August 2017

Next meeting:

Tuesday, 5 September 2017

Research on Editing in South AfricaOur speaker for the evening will be Melanie Law, a South African PhD student who is currently enrolled for a cotutelle/joint PhD in Linguistics at Macquarie University, Sydney, and at North-West University, South Africa, in which she is investigating the role of editorial intervention in processes of language variation and change.Melanie will discuss the scope and

development of research on editing in South Africa, reflecting on research trends in this area and some of the key challenges for editors and editing researchers. She will also highlight how the work done by IPEd and the Australian editors’ societies has informed research on editing in South Africa.

Melanie is a lecturer in Language Practice at North-West University, where she teaches text editing, publishing and research modules to third-year and honours students.

Bookings at https://iped.memnet.com.au/MemberSelfService/EventBooking.aspx?selectedEventId=110

6.30 pm for drinks and supper; 7.00 pm start.

Venue: Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street (near cnr Bathurst Street), Sydney.

October meeting:

Tuesday, 3 October 20176.30 pm for 7.00 pm start

Venue: Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street (near cnr Bathurst Street), Sydney.

Annual General Meeting

InsideBack issues of Blue Pencil 3

Editors’ lunches: hosts wanted 3

Article: The truth...nothing but, or anything goes? 4

Member discounts 5

From the committee 5

IPEd Conference update 6

Professional development 7

President’s presentation to the Editors NSW AGM, Tuesday, 1 August 2017.

Welcome to the first AGM of Editors NSW, and my first as branch president.This has been an even busier year than usual for your committee. It has taken

us a while to learn and adjust to the new operating procedures involved in being a branch of a national company, rather than a separate association governed by state legislation as we were previously. It has, of course, also been a huge task for the IPEd national office to consolidate the needs of six different state committees, all used to running things in their own distinct ways. However, the early teething problems have settled down and we are now reasonably comfortable with the new system, with just the occasional adjustment here and there to help things run as smoothly as possible for all of us.

Goodbye Society of Editors (NSW) Inc.!The Society of Editors (NSW) Inc. closed its metaphorical doors in November last year, when it was deregistered asan association. Shortly before that, we closed the society accounts and transferred the balance of just over $50,000 to IPEd. These funds were the society’s accumulated surplus, minus our unexpired membership subscriptions that we had alreadysent to IPEd at the end of June 2016. Half of this balance was allocated

for IPEd for its ‘future fund’, for example, to invest in advocacy and research, the new Editors Directory, upgrading the IPEd website and national professional development activities.The other $25,000 has been set aside by

IPEd for the exclusive use of Editors NSW. continued on page 2

Photograph: Julie Ganner

2 August 2017

The committee will be using this money to fund opportunities that we feel can benefit as many of our members as possible. In particular, we will be using it to subsidise members to attend national conferences, so that they can report back to those unable to attend, and also to subsidise our biennial one-day seminar for members. We have already used some of these funds for the free seminar held last November and the Brisbane conference this year, and expect to use about $4,000 to $5,000 a year for the next five years or so, until those funds are exhausted. The other participating state societies allocated their left-

over balances in similar proportions, and most have now also wound up their former organisations.

The Editors NSW committeeIn the meantime, Editors NSW has been operating as a branch of IPEd since July last year, with an updated logo to match its new name. Now that the IPEd national office staff have taken over

the membership and accounting roles, we no longer have a membership officer, and our former treasurer is now responsible for creating our branch budget, monitoring our spending and approving the payment of expenses. Apart from this, our other activities continue as usual, with a program of workshops, meetings, mentoring, dinners and lunches supported by our social media postings, monthly newsletter and branch website.For all of this we owe a very big thank you to all our

dedicated committee members, who work hard behind the scenes to provide this invaluable range of services to our members.First, many thanks to Zoë Hale, who did the lion’s share of

