I had a blast at the centennial Sigma Tau Delta conference this past week! One of the highlights for me was the Publishing and Editing panel by Therese Holzapfel and Robin Alvarez. I was so inspired, I just had to write a blog post about my main takeaways and some ideas on how both writers and editors just starting out can apply these ideas to their career.
Copyediting obscure topics: You don't have to have background in a subject to copy edit it! Therese inspired me when she brought up this point. She currently works as an editor at the American Economic Association, and she has no background whatsoever in economics. I love learning new things, especially through reading and editing, so this just reminded me how much I get to do that in my job! It also reminded me that I don't have to drive myself crazy learning everything I can; I should focus on honing my craft and the rest will fall into place.
Networking is important: You never know who will be the magic recommendation that books you a client or sells a copy of your book! Robin and Therese both spoke about the importance of engagement; building genuine connections through commenting, DMing, and helpful reshares gets you much further than shouting into the void about why people should support you.
No one will die, I promise: We all need to be reminded of this. This phrase rang in my head long after Therese said it, and I believe it will for a very, very long time. No one will die if there's a comma splice, or a formatting error in your self-published book, or...
Don't be afraid to get a degree: If you have the means to get a degree and you want one, go for it! If that is what you need to battle imposter syndrome, to strengthen your skills, to create a supportive network, it's worth it. Robin talked a lot about her experience getting her MFA in creative writing and the mentorship she did with Writer's House. Putting yourself out there can be scary, but consider Robin a success story! Don't have the means for a degree? Try some low-cost or free webinars! The Editorial Freelancers Association has great ones for editors, and Now Novel has some for writers.
Get a critique partner and share your work with each other: This will help you figure out how you want to be treated and treat others, what you like and dislike about feedback, and what boundaries you need to set to protect your vulnerability. This is especially helpful for people that, like me, both write and edit!
Interested to hear more? Read more about Robin on her website and watch out for her upcoming books!
I had so much fun at the Sigma Tau Delta centennial convention! I got to present some of my poetry, and I met so many amazing lovers of language.
(If you grabbed one of my business cards, thank you! Reach out to me, I would love to hear from you ;)) Hopefully I will get to go to more conferences soon!
Thank you again, Therese and Robin, for amazing panel.
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