Seattle Workshops for Editors

www.the-efa.org

Taking a moment to plug two upcoming workshops I organized on behalf of the Editorial Freelancers Association's Seattle chapter. The instructors are all experts in the field, and each workshop offers a unique professional-development opportunity for freelance editors.

Note that these events are open to EFA members and nonmembers, and both require advance registration (see the course descriptions below for links to EFA's online registration form). Registration for each one will close 24 hours before its date or when we reach capacity, whichever comes first.


Workshop 1: Helping Authors Through the Self-Publishing Process
Learn how to help clients conquer the new frontier of publishing!

Saturday, November 9, 9:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave — Level 4, Room 2, Seattle, WA
EFA members $49 / nonmembers $64

Register here: http://www.the-efa.org/eve/registration.php

Details:

Publishing has changed — and so, too, has the average client freelance editors see walk in the door. Once, we could help authors polish their manuscripts or tell a better story; we could even help them draft a proposal. But what happened next was up to agents, in-house editors in New York, and the vagaries of fate. Today, authors may still harbor traditional publishing aspirations or may be completely committed to going the self-publishing route. Whether self-publishing clients are looking to put out a Junior League cookbook, tell their life story, or publish the ongoing adventures of Argon the Space Pirate, freelance editors have an incredible role to play in helping them navigate the process.

At Girl Friday Productions, we have done it all, and we’ll help you help your clients:

• Determine what services they need. Do they need a developmental edit? Do they need a copyedit or only a proof?
• Decide whether they need outside help in addition to editorial (for example design, project management, and/or publicity and marketing services).
• Choose between different self-publishing service providers.
• Understand what’s needed for electronic conversion. In which formats do they want their book to appear?
• Prepare for the role they will need to play in marketing their work and using social media.

Girl Friday Productions is the West Coast’s premier boutique editing, writing, social media, and book production company. While we all got our start in-house, since 2006 we’ve helped aspiring authors put their best work forward. Executive directors Ingrid Emerick and Leslie Miller will share editorial war stories and logistics, while social media pro Andrea Dunlop will give you an expert overview of how the publicity and marketing landscape for books has changed.


Workshop 2: Getting the Most Out of The Chicago Manual of Style

A great in-person opportunity to learn from one of EFA's most popular instructors!

Saturday, November 16, 9:00-11:00 am
Present Sense, 4131 Woodland Park Avenue North, Seattle, WA

EFA members $39 / nonmembers $54

Register here:  http://www.the-efa.org/eve/registration.php

Details:

The Chicago Manual of Style is used to edit journal articles, academic papers, and trade and academic book manuscripts. This comprehensive style guide can be difficult to use, but mastering its intricacies transfers to using other specialized style guides. This workshop shares techniques from finding the most relevant citation to making decisions when Chicago and the dictionary don't agree. Bring Chicago—and the dictionary it's based on (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Ed.), if you have it—to do exercises and discuss concepts regarding this powerful editing tool.


Instructor Kris Fulsaas is a freelance editor and proofreader whose clientele includes Countryman Press, Media Partners, Sasquatch Books, Mountaineers Books, and Seattle Homes & Lifestyles. She is also an instructor in the University of Washington editing certificate program. In her 33 years in publishing, Kris has worked in-house as a book production editor and a magazine production manager.

Watch BookExpo America's Event Stream Right Here!

Hey, publishing peeps! I can't attend BookExpo America in NYC this year, but — with BEA's handy streaming player — I can make like a fly on its exhibit center's walls. I know there will be lots of great stuff to catch up on each day, but I'm particularly hoping to catch glimpses of some favorite (scheduled!) names in children's literature, such as . . .

Walter Dean Myers
Lois Lowry
John Green
Sharon Creech
R. L. Stine
Mo Willems
Dav Pilkey
Eoin Colfer

Fun, right? I thought some of you might like to join me (it's not stalking if we do it together), so please check back here June 5–7 to catch conference highlights.

[Updating the post on July 7 to mention that I've replaced the streaming player that previously inhabited this space with the sentence you're reading NOW. The player automatically started showing videos whenever anyone visited this post or the blog's home page, and that proved too annoying. To me. Honestly, that sort of thing drives me nuts! So the player went bye-bye. The wonderful videos are still available at BookExpo's main site, though, so please do visit that to catch up on or relive some BEA events!]

