and the discussions that follow can be just as informative and entertaining as the presentations.

For some, attending the monthly branch meetings in person is difficult, if not impossible. So that all our members can benefit from the programs at branch meetings, several branches have been recording these sessions and providing them to members online. As high-speed Internet access improves, and the popularity of portable MP3 players increases, more and more members are able to take advantage of this service.

To make it easier to access the recordings of branch programs, members can now use EAC’s members-only podcast service. If you are already using podcasts for music and other audio programs, simply subscribe to the EAC members-only podcast using your podcast/RSS software or web service. Examples of podcast/RSS software include iTunes, Outlook, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Thunderbird and Safari. Examples of podcast/RSS Web services include Google Reader, Yahoo! and Bloglines. Most of the software and services listed are free. Try one or more to see which offers the features that are best for you.

The Members-only podcast requires a special username and password for access. This information is located on Interactive Voice.

Find out more about podcasts, newsfeeds and RSS.


5. MEMBER NEWS: A round of applause!

A book edited by Toronto branch member Rosemary Shipton was shortlisted for the prestigious 2010 Charles Taylor Award for Literary Non-Fiction. Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968–2000 by John English (published by Knopf Canada) did not win the award, but was one of four finalists chosen from a total of 125 submissions. Rosemary also edited two other books that were shortlisted for the Charles Taylor Award in 2008. Richard Gwyn’s John A.: The Man Who Made Us won the prize.

Member news is a new component of the EAC website and is designed to not only applaud EAC members’ successes but also let visitors to the website know that EAC members win awards, publish books and make their mark on the communications world in other important ways.

If you have member news to share, contact member news coordinator, Marguerite Watson.


6. PEN CANADA: Freedom of expression

Freedom of expression as a basic human right is a concept that is intrinsic to what we do and who we are. The reality of writers like our own in Canada being imprisoned and tortured in other countries simply for giving voice to their imaginations or views is something almost unimaginable.

PEN is a non-profit literary organization—a community of writers, readers and supporters working to defend freedom of expression, advance literature and foster international exchange and understanding. PEN is apolitical and responds only in instances where freedom of expression is threatened (at home or abroad), when a writer is silenced, imprisoned or otherwise persecuted. In the last five years alone, PEN has helped to free more than 40 writers from prison. PEN Canada, one of the most active of the 145 centres of PEN around the world, piloted a program for persecuted writers living in exile here in Canada, a program being adopted by other countries.

Visit the PEN Canada website for more information and to become a member.


7. INDUSTRY NEWS: Canadian booksellers vs. Amazon

Canadian Booksellers Association (CBA) has written to the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, asking his government to reject Amazon.com’s application to establish a new cultural business in Canada. Copies of CBA’s letter have also been sent to the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada and the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry.

CBA contends that allowing Amazon to operate a business within Canada would contravene the Investment Canada Act, which requires that foreign investments in the book publishing and distribution sector be compatible with national cultural policies and be of net benefit to Canada and the Canadian-controlled sector.

CBA President Stephen Cribar argues that Amazon’s entry into Canada would detrimentally affect the country’s independent businesses and cultural industries: “Individual Canadian booksellers have traditionally played a key role in ensuring the promotion of Canadian authors and Canadian culture. These are values that no American dot.com retailer could ever purport to understand or promote.”

For more information, visit the CBA website.


8. CULTURAL HUMAN RESOURCES COUNCIL: Human resources survey

The Cultural Human Resources Council has engaged the Conference Board of Canada to undertake a survey to examine the human resources issues the cultural sector in Canada faces.

EAC members are invited to complete the survey, the results of which will be used to help improve opportunities for Canadians in the cultural sector. A report on the findings from this cross-Canada survey will be released in the summer of 2010 and will be made available free of charge.

The survey can be accessed at: www.conferenceboard.ca/culturesurvey.aspx.


9. SHOP EAC: New products

After a long Canadian winter (for most of us), all our offices need some freshening up. While you’re letting in the fresh air and chasing out the dust bunnies, consider giving your office a refresher with an “I’m not obsessed. I’m an editor” mousepad, wall clock or mug.

These items are available for sale only until April 30, so hurry over to EAC’s CafePress shop to make your secure online purchase today.


The EAC national e-news update is produced on behalf of the national executive council by the national office.

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