the work as branch president this year before handing over the role to me in April. Despite a demanding new job Zoë has kindly agreed to stay on the committee as vice president, and I am most grateful for her support. Thanks also to Rhonda Daniels who, as branch secretary,

has kept the committee in good order, reminding us of when actions are due to be completed, recording the minutes of our committee meetings and ensuring we have a clear account of our decisions. Rhonda retires from the committee this week, and we extend a very warm welcome to Sally Asnicar, who has agreed to act as Rhonda’s replacement.Russell Noakes has also done a great job this year as our

branch budget officer, creating six-monthly budgets and ensuring everyone is refunded their expenses as quickly as possible. We are particularly grateful for his good-natured adjustment to the new role, taking on the changes calmly while still making sure we stay on track with our spending.For our valued and always informative copies of Blue

Pencil, our thanks to Elisabeth Thomas, who volunteered to undertake training in InDesign last year so that she could produce our monthly newsletter. Elisabeth joined us in June 2016 and published her first copy of BP as a bumper catch-up issue for April–June. With the assistance of proofreaders Susie Pilkington, Zoë Hale and Robin Appleton, Elisabeth continues to volunteer many hours each month to wrestle the copy into shape and ensure we receive our copies on time.

continued from page 1

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In April, we were delighted to welcome Lilla Wendoloski and Teresa Llewellyn-Evans to the committee, to look after our professional development program. Thanks to Lilla we now have a solid program of workshops planned for the rest of this year, including memoir editing and punctuation for editors, with more to come in 2018. Meanwhile, Teresa has taken on the role of member meetings coordinator. A special thank you to her for organising a very enjoyable July dinner at Greek restaurant The Athenian in the city – and heroically coming in to check everything was in order before heading to the hospital for the arrival of her first grandchild, who decided to arrive on the same night. Teresa has a great line-up of events scheduled for the coming months, including speakers who will tell us about editing in South Africa, poetry editing and a residential editorial program, as well as our traditional end-of-year dinner in December.Thanks also to Adam Raffel, who looks after our branch

website and ensures it remains up-to-date and trouble-free. In the past year Adam has overseen the rebranding of the website from ‘Society of Editors (NSW) Inc.’ to ‘Editors NSW: a branch of IPEd’, linked the branch website to the national IPEd site and removed the New South Wales Editorial Services Directory, pointing members and authors to the new national Editors Directory instead. In March Adam also arranged for Wordfence to be installed on the branch website. This anti-virus program monitors the site for hacking and malicious attacks, so any threats can now be identified and removed quickly. A double thank you goes to Shannon Tyler-Kelly, who

manages to juggle two roles as both mentoring coordinator and social media coordinator on top of a busy new job. Shannon represents the branch on the national mentoring committee, finding and contacting mentors and mentees to work together, and acting as the point of contact for Editors NSW members seeking mentorship or offering to become mentors. As social media coordinator, he also looks after the Editors NSW LinkedIn account, monitors Twitter and posts regularly to the Editors NSW Facebook group with content relevant to our members.Terry Johnston retired from the Editors NSW committee in

March. We thank him for hosting the editors’ lunches for the branch this year, as well as briefly caretaking the workshop planning role. Three lunches were held at Lucetta’s in Kent St, Sydney, one at Grace of India in Milsons Point and one at the Thunderbird Café in Katoomba. All were well attended, and we hope to schedule further events in the near future.The branch was also supported by our IPEd Council and

Accreditation Board delegates, who are ex officio committee members nominated to their roles by the branch committee. Our thanks to Claire Linsdell, who served as IPEd councillor from July to September 2016, and to Michael Wyatt, who took over from Claire as IPEd councillor in October 2016. Michael keeps us up to date on Council’s most recent decisions, as well as helping to monitor IPEd’s financial operations and ensure responsible governance of the organisation. Thanks also to Linda Nix, who took over from me as Accreditation Board delegate for New South Wales in April and is currently helping the Board plan for the 2018 accreditation exam.

