Interview conducted by Keith Goddard.
A career as an editor is often a solo adventure, especially if you're a freelancer. So, we thought one way to better connect with fellow editors was to ask them the Five Ws: who, what, where, when, and why. Read on for some thought-provoking, enlightening tidbits from those of us who choose to work with words to earn our keep.
Photo by Nicholas Pearce
Please tell us a little about yourself, the kind of work you do (and where you live), and how long you've been an editor.
I am both an editor and a portrait artist. I live on Vancouver Island, in a sleepy lakeside village called Shawnigan Lake. I've been calling myself an editor since I finished my internship at the University of Washington Press (UW Press) in 2002.
Who: If you could edit one famous author, living or dead, who would it be?
I really like the work of Alexander McCall Smith. I wonder if someone so prolific should have a single editor, and if so, would I enjoy that sort of a task? I'd have to think about continuity in all the different series, with all their different voices and narrators. Would I worry about similarities in formula across series?
What: What is the one thing that has helped you the most in your career as an editor?
Working as an intern at the prestigious University of Washington Press shaped both my approach to editing and my future business as a freelancer. At the UW Press, I learned humility from editors who upheld the highest standards in the publishing world. I also learned that I had to keep learning and building my skills—that I could not be complacent about what I think I know (and I thought I knew a lot at that time!). That internship also shaped my business. I continued to freelance for the UW Press during the rest of my time at the University of Washington. I became far more interested in working as an editor than I was in finishing my PhD, and I returned to Victoria, British Columbia, in 2007, where I began to work full-time as a freelance editor. A few years later, my former advisor at the University of Washington asked if I'd like to volunteer as copy editor for the newsletter of a fledgling organization in my field, the European Architectural History Network (EAHN). That was the beginning of long-term work for the EAHN. They began their own journal and secured funding to pay for my services. I now have a large network of academics who know of my work through that journal, and as a result, I've never been without work. In addition to copy editing for that journal, I edit books in my field at the developmental stage and proofread articles on their way to submission to other journals for clients around the world. But my work is not all academic. Because of the UW Press experience, I started my editing business with a good knowledge of the publication process and of the standards upheld by academic presses. That knowledge helped me land a job for two years as the editorial coordinator with a trade publisher, Heritage House Publishing. I edit not just academic work but also fiction and non-fiction for publishers and authors. I particularly like to work with authors who have unusual and challenging book projects and need help both developing a book and figuring out what to do with it once it's done.
Where: If you could work anywhere in the world as an editor, where would that be?
Vancouver Island is an ideal location. But I love working in coffee shops: not just for the ambient noise but for the potential for connection, even if I never strike up that conversation. This potential has actually inspired a new series of paintings in my other endeavour as a portrait painter. I imagine a tour of coffee shops in different countries, working on my laptop and taking photos of people I meet (after receiving permission to both photograph people and then to use their painted images in various ways—I feel I have to add this because I know cautious editors will be reading this). In fact, I'm going to spend a month in Europe this spring, so this dream is going to become reality!
When: Was there ever a time in your life when you seriously questioned your career choice?
Once I began working at the University of Washington Press, I realized I had never liked a job the way I liked that one. It was heaven: heading into downtown Seattle (away from the university), climbing up the stairs of a heritage building, entering the office where everyone was dedicated to some stage of book production, engaging with real authors of real books. I developed a thirst for the work. I admit that thirst has almost become sated, and now I want to paint as much as or more than I want to edit.
Why: Why did you choose to become an editor? Or, should we ask: Why did editing choose you?
Editing chose me. Everything I've done informs my work as an editor. I grew up in a family of six children, all of us readers. My mother encouraged us to read, even though it drove her a bit mad that we curled up with a book after school instead of helping on the farm or in the kitchen. Every Saturday, three or four of us went to our local library in Palmerston, Ontario, and would fill a large freezer crate of books. I often read seven books a week (the number has much declined). When I was an undergrad, I often used the Interlibrary Loan Service (ILL) and didn't think much about it, but when I returned to my alma mater some years later, the ILL librarian remembered me and knew my name. That made me realize that, in fact, not everyone was as into research and reading as I was, even at university. And I've always been involved in my community, wherever I've lived: making connections with people, trying to practice compassion, and learning how I can help others.
And, of course, we just had to ask the inevitable how: How would you sum up your motto?
Exercise compassion, foster good listening skills.
This article was copy edited by Margaux Yiu.
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