Previous workshops

2017

Fiction editing workshop with Louise Thurtell (Saturday 7 April 2018)

Workshop topics include:

• developing and maintaining a positive relationship with an author when you are editing his or her manuscript
• the craft of structural editing of fiction, including: writing style (narrative voice, balancing narrative summary vis-a-vis scenes and dialogue), characterisation, plotting and structuring of a manuscript.

Louise will use a fiction manuscript she edited as the case study for the workshop. Participants will have the opportunity to look at the original pre-edited manuscript and then read the editorial report Louise provided to the author. In addition, participants will be able to examine and discuss a marked-up version of part of the manuscript. Louise will also provide a summary of her notes about the craft of structural editing.

2015

Advanced Word for Editors

Presenter: Kevin O’Brien 
SA Writers Centre, 187 Rundle Street
Saturday 11 April 2015, 09:30–17:00 

If you’re generally comfortable with MS Word’s basic formatting functions and routinely use Track Changes while editing, then this may be the workshop you need to take you to the next level of onscreen editing expertise. 

Our workshop for maximum twenty people will address the following MS Word advanced functions and more: Creating and formatting contents and figures tables, creating macros, using the cross-referencing tool, applying styles, using templates, and wildcard searches. 

Registrants must bring their own laptop computers and ensure that a version of Microsoft Word has been installed. 

Presenter Kevin O’Brien is a sought-after MS Word industry trainer. He has taught Word workshops for the Australian Publishers Association, University of Sydney, University of Technology in Sydney, and Society of Editors NSW. He is also a full-time freelance editor and an experienced book editor – read more about him in his blog http://www.altedit.com/.

2014

Ebooks 101 for editors, presented by Sarah JH Fletcher

Saturday 31 May 2014, 9.30 AM to approx. 4.30 PM

Do you want to start learning about ebooks, but don’t know where to begin? This is the course for you. Through a mixture of demonstration, presentation and small-group discussion, you will explore key editorial questions about ebooks:

•           What is an ebook?

•           What is the role of the editor in ebook publishing?

•           How are books created?

•           How do you assess the quality of an ebook?

•           How are errors in ebooks corrected?

•           How can editors best work with technical staff and outside suppliers?

•           What are some of the big-picture issues affecting ebook publishing?

•           What's next?

 After the course, you will be given access to an ebook and some optional hands-on correction exercises to try using free software.

Content note

This is a beginner-level course, designed for editorial staff with little (or no) experience with ebooks or code.  

This course focuses on the most popular ebook type: reflowable and text-focused. We will mention illustrated and fixed-format ebooks, but not discuss them in depth.   

About the presenter

Sarah JH Fletcher began her editorial career inhouse at trade publishers before establishing herself in the rockstar freelance lifestyle. A longtime consumer of digital publishing, Sarah brings her editorial perspective to the development and testing of quality ebooks.

www.sarahjhfletcher.com

Preparation for the accreditation exam workshop presented by Meryl Potter, DE

Saturday 8 February, 9.30 am to 4.30 pm

If you need to refresh your editing skills or if you plan to sit for the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) accreditation exam on 3 May this year or in the future, this workshop is for you. It will be an intensive day, with lots of practice exercises—it’s not intended for beginners.

The workshop focused on:

• Preparation for the exam—tips and strategies for reducing the stress, managing your time, and reaching the 80% pass mark 
• Editing a short extract, comparable to the sample exam extract for part 2 of the exam—following a brief, marking up efficiently by hand, making style decisions, preparing a sound style sheet, writing civil and effective author queries, and dealing with the tricky things that might be included 
• Some short-answer exercises for practice (e.g. lists, tables, language), and making sound choices of questions in part 3 of the exam 
• Q&A forum—time to ask any other questions you might have. 

Presenter Meryl Potter is an editor, writer and project manager with more than 30 years’ publishing experience in education, trade, academic and custom book publishing, trade magazines and professional journals, and for a broad range of corporations and corporate consultancies. She teaches editing for the Macleay College Diploma of Book Editing and Publishing, and has presented workshops for the NSW and SA Society of Editors. Meryl has played a major role in designing and preparing questions for the Accreditation Exam.