3 August 2017

A final special thank you to Susie Pilkington and Robin Appleton. Susie was a long-time member of the Society of Editors (NSW) Inc. committee, and has covered most roles at one time or another, most recently as the Editors NSW meetings coordinator, until retiring from the committee in March. We are most thankful that Susie remains with Editors NSW as our dedicated office manager, as without her support the committee’s capabilities would be substantially reduced. Meanwhile, honorary life member Robin comes from some distance each month to observe our committee meetings, and is always on hand to offer insights on past practice and experience when we need them. Her continued dedication to the committee and members of Editors NSW is always appreciated.

Branch budget for 2017–18For the time being, IPEd is managing the budget in six-monthly blocks. However, the two half-year budgets will eventually be consolidated into a single annual budget as we all become more familiar with the new systems.The aim is to break even (or make a small profit) on our

professional development program, while administration costs are funded from membership subscriptions raised by the national office. This half year we are forecasting a net budget surplus for our branch activities of $11,688, after allowing for a small subsidy for members to have a welcome drink at the July and December dinners.

All of the scanned and archived copies of Blue Pencil (and its previous incarnations) are now freely available on the Editors NSW website. You will find the links in the drop-down menu under the Resources tab on the website http://www.editorsnsw.com/.Catch up on your reading or delve into your organisation’s

interesting (or possibly murky) past. The first archived issue records that over 120 members attended the first Christmas dinner in 1979 – quite a turn-out).Let your colleagues who are not members of Editors NSW

know about the archive and encourage them to read about what they are missing and about the benefits of being an IPEd member.This is an interim arrangement as we hope to get the archive

stored on the IPEd website where the back issues will be available to all IPEd members.

Elisabeth Thomas

We have allocated $9,120 to continue funding the excellent administrative support that Susie Pilkington gives us. The budget also provides funding for ongoing expenses such as maintaining the website, social media and other promotions, and typical office expenses.We have also allocated up to $1,000 for sponsorships such

as the Macquarie Prize, which are funded by the national office, and we are able to draw on our reserved funds to support a limited number of members to attend the national conference. Russell Noakes will continue to track our use of these reserved funds over the coming year, as well as our general expenditure and professional development income against the budget, to ensure our members’ funds are always used responsibly and carefully.The 2016–17 accounts for our branch will be included in

IPEd’s full audited national accounts. These will be released with IPEd’s annual report at the September conference in Brisbane.A copy of the full Editors NSW annual report, which

includes further details of activities over the past year and the budget for the next six months, has been emailed to members. We hope you find it interesting reading, and look forward to your continued involvement and support as members of Editors NSW.

Julie Ganner, President

Over the past year, our lunch coordinator Terry Johnston created a series of events that took in various venues across the Sydney CBD, the Blue Mountains and Parramatta.As Terry is no longer part of the committee, we seek to

continue his innovative approach by extending the invitation to our members to act as host for an editors’ lunch in their area. This will offer new locations and venues for our members and we think it could take off. It is a simple process for anyone who wishes to be involved:

no money to be collected, no forms to fill in. • Contact ednsw.events@iped-editors.org and register

your willingness to host a lunch and a suggested date and venue.

• Book a table for 10 under the name ‘Editors NSW’ and be available to attend the event as the point of contact

• Send details of the booking and menu information or link to the email address above.

• The office manager will email the invitation to members, collect RSVPs and finalise numbers a few days before the event. The lunch host will then confirm numbers with the venue.

• Attendees pay for their own meal and drinks on the day.

We look forward to a barrage of offers.