Oh, and by the way: Are you an Editorial Freelancers Association member? Or are you interested in learning more about the organization and/or hiring a professional freelancer from our talented ranks? Please stop by EFA's booth at BEA — it's number 2330. Our friendly reps would love to see you!

EFA's Fall Lineup!

I still serve as education chair on the Editorial Freelancers Association's Board of Governors, and I am happy to share that the Fall 2011 Education Program is all set — with registrations streaming in at a nice clip!

None of this season's classes are directly related to children's writing, but I know many children's authors also freelance in other areas, and I thought readers might like to at least check out the offerings. They include

• Proofreading: Online class starting 9/29
• Basics of Editing and Proofreading: NYC workshop on 10/21
• Getting Started in Editorial Freelancing: NYC workshop on 10/22
• Basics of Websites for Freelancers: NYC workshop on 10/22 (Note that those registering for all 3 NYC workshops via the combo option receive a 20 percent discount!)
• Tips & Tricks: Editing with Adobe Acrobat: Webinar on 10/26
• Rev Up Your Marketing Machine for 2012: Webinar on 12/7

Let me know if I can answer any questions about the lineup!

Working Through THE ARTIST'S WAY

Some of you know that one of the classes formerly on deck for EFA's fall schedule was based on Julia Cameron's well-known creativity program-in-book-form The Artist's Way. It was supposed to start this week, but I had to cancel it Friday due to low registration. (And by "low registration," I mean NO registration. It happens!)

I had planned to take this course. After canceling, I looked into the instructor's other classes. Her workshops get RAVES. But the class times just weren't right for me.

So guess what. I've decided to work through the program on my own. Starting . . . before now . . . here is the plan.

• I'll study one book chapter each week. (Did that on Sunday.)
• I'll write daily morning pages — that's 3 pages of longhand stream-of-consciousness writing, first thing every day. (So far, so good.)
• And I'll take myself on a weekly artist date — that's a solo activity of my choosing meant to feed my creative side. (I've got something BIG brewing to kick things off.)

Also, I'll track my thoughts 'n' progress on the blog. As I feel like it.

Wanna follow along . . . or cheer me on . . . or tell me about your own AW experience? Leave a comment here at the blog to let me know you're out there!

Meanwhile, I've got some work to do so I can justify slipping away for my date tomorrow night.

Plugging EFA's Fall Classes

It's that time of year again — time for me to plug the fall course lineup I put together as education chair for the Editorial Freelancers Association.

First up, starting September 21 in Seattle, is the NEW-to-EFA 12-week The Artist's Way Class based on Julia Cameron's bestselling book on creativity, The Artist's Way. This is an excellent opportunity to work through Cameron's program (and more!) in a fun and supportive group setting. The class meets Tuesday evenings through December 7 at Present Sense.

Next, we have a trio of online classes (by far our most popular format!) to suit a number of professional-development needs:

• Proofreading — starting September 23. Taught by our popular copyediting instructor, this 5-week online course is a great intro to proofreading for anyone wishing to explore the topic or expand their editorial skills.
• How to Get Freelance Writing Work — starting October 13. If you want to write great pitches, make more effective business calls, and sell higher-paying stories, this 5-week online class is for you!
• Navigating the Children's Writing Biz — starting October 29. This NEW 4-week online class demystifies the business side of children's publishing. Lessons cover the market, must-have resources, submissions processes, and networking.

Then later in the fall, we're heading East to sponsor three more in-person workshops:

• Substantive Editing I — November 6. This one-day clinic is held at EFA Headquarters in Manhattan focuses on editing for clarity. The instructor uses a mix of lecture, in-class exercises, and group discussion.
• Substantive Editing II — November 13. Picking up where the first clinic leaves off, this workshop — also held at EFA Headquarters — delves deeper into the art of substantive editing. The clinic stands alone, and you don't need to have taken SE I to register. (Note that there is a 20 percent discount for those taking both clinics.)
• Introduction to Indexing — December 4. This NEW half-day workshop in Richmond, Virginia (a new location for the education program!), gives freelancers an overview of indexing as an editorial discipline and helps them think about adding indexing to their list of services.

I am really looking forward to this season!

For full course descriptions and to use EFA's secure online registration system, visit the catalog page today. And do feel free to help spread the word!

Busy Spring-into-Summer

Thought I'd better check in here before I lose my lease.