2013

Project management for editors

Presenters: Karen Disney, DE and Kathie Stove ELS, DE
Saturday 9 November 1.30 pm – 4.45 pm

Karen Disney and Kathie Stove, Distinguished Editors and long-time members of the Society of Editors (SA), have both managed the editing services for large projects such as environmental impact statements and state budgets. Together they presented a workshop that looks at project management for editors – role, scope, people, timeline, budget, quality control, communications, risks and the paperwork.

They drew on examples from their own vast experience and set scenarios for groups of participants to grapple with.

Sharpen your skills!

Presenter: Susan Rintoul MA, BA, DE, Councillor (SA) IPEd
Sunday 11 August, 1.30   4.30 pm

New editors seeking practical guidance along with seasoned professionals looking for an editorial-tune up are invited to attend our next workshop Sharpen your skills. Whether you are a recent graduate, tentative newcomer or experienced editor, this hands-on workshop will (re)introduce some of the technical skills of editing, along with some of the more abstract, such as confidence and tact.

Suitable for: newer editors, and those wishing to review their skills

This workshop will look at both the mechanical skills of editing, and the skills that cannot be taught, such as confidence in professional judgment.  The focus will be on exercises to enable practical learning. Most will be on paper but some exercises will be online.

About Susan Rintoul

Susan has been teaching editing courses in the Advanced Diploma of the Arts (Professional Writing) at the Adelaide College of the Arts (TAFE) for 14 years, with a two-year break. The diploma provides tuition in creative and non-fiction writing and editing with a focus on the marketplace. She was an owner of Seaview Press, a self-publishing firm that produced more than 750 titles. She has served on the committee of the Society of Editors (SA) over the years and is a past president, honorary life member, and current member. She was the convenor of the National IPEd Conference in Adelaide in 2009. Susan is presently a councillor on the board of IPEd, representing South Australia.

Editing for the web

Presenter: Elizabeth Spiegel
Saturday 1 June, 9.30 am – 4.30 pm 

Elizabeth Spiegel AE, a member of Society of Editors (Tasmania), has a degree in Internet Studies from Curtin University and a Professional Certificate in Web Accessibility from the University of South Australia. She has worked on the ATO's websites for the past 10 years as well as editing content for other government and private clients.

No matter how wonderful the contributions of designers and developers, the foundation of any website is words. An effective site is well organised and well written, with content and metadata that is attractive to both search engines and real people. An effective editor can make the difference between an engaging site and a frustrating one.

This full-day workshop focused on:

• how the web differs from print (and how it's just the same)
• how to write effective headings and hyperlinks
• when to use lists and tables
• how to help search engines to find a site's content
• what metadata is and why it matters
• how you can help people with disabilities to find and use a site. 

2012

Revision of the Australian Standards for Editing Practice (free workshop)

Facilitator: Kerry Davies AE, President of the Society of Editors (Qld)
Sunday 12 February, 10 am – 4 pm

The IPEd Council has determined that the Australian Standards for Editing Practice (ASEP), revised edition, will be published before the next accreditation exam, currently scheduled for August 2012.

Each state has been asked to review the original (2001) Standards against the most recent draft, and propose any changes they deem necessary. SA did this with gusto and style. The outcomes are being reported in other parts of this website and in ... the word. The facilitator will compare the various state's revisions and coordinate the final version.

Preparing for the accreditation exam

Presenter: Meryl Potter DE
Sunday 12 August, 9.30 am – 4.30 pm

The workshop focused on:

• Preparation for the exam—tips and strategies for reducing the stress, managing your time, and reaching the 80% pass mark
• Editing a short extract, comparable to the sample exam extract for part 2 of the exam—following a brief, marking up efficiently by hand, making style decisions, preparing a sound style sheet, writing civil and effective author queries, and dealing with the tricky things that might be included
• Some short-answer exercises for practice (e.g. lists, tables, language), and making sound choices of questions in part 3 of the exam   
• Q&A forum—time to ask any other questions you might have. (You can also email questions for the Q&A forum before the workshop to the coordinator, Pamela Ball.

