The Editor's Half Hour

Isabella Furth shares her insight about emotional labor and how it affects the editing process. Emotional Labor is defined as caring work or relationship work; it’s about managing emotional resources, but it can often become devalued or taken for granted.

Isabella explains the importance of recognizing emotional labor because it isn't something that should be avoided or ignored. As editors, we must find the moments in our work where we are taking the extra steps necessary to make our clients feel comfortable and safe.

In this episode, Isabella shares tips on how to factor emotional labor into your costs, and most importantly, how to recognize and manage it.

For more information about emotional labor, read the blog that covers this topic at www.sdpen.com. Search for "Editing and Emotional Labor."

Isabella's vast editorial experience includes journal articles, scholarly books, doctoral theses, biographies, textbooks, test prep materials, and general interest non-fiction. She also has more than 12 years of experience in policy research, writing, design, and structured dialogue. She is a member of the American Copy Editors Society (ACES), the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), and the San Diego Professional Editors Network (which she served as co-president from 2018 to 2020).

To learn more about Isabella, please visit her website at http://www.bluefisheditorial.com.

For about 20 years, the University of Chicago Press has been looking to publish a book about book design, and it has finally happened. In 2024, The Design of Books, written by Debbie Berne was officially published and it shares everything that authors, editors, and agents should know about book design. Debbie has been a professional book designer since 2002 and has designed hundreds of book interiors and covers in genres across the board.

In this episode, Debbie walks us through the basics of book design. She explains how the design process differs from the freelancer’s perspective to an in-house designer at a major publishing house. She also talks about timing and conversations with authors. When should the conversation about a book’s interior begin, and how involved should the author be throughout the design process? According to Debbie, it depends. Listen to this episode to gain valuable insight into what goes on behind the scenes of creating good book design.

Rebecca Scharpf of Scrollwork Edits provides an abundance of information about what it takes to work with neurodivergent clients. She primarily works with fiction writers and specializes in editing fantasy, sci-fi, and romance novels.

In this episode, she shares a variety of ways editors can create positive and affirming spaces for neurodivergent writers.

Rebecca shares several resources for both writers and editors:

Yo Samdy Sam (autistic and ADHD): https://www.youtube.com/@YoSamdySam/videos

Orion Kelly - That Autistic Guy (autism as it presents in men): https://www.youtube.com/@orionkelly

Purple Ella (nonbinary, autistic, and ADHD, parent to a neurodivergent child): https://www.youtube.com/@PurpleElla

How to ADHD (ADHD in women): https://www.youtube.com/@HowtoADHD

I am MindBlind (autistic / ADHD / mother / aphantasia / memory disorder): https://www.youtube.com/@HowtoADHD

Also, check out Meg McIntyre’s blog that shares additional tools and resources for both writers and editors: https://mcintyreeditorial.com/blog/tools-resources-neurodivergent-writer-editor

To learn more about Rebecca and her business, please visit: https://www.scrollworkedits.com/

Award-winning editor, Karen Yin joins us to discuss her latest book, The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language That Includes, Respects, and Empowers (Little, Brown Spark). She provides insight and guidance on how to be more equitable in the way we communicate.

Karen explains that this is not a book of dos and don'ts. In fact, it's the opposite of that! This book is a cornerstone guide that teaches us to be more aware and to use critical thinking as language continually evolves.

She has also written several stories for children, including Whole Whale (Barefoot Books), So Not Ghoul (Page Street Kids), Doug the Pug and the Kindness Crew (Scholastic), Nice to Eat You (Scholastic), and “My Kinda Sorta Badass Move” (Boundless: Twenty Voices Celebrating Multicultural and Multiracial Identities, Inkyard). Acclaim for her writing includes a 2021 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, a 2020 SCBWI/Smithsonian Nonfiction Grant, selection of her flash fiction by the Los Angeles Public Library for its permanent collection in 2020, and a 2015 Lambda Literary Fellowship.

Karen was also the winner of the 2017 ACES Robinson Prize (Editor of the Year). She founded several acclaimed digital resources, including Conscious Style Guide, The Conscious Language Newsletter, and the Editors of Color Database. Conscious Style Guide was named by Poynter as one of the top tools for journalists in 2018 and is recommended by Poets & Writers, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and countless others, including NASA. The Editors of Color Database was one of Writer’s Digest’s Best Websites for Writers in 2023. Karen serves on the advisory board of The Chicago Manual of Style.

Find her online at KarenYin.com and her book recommendations at DiversePictureBooks.com.

There are several things that CaTyra Polland is known for, but the most notable is being the founder of National Black Authors Day, which is celebrated on May 4. In this episode, she shares valuable insight into how she started her editorial career, which led her to start her own business, Love For Words (love4words.com). She explains her mentality behind starting this national holiday and what it means for Black authors.

CaTyra spends her time serving her clients as a guide and mentor for the publishing process—especially in writing and editing. She is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, editor, creator, poet, and international speaker. After being recognized for her ambition, community service, and literary expertise in the Rochester area, CaTyra continues to build a legacy.

She also shares details about why she created the Literacy Love Scholarship for high school students, which is a way to empower young kids to write, edit, and pursue their dreams.

Last but not least, she is also the host of the Editor Knows Best, which is an international podcast for literary creatives. In between running her business and speaking at conferences, she also volunteers her time as the grant reviewer for the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, chairwoman for the Innova Girls Academy (the first and only all-girls elementary school), and as a grant writer for the Rochester Black Authors Association.

In this “STET Special” one-hour podcast episode with the award-winning copywriter, Erin Brenner, we take a deep dive into her latest book, The Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors: How to Take Care of Your Business, Your Clients, and Yourself from Start-Up to Sustainability.

