Welcome, copyeditors.
There is a lot of dialogue and resource sharing in the copyediting world. We have ACES chats, American Editor, editing Twitter (#amediting), CMOS Style Q&A, EFA chats, KOK Edit, The Parlour, and so many more venues to help us market ourselves, keep up with trends, and dive into grammar issues.
Outside the Book focuses on how editors move in the world — specifically, editors who are people of color.
Editing can be a solitary endeavor. At organizations, we are often the only ones in our field working to support researchers, advocates, lawyers, technicians, and others whose expertise may not be communications. We may love our jobs but lack chances to network or learn about opportunities for advancement.
Worse, we may be laid off or making our next move and realizing we don’t have enough connections in the field. We may face additional challenges as editors of color, such as getting into the profession, advising colleagues on inclusive language, and advancing in the profession.
Outside of the Book will
- interview editors of color,
- build community and promote editors’ skill sets,
- discuss diversity in editing, and
- explore how to increase the number of POC in the profession.
However you identify, I’m glad you’re here. I’m Cynthia Williams. I’m a senior editor at Dragonfly Editorial, and I own Style Sheets Editorial. I’ve had many generous mentors during my two decades in the field. I hope to find many edibuddies (and connect edibuddies with edibuddies!) through Outside the Book.