Meryl Potter is an editor, writer and project manager with more than 30 years’ publishing experience in education, trade, academic and custom book publishing, trade magazines and professional journals, and for a broad range of corporations and corporate consultancies. She teaches editing for the Macleay College Diploma of Book Editing and Publishing, and has presented workshops for the NSW and SA Society of Editors. Meryl has played a major role in designing and preparing questions for the Accreditation Exam.

The business of editing

Presenter: Kathie Stove
Saturday 27 October, 1.00 pm – 4.30 pm

Kathie Stove is a distinguished member of Society of Editors SA. She is a highly experienced freelance editor and she led the national team that developed the Australian Standards for Editing Practice. 

Whether you are a practising freelance editor or an aspiring one, or an editor who wants to take a look at the way you work, Kathie’s workshop is designed to provide a range of valuable insights. It will include presentations and individual and group exercises in:

• Personal vision (solo exercise)   

• Group brainstorm: Is freelancing for you?

• Prioritising and planning for the nearer future (pairs exercise)   
• The time management matrix

• Managing time on the job (small group exercise)   

• Whole group discussions: Managing your office, How much are you worth? Managing money, Self promotion

Social media for editors

Presenter: Jenny Clift
Saturday 10 November, 1.00 pm – 4.30 pm

It’s practically impossible to ignore the rise of social media and it’s becoming an integral part of our lives whether we like it or not. If you’re trying to market your professional skills it’s pretty much a necessity to have a website and also a social media presence.

This isn’t a beginners' workshop but extensive social media knowledge isn’t required. Perhaps you’ve started tweeting and wonder what to do next?

Jenny will delve into particular social media platforms and show why and how you might use them both professionally and personally. She will focus mainly on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, YouTube, and Pinterest and show you what to do once you’ve set yourself up on these platforms. She will showcase real-world examples, both good and not so good.

PresenterJenny Clift is a web content editor and writer with extensive experience in social media both professionally and personally. Jenny has worked in the digital realm since 1995, including being a digital media officer with the University of South Australia, where she successfully established the University’s corporate presence on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr, and gave presentations to staff on social media. She was also involved in developing and maintaining the corporate web presence.

 She delves into social media on a personal level also with her personal and photography blog Semantically Driven, and the implementation and maintenance of the safarisuit.com website and Facebook page, and has her finger in many social media pies. You can find Jenny on Twitter@jenseeya.

2011

Advanced Word 2007 for editors

Presenter: Emma Koch
Friday 12 August

Emma Koch presented a workshop on advanced features of MS Word – macros, templates and styles.

Much of an editor’s job is repetitive, especially as the technological requirements of the role become more complex. Using features available in Microsoft Word 2007 to automate tasks improves both efficiency and accuracy. This workshop focused on the ways in which templates, styles and formatting, and macros can assist editors to reduce repetitive tasks.IPEd generously supported this workshop by paying the airfare to bring Emma from Melbourne.

Grammar for editors

Presenter: Dr Margaret Cargill
Saturday 29 October

Was grammar ever so much fun? Dr Margaret Cargill expounded on issues and questions from the perspective of language professionals editing the writing of others. Participants sent in questions beforehand and Margaret addressed them in the following categories:

• Changing English – what is the meaning of ‘correct’ grammar in the 21st century?
• Horses for courses – register and formality issues for editors
• Punctuation and its relationship to grammar problems in editing
• Corpus linguistics approaches to investigating grammar problems – free software and websites you can use in your work
• Participants’ own issues and questions that are of concern.

Margaret currently holds an Adjunct Senior Lectureship in the School of Agriculture, Food & Wine at the University of Adelaide, and runs a training and consultancy business: ‘SciWriting: Communicating science effectively in English’. She is an applied linguist specialising in the development of research communication skills for scientists who use English either as a first or as an additional language. She has 20 years’ experience working intensively with international research students and their supervisors, including in the University of Adelaide's internationally recognised Integrated Bridging Program (1995–2008). Margaret received the University’s Stephen Cole the Elder Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 1997.