We cover a variety of topics like branding, marketing, finances, setting rates, and last but not least, self-care. This book, published by the University of Chicago Press, has wonderful takeaways for newbies and seasoned professionals.

Erin Brenner is an award-winning copywriter who has been a communications professional for two decades, but before running her own company, she worked for ClickZ, IDC, and Epsilon, which gave her a deep understanding of marketers’ needs.

Erin shares her expertise in communications and business by speaking at industry conferences, such as those for ACES, Editors’ Association of Canada, and MagsBC. She also provides staff training in writing for private companies, such as Slipstream and Meister Consultants Group.

She is the former co-owner of Copyediting, a publications and training brand, where she was CEO and publisher. She is also a former instructor in the Copyediting certificate program at the University of California San Diego.

Erin is the author of Copyediting’s Grammar Tune-Up Workbook, 1001 Words for Success: Synonyms, Antonyms & Homonyms, and Quick Study Dictionary of Commonly Confused and Misspelled Words (with Steve Berner). She has written hundreds of articles and blog posts for Copyediting.com, Visual Thesaurus, and others. Read more of her work on Right Touch Editing’s blog (https://www.righttouchediting.com/blog).

The Universally Acknowledged Truth About Romance examines the editorial approach to romance through the lens of Jane Austen. Our special guest, Sarah Calfee—founder and owner of Three Little Words Romance Editing—has been a fiction editor since 2018 and specializes in romance.

In this episode, Sarah gets into the nuts and bolts of what it takes to provide dev editing and line/copy editing her way. With an MFA in creative writing and a deep, abiding obsession for Jane Austen, particularly Pride and Prejudice, Sarah gets to the core of what makes romance great. She shares her opinions and expertise about dev editing and story-level issues and how they can be solved using a Jane Austen writing strategy.

Visit www.ThreeLittleWordsEditing.com to view Sarah’s website and to learn more about her upcoming book, How to Pride and Prejudice.

Unlock the magic of what it takes to integrate your personal story with your business. In this episode, Sonia Alleyne shares advice that freelancers can take when they are forming their businesses or updating information on their websites. Potential clients need to be sold on an experience, but first, they need to be “seen.” Sonia got her start as an editor in New York and has interviewed high-profile business leaders including Ursula Burns, Oprah Winfrey, Don Thompson (former CEO of McDonald's), and Canadian billionaire Michael Lee-Chin. As press secretary, she has secured a significant and unprecedented amount of content placement in major media outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, New York Post, Crain’s New York, Village Voice, ABC, and CBS.

Sonia has written two books and has co-authored one. She wrote I Kick Ass at Work! The Strategy Journal for Career Professionals (Hunter Publishing Group, 2020), which is the first journal of its kind to help women gain better insight and perspective about how they perform at their jobs. She is the co-author of Good is Not Enough: And Other Unwritten Rules for Minority Professionals (Penguin Books, 2008), which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. She was also a contributor to Tips for Life, by Maria Shriver.

As founding editorial director for the Women of Power Summit, Sonia created and designed the content of the event for 10 years. She is a member of Black Women of Influence, a by-invitation-only professional women's group, and a former advisory board member of the California Women's Conference—one of the largest women's conferences in the country.

In this episode, Sonia mentions a thought-provoking speech by David Brooks, who wrote, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. She highly encourages everyone to listen or watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwENbKn3tqI

Sonia also discusses her latest book, The Storytelling Business Journal, which can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Storytellers-Magic-Storytelling-Step-Step/dp/1662942966

To learn more about Sonia and her company, Storyteller’s Magic, please visit https://storytellersmagic.com.

What does it mean to find your community?

If there's one thing to be shared from my interview with Tara Whitaker, it's that there's power in numbers! Today more than ever, editors need to stick together, have more open conversations about what we do, and create a way to congratulate and encourage one another. Tara is pioneering a new wave of modern editors to create companionship, camaraderie, and community among editors. She is a book editor, business coach, and host of The Modern Editor Podcast.

Through individual coaching and her membership community, the Freelance Editors Club, Tara empowers modern editors to create a business and life they love. Her mission stems from a decade of work as a freelance editor herself, and a desire to change the publishing industry’s reputation for being isolated, exclusive, and unbending. Her podcast, community, and coaching programs have helped hundreds of editors feel a sense of clarity, belonging, and excitement about their businesses. Learn more about Tara’s work at tarawhitaker.com, or visit tarawhitaker.com/podcast to learn more about The Modern Editor Podcast.

In this captivating and final episode of 2023, Erin Servais and Nadia Geagea Pupa dive deep into the fascinating world of Generative AI. They discuss several capabilities of ChatGPT and how it's constantly changing. There is still "doom and gloom" surrounding the topic of generative AI, but Erin shares her positive outlook, opinions, and insight for the editorial community. Yes, ChatGPT has been replacing all types of jobs, but it's up to us as editors to learn how to embrace this new technology as a tool and resource to help, not harm, our editorial processes.

Erin Servais is an editor, educator, and coach. She serves on the board of directors for ACES: The Society for Editing and is the founder of the Editors Tea Club. Erin has presented about editing, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence for the Professional Editors Network (PEN), the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), Editors Canada, the Northwest Editors Guild, and ACES, and she has been a guest lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Media. Erin will start teaching copyediting for the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in January 2024.

Her current focus is training editors to uplevel their skills using artificial intelligence. She teaches the ChatGPT for Editors course and blogs about AI editing tips. Visit www.AIforEditors.com to learn more about her course.