Susie Pilkington

coninued from page 2

Back Issues of Blue Pencil

Image: CC0

Editors' Lunches: hosts wanted

4 August 2017

A hypothetical: you are very happy to be offered a well-paid job – nonfiction – especially as the cupboard is pretty bare, but when you start to read the copy you find that it is far from nonfiction; in fact, it is a pack of lies aiming to delude the reader into believing the opposite of the truth. What do you do? Do you apply your best editing skills to make the lies as slick as possible? Do you give the job your worst shot because you are totally uncommitted to it, but you need the money? Do you return the job, telling the client, maybe in no uncertain terms, that you cannot condone the promotion of blatant dishonesty? Do you consult your colleagues to see what they think? There may be other possible responses, including nervous collapse. The emergence of wide and intense discussion about post-

truth, truthiness, alternative facts and fake news got me thinking about responses to such a scenario. My interest was further stimulated by reading in the Fairfax press, just before Christmas last, the obituary of one Seumas Phelan ‘sub-editor extraordinaire who campaigned for rights of workers’. Of Seumas it was written that, among other things:In an era when the skills and importance of sub-editors have been sidelined, Phelan’s recent death reminds us that the subjunctive is not subjective. The reams of condolence emails and Facebook posts that followed his death were warily written – crafted and reread to ensure no grammatical or spelling errors – paying tribute to the perfection he sought to bring to print.

‘Those were the days’, many regular readers of the daily news would have been thinking. It is new world now, in which subeditors have been much more than sidelined; they are on the critically endangered list and there are no moves to save the species. It is hard to miss the all kinds of grammatical and vocabular horrors and howlers that are, as a result, now multiplying exponentially in printed newspapers and their online derivatives. ‘Subbies’ were the linchpins of newspaper production. They

did the bulk of the in-house work needed to get out the daily edition; from writing, rewriting, editing and proofreading text, and fashioning headlines, to verifying information and story details and making sure that reports were accurate and did not compromise legality. Now that they are almost gone, who checks for truth? Has their demise contributed to the rise and rise of post-truth, simply by default? Given the rapid news cycle, journalists submitting their

stories might now often be under so much pressure that they are neither inclined nor have the time to make such checks. Perhaps they avoid stories where such checks would be needed, resulting in a dumbing-down of the news. This leads inevitably to the question: Does anybody care what is happening? That some agencies do is evidenced by the multiplication of in-house and stand-alone fact-checking units. One can take some heart from this, but it makes one think why the subbies were shafted in the first place.* Where do publications editors in their various guises stand

in all this? Many of us might see ourselves in a wider world of publishing as, to some degree or other, akin to the subbies.

If indeed we are such – and have a future – are we committed defenders of the truth? Should we be? Section A4 of the Australian Standards for Editing Practice deals with legal and ethical matters, but makes no mention of ‘truth’ or its analogues. Does this need attention, particularly in the current climate? Should our national body consider augmenting the standards to cover the issues raised here, or even perhaps develop a separate code of ethics or conduct for its members? Returning to our hypothetical and defining ethics as the basis for choosing between conflicting responsibilities, the drafting and promulgation of such a code might inform and provide reassurance to editors and their clients.

*At the beginning of April 2017, Fairfax Media announced [yet another] restructure, this one aiming to save its editorial budget $30 million next year. According to one commentator, this would entail a 25 per cent reduction in the number of metropolitan editorial staff. The editorial director of the company said that an outcome of the reduction would be a cut in stories from 9,000 to 6,000 per month.

Ed Highley

(This article originally appeared in the May–June 2017 issue of The Canberra editor)

(The Seumus Phelan obituary is online at http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/seumas-phelan-subeditor-extraordinaire-who-campaigned-for-rights-of-workers-20161222-gtgdgu.html.)

The truth...nothing but, or anything goes?

Photograph: CC0

5 August 2017

In our first committee meeting for the year, following the inaugural Editors NSW AGM, we welcomed new committee member Sally Asnicar as secretary and immediately set her to work taking the minutes. Among the items raised was the news that IPEd has printed new bookmarks for each branch to use for promotional opportunities. You should see these appearing at Editors NSW events soon.

