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 to submit their responses to a set of questions based on 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.
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 live in Ottawa, Ontario, and I work for the Government of Canada at a regulatory agency. I’ve been in communications for 24 years, but I’ve been an editor for only 15 of those years.
I write and edit, mostly communications products that are meant for the public, industry, or the media.
I specialize in plain language writing and editing. I really enjoy making information as clear as possible, so the audience can understand and use that information. I work with a lot of highly educated people who have deep expertise in their areas of work. It’s thrilling to help them tell their stories in the best way possible, so that the people they are communicating with get the information they need.
I also do a lot of volunteer work related to editing and plain language. I’m one of the admins for the Editors’ Association of Earth group on Facebook. While this means I have to read every post and all the comments, it’s a great way to stay on top of editing and language trends. I also chair an international committee that’s working on localizing and implementing the ISO plain language standard. It’s a lot of fun to work with people from 20 countries, although figuring out time zone differences is a constant headache.
Who: If you could edit one famous author, living or dead, who would it be?
Shakira. I know, most people will say she’s a singer, not an author. But her songs are poetry. And lately I’ve become interested in the pattern of certain types of poetry and rhythm due to the History of English podcast. It has several episodes on iambic pentameter and how it is connected to the human heartbeat. That also made me think about metre in other languages.
I’d love to talk to Shakira about the different issues she encounters with rhyming in Spanish and English. Is one easier than the other? Is one more expressive than the other, and is that intrinsic to the language or is it related to fluency? How does she deal with idioms in the English versions of songs she does in both languages? Does she just know the English idioms or does she have to research them? Why, in performances, does she sometimes change that perfectly good rhyme (real slow/así es perfecto) to one that doesn’t work (real slow/this is perfection). What makes breasts humble (and did she mean to use that word)?
I think with most authors, I’d be curious to have those “Why did you choose that?” conversations.
What: What is the one thing that has helped you the most in your career as an editor?
Talking with other editors (or just listening to them talk). That’s how I seem to learn the best. And thank goodness editors are so generous with their time and advice. That’s given me a lot to read and talk about over the years.
I first noticed it with the old email list that Editors Canada had in place when I became a member. I learned so much from the conversations on that list. It was the best member benefit for me for a long time.
I’m one of those people who migrated that kind of conversation over to social media. It’s the same idea, but I find it a little more interactive than email. I’m mostly active on Facebook (especially in the Editors’ Association of Earth group) but I also read and talk to editors on LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky.
And of course, I read lots of editing and language blogs.
Where: If you could work anywhere in the world as an editor, where would that be?
Somewhere warm. I hate winter. I’d love to never have to go through another winter.
Of course, permanently warm places tend to have lots of big insects. Shudder.
If I could afford it, I think London, England, would be a lovely place to live. So much culture: theatre, movies, art. Paddington Bear. And the winters would seem quite mild to this Canadian. I also have some lovely friends there who I could see every week.
When: Was there ever a time in your life when you seriously questioned your career choice?
I’ve never questioned what I’m doing now for a career. I love it.
Government can be a great environment to work in. My employer is committed to a safe and respectful workplace. I get to work with some of the country’s smartest people, and we’re often on the cutting edge of social change (for example, I have so many opportunities to learn about equity, diversity, and inclusion). And it’s nice to know that I’m helping people be safe because of where I work.
Why: Why did you choose to become an editor? Or, should we ask: Why did editing choose you?
Like many editing stories in Canada, there’s a tie to Lee d’Anjou, a legend in our field and a founding member of Editors Canada.
Several years ago, my friend Alice d’Anjou mentioned that editing might interest me. I told her that I really didn’t want to be an editor. It seemed boring to me, compared to writing.
I met Alice’s mom Lee when the d’Anjou family was at Alice’s house for dinner. I went outside, and Lee came out soon after. She wanted to talk to me about editing.
She asked me to describe what I did at work and she kept telling me that some of the tasks I did were editing. Although I eventually conceded, I said that my job description doesn’t include editing. At the end of the conversation, I said that if I ever got a job where the job description said “editor,” I’d admit that I’m an editor.
A year or so later, I competed for a speech-coordinating job. When I won the competition, the Human Resources branch sent me the job description. And the actual job title was “Speech Coordinator and Editor.”
I had to keep my promise to Lee. So I started calling myself an editor, joined Editors Canada, and began learning as much as I could by taking courses and participating in the members’ email list.
I found out years later that Alice had purposefully sent her mom out to talk to me. She had handed her a glass of wine and said, “Take this out to Gael and talk to her. Convince her that she’s an editor.” And it worked!
And, of course, we just had to ask the inevitable how: How would you sum up your motto?
I get only one? That doesn’t seem fair!
One of my mottos is “Don’t impose.”
Don’t impose my preferences or voice on someone else’s writing (unless it’s a report or similar publication where the project manager wants a single voice). And it’s not just because the Professional Editorial Standards say we shouldn’t do it. We’d flatten the world into a monotone if we smoothed over all the different preferences and voices. I edit for several friends around the world (we do volunteer work together), and I find the variety of English and personal quirks in their writing to be just delightful (and engaging).
My other motto is “Can I help?”
I like helping people. That’s what drives my editing as well as all my volunteer work. I like to make things easier for people if I can.
This article was copy edited by Piu Chowdhury, a Toronto-based writer.
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