It's been a busy spring of chasing new freelance projects as a few previously scheduled ones fell through. Hate when that happens, but it is part of the biz. I constantly remind myself that I'm no different from the businesses and independent contractors I use (or don't use, or decide I won't use, or stop using). It's easy, when you're lucky enough to generally have steady, reliable work, to take a break from hunting for new clients and thinking up new ways to use your skills. But this has been a good reminder for me that keeping in touch with the regulars and introducing myself to the futures is essential. 'Cause I'm all about keeping the work coming IN.

I wrapped up my PNWA gig as a Spring 2010 Writer in Residence. I got to run a Grade 6 writing workshop at a Seattle-area elementary school. What a treat to work with students. (Not to mention my target audience.) They were sweet, smart, and so insightful.

There's been lots of hearth-and-home stuff to deal with, too, including tending to my honey of an office assistant (see sidebar for pic), who's had a very rough several months of dealing with serious back problems. I worked very late last night, and I can't even tell you how happy I was to have her "on the job" with me, just like old times — she felt good enough to supervise, so yay for that step forward.

What else is new? Well, I am thrilled to say that I'm hard at work on a YA manuscript. It's historical fiction: my favorite thing to write. I've actually been doing the research for a very long time, off and on (and mostly off). So far I've created a thorough outline and gotten unbelievably satisfying peer feedback on it — the kind that tweaks your own vision for the story in such a way that you really wake up and smell the game-changing coffee. Love when that happens. I've written a significant chunk and set the attainable goal of finishing a decent first draft by year's end. I plan to start blogging my progress, people!

And that brings me to what's going on today: In just a few hours I'll be on the horn (and Web) moderating a fun teleconference for the Editorial Freelancers Association. The topic is "Social Media Strategies for Freelancers," and my wonderful guests are writer/social media strategist Greg Pincus of The Happy Accident and freelancing expert Jake Poinier of Dear Dr. Freelance.

Blogging Workshop in Seattle THIS Saturday!

I'd like to extend a not-quite-but-almost-last-minute invitation for any Seattle-area folks to register for a blogging workshop I'm hosting for the Editorial Freelancers Association this Saturday, March 20.

Here's the description from EFA's Spring 2010 course catalog:

Blogging Basics

Saturday, March 20, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Seattle Public Library, 1000 4th Ave, Level 4 - PACCAR Room 6

Is your creative spark threatening to go out? Is your freelance business slow? A blog can help you revive them both. Blogging is a free, fun way to get your name out there to a potential audience of millions, and in this 4-hour class you’ll learn everything you need to know to start your own blog in 5 minutes or less. First we’ll look at the “big picture” of blogging, including how it fits into the context of other social networking media like Facebook and Twitter. Then we’ll proceed to the nuts and bolts of how to set one up, how to promote it, and yes — even how to make a little money from it. Laptops are welcome but not required.

Instructor Rebecca Agiewich is the author of BreakupBabe: A Novel (Ballantine Books, 2006), which sprang from her dating blog “Breakup Babe” and was a finalist for the 2007 Lulu Blooker prize — a literary prize for books based on blogs. She is also a writing coach, freelance editor, and journalist, whose travel writing can be found in places like the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Alaska Airlines Magazine. You can find out more about Rebecca at RebeccaAgiewich.com.

Advance registration is required. The fee for EFA members is $99, and it's $124 for nonmembers. Feel free to pass along this notice — and let me know if you have any questions.

Hope to see you there. I'll be the one with the cookies!

EFA Fall Classes Start Soon!

I recently rejoined the EFA board as education chair, and I am pleased to share news of our Fall 2009 Education Program. We have an exciting season of targeted professional-development opportunities planned and hope you'll join us for some of our online offerings and/or live events in Seattle and NYC.

ONLINE CLASSES

How to Get Freelance Writing Work (starts 10/13)

Editing Memoir and Narrative Nonfiction (starts 10/15)

Dealing with Nightmare Clients (starts 10/21)

Proofreading (starts 11/2)

Turning Journal Entries into Polished Pieces (starts 11/30)

Writing from Healthy Starts (starts 12/1)

SEATTLE EVENTS

Getting Started in Editorial Freelancing (10/17)

Blogging Basics (12/5)

NYC SEMINAR

Supplementing Your Income with PR Work (11/14)

For full course descriptions, pricing information, and a link to EFA's online registration system, see EFA's main catalog page. Be sure to act now and SIGN UP for any classes you're eyeing, especially those starting just around the corner in October. Class size is limited, and some courses do sell out early.