We have now submitted our branch budget to the IPEd national office for the first half of the current financial year. This is an important and time-consuming task and we are fortunate to have budget officer Russell Noakes, and his spreadsheet prowess, at the helm. The budget for the second half will be completed shortly, once IPEd’s audit of the F17 accounts is complete.

Our meetings and workshop calendars are almost complete for the year and we look forward to announcing the events as they open for bookings. The latest news on our activities is also always included here in Blue Pencil, to help keep you informed about future opportunities.

We are creating a new forum for our editors’ lunches, and details appear in this issue of Blue Pencil. It is a simple process that we think will greatly enhance and extend the reach of our successful lunches of the past year.

Social media and mentoring continue to be important tools for editors, and these are ever under the watchful attention of Shannon Kelly. If you have ideas or queries about either of these functions, please contact Shannon (see committee page for contact details).

Finally, plans are in place for the subsidised members attending the Brisbane conference to deliver their presentations (at a meeting or as an article in Blue Pencil). We feel this is a beneficial use of our reserved funds, to help bring important news from the conference to the membership at large.

Julie Ganner and Susie Pilkington

From the committee

Copy deadline for the next (September) issue of

Blue Pencil is Friday, 16 September.

http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au.

http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au.

6 August 2017

It’s the Conference countdown!The 8th IPEd National Editors Conference is rapidly approaching. Not booked yet? Here is why you should join us in Brisbane this September. As a delegate at a national conference you will have the

chance to meet people in our profession from across the country who all share your passion for words, grammar and an excellent turn of phrase. The conference offers a range of sessions catering to editors at all stages of their journey, from students to career-changers, from novices to seasoned professionals.

Editors Queensland have constructed a diverse program with three major themes: Professional Development, Building Alliances, and Technology. Each theme offers discussion panels and plenaries to build your knowledge, expand your skills, and advance our profession. Keynote speakers Professor Roly Sussex, Sophie

Cunningham and Sean Leahy will entertain you with their different professional experiences of the editing and publishing industries.

Fluent in many languages, Roly will reveal the hidden secrets of words to help us better understand how they work. Sophie will share tales of her expansive career as a journalist, editor, publisher and author. Brisbane’s iconic Courier-Mail cartoonist Sean will talk about the power of visual aspects in publishing and demonstrate his art in real time. The conference gala dinner on the night of Thursday the

14th will give you further opportunities to network, get to know your colleagues, and (keeping in theme with the conference) build professional alliances. You will also be there when the inaugural winner of the Rosanne Fitzgibbon Editorial Award, aka The Rosie, is revealed. The conference is generously supported by Capstone

Editing and the University of Southern Queensland. Stay up to date with conference news by following @IPEd_Conf on Twitter or read the regular blogs on the website. The IPEd conference will be held in Brisbane 13-15

September. Register now at http://iped-conf2017.org.au/.

Christine AtkinsonEditors Qld

IPEd Conference Update

7 August 2017

Workshops

There is no workshop in September as the IPEd National Conference is on.

Fiction: Structural EditingWednesday, 11 October 2017, 9.30 am – 4.30 pmPresenter: Louise Thurtell

Louise Thurtell has worked in book publishing for over 25 years, most recently at Allen & Unwin, where she started her own commercial fiction and non-fiction imprint, Arena. As Arena’s publisher, Louise devised and set up Friday Pitch, the first electronic submission system in Australian publishing. Now working as a freelance editor, Louise is a past recipient of the Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship.Louise will talk about working with novelists on the writing

style, narrative voice, plotting, characterisation, themes and structure of their manuscripts. She will also discuss the importance of helping writers achieve the optimal balance between narrative summary, vis-à-vis scenes and dialogue, to tell their stories.

Venue:UTS Short Courses venueLevel 7, 235 Jones StUltimo NSW 2007

Cost for each workshop: Members $220, Affiliate members $220, Non-members $350, Concession $132 (members distance rate more than 200 km from Sydney CBD). Includes all drinks and meals through the day, including tea and coffee at registration.

