From the President
Wishing all our Victorian members a warm welcome to 2021. I hope it’s started well, and that there’s satisfying work and some interesting professional challenges for you on the horizon.
There’s much to read from your branch in this month’s newsletter, so I’ll keep this letter short. In particular, you can read about, and share in some of the fun of our final 2020 event, a combined Christmas and 50th anniversary party.
As for so many, 2020 was the year the branch committee learned to love Zoom, even if it can be a love-hate relationship. Perhaps it was fitting, therefore, that our last hurrah was an ambitious stretch, taking all we’d learned with Zoom meetings, Zoom speaker events and Zoom training courses and devising a multi-host, multi-screen, multi-activity extravaganza. Kudos to all the organising team.
This year will also include some Zoom options.
To help with longer-term planning, we will be circulating a questionnaire to branch members. This is a great opportunity to pass on ideas, feedback and suggestions. Please take a few minutes to complete it.
Stephanie Holt
edvic.president@iped-editors.org
New members
EdVic is pleased to welcome members who have joined or upgraded over the past two months.
Professional members: Vanessa Dodd and Lyn Yeowart.
Associate members: Sara Jane Bannister, Miles William Campisi, Joanne Chambers, Desirae C Hancock, Kim Hood, Nhi Le, Tina Mattila, Ricardo George Anthony Morris and Fiona Poulton.
Student members: Trudy Campbell, Lauren Kathleen Fisher, Adam van Langenberg, Cristina Savin and Mek Yimam.
We look forward to seeing you at our workshops and events and encourage you to make the most of IPEd’s networks for news and support.
November event report
An evening with Louise Harnby: 10 ways to make your editing website better
by Sally Holdsworth
Louise Harnby is a guru of the editing and proofreading world; a genre specialist in editing crime, suspense and thrillers with more than 30 years’ experience. As co-host of The editing podcast, she shares her wisdom generously with editors around the world.
So it was, early one English morning/Victorian evening, a lucky EdVic audience Zoomed in to meet Louise and hear her top 10 tips on creating a better editing website. Yes, this talented multi-hyphenate is not just an editing specialist, but also an expert in website marketing and design for editors.
In her presentation, Louise focused on building a brand and effective marketing through websites to encourage repeated site visits and drive valuable business leads. She delved into the key features of a website and mentioned useful tools that can make it work harder.
For Louise, an effective website is not one that just talks about you and your services. Ideally, it should showcase what you do by using proof points such as testimonials to build credibility, and it will share information that shows how you can help solve problems for your clients. Plus, it will be easy to navigate and clearly branded to convey your value proposition. It should help clients to assess how your services can work for them and reassure them that you will deliver.
In a session packed full of advice, examples and insights based on her experience, Louise shared her tips for maintaining an effective website. While many tips seemed common sense, it was her specific focus on editors that gave her advice its edge. From how your website is laid out, to the language to use, whether or not to show pricing, the importance of a distinctive brand, the value of SEO tools, and the benefit of testimonials — there was gold in those tips.
Her generous Q&A session included a few extra pointers. She recommends using a scheduler for posting website content and social media updates to her Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. Know where your audience goes, to work out the best socials for you. Regarding testimonials — don’t be bashful — just ask! It’s a great reason to have a conversation with your client.
And the starting point for your site? Know your customer. Every element of the site should focus on the visitor and the problem you are solving. Always finish with how your service can help.
Whether you hire an expert to create your website, build it yourself with some support, or use a DIY platform like Weebly, Wix or WordPress, Louise’s message is clear: a professional website is one of your most valuable tools in building your editing business.
What a fabulous evening. It’s easy to see why Louise is so renowned in the editing world — and she now has a new group of EdVic fans.
Find Louise Harnby, her books and training courses online
Web: louiseharnbyproofreader.com
Twitter: @LouiseHarnby
Facebook: Louise Harnby – fiction editor, proofreader
LinkedIn: Louise Harnby fiction editor
Podcast: The editing podcast
Editors Victoria celebrates 50 years with online party
by Marie Pietersz
edvic.events@iped-editors.org
View PDF [1MB] about the event.
Professional development update
Welcome to 2021. We hope you had a rest and change of pace after the challenges of the year just past.
For the time being, we will continue to run our training via Zoom. We are hoping to mount our first 2021 course, on editing narrative non-fiction, in March. The date will be advised by email when the course is confirmed, so stay tuned. Beyond that, we plan to run a course in April for editors with beginner to mid-level experience in best practice for marking-up PDFs.
The PD team is always interested in hearing about your training needs. We develop courses based on member feedback from those who attended previous courses, as well as periodic all-member surveys. If you have a suggestion for a workshop or trainer, please email us.
Claire Kelly, Dalida Boustead, Imogen Bannister, Jane Fitzpatrick
edvic.profdev@iped-editors.org
Upcoming event: On editing and being edited in the enchanting world of children’s books, with Davina Bell
Date: 25 February 2021, 6pm
Venue: Zoom video teleconferencing
Cost: Members $10, non-members $15
Join children’s book publisher and author Davina Bell for an exploration of the world of young people’s books, from children’s picture books to young adult literature. From her dual perspectives in the industry, she will discuss the editorial process from both sides and provide practical tips for how to approach a manuscript with a child reader in mind. The session will include an overview of the state of the industry in Australia, tips on approaching children’s book illustration, and useful resources for writing and editing kids literature, as well as a Q&A segment to answer your burning questions.
Presenter
Davina Bell is currently a publisher in the Children’s and Young Adult department at Allen & Unwin, having started her career as an editor at Penguin Books Australia and worked as the Commissioning Editor for the kids list at Affirm Press. She is the award-winning author of picture books (All the ways to be smart, All of the factors of why I love tractors, Under the love umbrella), junior fiction (Lemonade Jones) and middle-grade series (Our Australian girl, Corner Park Clubhouse). Her debut young adult novel, The end of the world is bigger than love, was published in 2020 after being shortlisted for the Text Prize. In non-COVID times, Davina travels the country, sharing her love of books, writing and ideas at schools, workshops and festivals. She is also a qualified marriage celebrant, should you ever need one.
Book here.
Marie Pietersz, Events Officer
edvic.events@iped-editors.org