Hope to see some of you in class! And please share this notice with any interested friends and colleagues.

EFA's New Fall Classes

Just a quickie note to promote EFA's Fall 2008 Education Program. I resigned as education chair over the summer after putting together one final lineup (my ninth). I'll miss working with EFA's membership, my fellow board members, and the course instructors, but the time was right for me to move on.

This season's offerings cover a wide variety of professional-development interests:

• Pricing Strategies for Freelancers (online)
• Copyediting Basics (online)
• Substantive Editing Clinic (NYC)
• Advanced Substantive Editing Clinic (NYC)
• How to Get Freelance Writing Work (online; NEW!)

My replacement on the Board of Governors is Jennifer Maybin. I know she'll be a great fit!

Children's Writing Workshop Starts April 18 — ONLINE

My spring Children's Writing Workshop starts next Friday, April 18, and I can't wait to get started.

I love the easy online format — the class gets its own discussion board in Yahoo! Groups, which makes it easy for participants to post writing, questions, and feedback anytime the urge strikes. This is NOT a critique group — we won't be looking at participants' previously-written material. Rather, we will use the workshop to take a closer look at the craft of writing for children, open each writer's story-idea floodgates, and fuel each writer's quest to start a new project.

What we'll do:

• easy reflection exercises
• fun journaling activities
• focused writing exercises
• informative readings
• casual group discussions

Why we'll do it:

• to explore personal writing motivations
• to foster creativity
• to facilitate the writing process (put another way: to make you START WRITING that idea you've been kicking around for months . . . or, heck, years)
• to look at published samples and read helpful biz-related info from a variety of sources
  
• to share writing insights with peers

Where and when class meets:

• online
• 6 Fridays in a row — at whatever time you feel like checking email or signing in to the course Web page

Group environment:

• fun
• friendly
• open
• supportive
• productive
• STRESS-FREE

For a workshop description, student testimonials, and registration info, surf on over to the Editorial Freelancers Association course catalog.

If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment here on the blog.

I hope to see you in class!

Missed My Own Blogoversary

How sad! I added a countdown banner on the left side of the main page about 30 days before the first anniversary of officially kicking off this blog. I noticed today that I have 355 days to go till my second blogoversary. I meant to observe the first with some sort of post, I really did. Sorry, blog. You know I love ya!

I'll have more time to regularly post once my current project wraps up. As completely happy as I am to be working on it, I am really, really, really looking forward to a change of pace. I'm especially excited to start my April Children's Writing Workshop. Interacting with other writers — and talking specifically about the children's writing biz — is always fun, and it always inspires me.

My Spring Writing Workshop Is On

I'm teaching my online Children's Writing Workshop again this year. It's part of the Editorial Freelancers Association's Spring 2008 Education Program (I'm EFA's education chair), and it runs for 6 weeks starting Friday, April 18. I can't wait — I worked with a nice big group last year, and we had a blast.

Here's the description from the course catalog:

Updated to provide participants with more of the writing time they crave, this class explores the craft of writing for children through reflection, journaling, and focused writing exercises. Fun, stress-free assignments are designed to foster creativity and facilitate the process of writing for young readers. They include readings (recommended children's books and biz resources), daily journaling activities, group discussions, and the completion of one short, polished writing sample. Come ready to share ideas, hone your writing skills, and have a good time!

Check out the catalog (see link above) for student testimonials, registration details, and information about the other terrific offerings on the schedule.

Feel free to forward this announcement!

Upcoming Events

Just a quick promotional post about a couple of upcoming events.

My next online class for the Editorial Freelancers Association starts Wednesday, March 21. It's a 5-week course called Children's Writing Workshop, and available spots are filling up. Here's the official description:

Participants will explore the craft of writing for children through reflection, journaling, and focused writing exercises designed to foster creativity and facilitate the process of writing for young readers. Assignments include readings, group discussions, and the completion of one short, polished writing sample. Come ready to share ideas, hone your writing skills, give and receive meaningful, supportive feedback — and have a good time!

This class is open to EFA members and nonmembers alike. For more information and to register, click here.

I'm also presenting a program called "The Process of Publishing a Children's Book from Concept to Market" as part of the Bellewood Author Series in Issaquah, WA, April 4 at 10:3o a.m. After my presentation, I'll hold a Q&A session and sign copies of my graphic novels Black Beauty and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It should be a fun morning — hope to see you there!