Improve Your Quoting PracticesFriday, 10 November 2017Presenter: Dr Rhonda Daniels

This workshop will focus on the important business skill of quoting. Learn tips for responding to initial enquiries, preparing quotes that are fair for you and your clients in time and price, and knowing good business practice. With comprehensive notes and discussion exercises, this workshop is for freelance editors who want to improve their quoting practices for a sustainable business, whether they are just getting started or are more established.

We will be rounding out the year with a final workshop:‘Punctuation for Editors’ with Glynis Osborne in December.

Full details for these workshops will distributed in coming weeks.

If you have any suggestions for workshops that would interest you, please email your ideas to our workshop coordinator, Lilla Wendoloski, at ednsw.profdev@iped-editors.org.

Lilla Wendoloski

Professional development

Image: CC0

8 August 2017

Editors NSW 2017–18 committee President: Julie Ganner

Email: ednsw.president@iped-editors.orgVice-president:

Zoë Hale Email: ednsw.vicepres@iped-editors.orgSecretary: Sally Ascinar

Email: ednsw.secretary@iped-editors.orgBudget officer: Russell Noakes

Email: ednsw.budget@iped-editors.orgIPEd councillor: Michael Wyatt

Email: cr.ednsw@iped-editors.orgAccreditation Board representative (NSW): Linda Nix

Email: ednsw.ab@iped-editors.orgMeetings coordinator: Teresa Llewellyn-Evans

Email: ednsw.events@iped-editors.orgWorkshop coordinator: Lilla Wendoloski Email: ednsw.profdev@iped-editors.org

Website coordinator: Adam Raffel Email: ednsw.web@iped-editors.org

Mentoring coordinator: Shannon Kelly

Email: shannon.tyler.kelly@gmail.comSocial media coordinator: Shannon Kelly

Email: ednsw.online@iped-editors.orgNewsletter editor: Elisabeth Thomas

Email: ednsw.news@iped-editors.org

Office manager: Susie Pilkington

Email: ednsw.admin@iped-editors.org

Editors NSWPO Box 828, Willoughby NSW 2068 Voicemail: (02) 9294 4999http://www.editorsnsw.com

© 2017 Editors NSWISSN: 2202-1361 (Online)

Blue PencilEditor: Elisabeth ThomasAssistants: Robin Appleton and Zoë Hale Blue Pencil is available in interactive digital format (PDF). Open with Adobe Reader to get the best results. Published: generally 11 issues a year (combined December – January issue).Your comments and contributions are welcome. Post them to the Editor, Blue Pencil, Editors NSW, PO Box 828, Willoughby NSW 2068, or email the editor at ednsw.news@iped-editors.org

Copy deadline for the September issue is Friday, 16 September 2017.The views expressed in the articles and letters, or the material contained in any advertisement or attachment, are those of individual authors, not of Editors NSW.

Advertising ratesFull page $375; half page $200; one-third page $125; quarter page $100; one-sixth page $75 (half of one column). Circulation: approximately 400. Please note that the committee reserves the right to decide whether advertisements are appropriate for this newsletter.

MembershipEditors NSW is a branch of Institute of Professional Editors Limited.Details of memberships are available on the IPEd website http://iped-editors.org.

Professional listingUse IPEd’s national Editors Directory (ED) http://iped-editors.org/Find_an_editor.aspx for professional members.

Committee meetingsAll members are welcome to attend Editors NSW committee meetings, generally held on the second Tuesday of each month. Please contact the office manager for details if you wish to attend the next meeting.

IPEd contactsChief Executive Officer, ceo@iped-editors.orgCommunication Officer, communication@iped-editors.orgFinance Officer, finance@iped-editors.orgMembership Officer, members@iped-editors.orgCompany Secretary, secretary@iped-editors.orgAdministration Officer, admin@iped-editors.org Image: CC0