What's in Store for Red Pencil 2025?
The Northwest Editors Guild's 9th biennial Red Pencil Conference will take place on Saturday, November 8, 2025! This year's theme is Framing Our Future: Perspectives on a Changing Industry. The 2025 Red Pencil conference will explore how editors can play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our industry during this time of rapid change.
With an inspiring keynote and a full day of sessions led by experts in our field, we'll examine the myriad challenges and opportunities facing editors today. These include the dizzying growth of AI, rising censorship and intellectual property theft, and preserving the diversity and value that is vital to our industry.
Helping Clients Implement 18th Edition Chicago Style Changes
Recently I undertook the project of updating my clients’ house style guides to the latest Chicago style. More than 330 Northwest Editors Guild members edit to this style, according to my informal search of the member directory. So you are likely aware that the print edition of the 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) was released on September 18, 2024. Many editors preordered the book or got a sneak preview of the updated CMOS Online before the official release date.
Upon asking my clients about the new edition, I found that they had no plan to implement the changes and no one with time to update house style. In the words of one senior editor, “please drag [client journal] into 2025” and “everyone is too busy to take this on.” Perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation and want to offer to help your clients update their own style guides.
We Need You!
The Northwest Editors Guild is led by a volunteer board of directors. Every year, editors just like you give freely of their time to keep the Guild running for all of us… and we need volunteers who will help the Guild move into 2025 and beyond!
Board service is open to anyone who has been a Guild member for a year or more.
Interested in serving on the Guild’s board, but not sure what it entails? Read on for answers to the most frequently asked questions about Guild leadership.
Happy Pride Month
June is LGBTQ+ Pride month, so we want to take the opportunity before it ends to highlight just a few of the editorial organizations and resources on representation and accuracy regarding these vibrant and beloved communities.
Adding Value to the Guild: The Mentoring Program
One of the characteristics of our Guild that I appreciate is the generosity of our community in sharing knowledge and supporting one another. This happens in person, through the Guild’s online happy hours, and at Red Pencil. It also happens through our Mentoring Program.
Every year around 5% of Guild members receive mentoring from their Guild peers. This mentoring is making a difference in their lives and careers!
Gift Ideas for Editors and Other Literary Folk
Scrambling for gift ideas to wow the literary friends and family on your list this holiday season? We have a few suggestions for you! Disclaimer: Neither the author of this list nor the Northwest Editors Guild is being paid to advertise any of the companies below, and neither has any affiliation with them apart from the fact that several have received a lot of the author’s money over the years. Alas, she receives no discount for this privilege.
The Perils of Editing Horror
Horror fiction provides many possibilities for thrills and chills: the unexpected, the out of place, the unstoppable cosmic evil. It requires good pacing and an appropriate atmosphere, as well as something truly scary. The horror editor’s job is to make sure all those bits fit together into a writhing, squirming, terrifying mass.
Editors Katherine Moore and Alex Crawley on the Seasons of Their Careers
Don’t forget, the Northwest Editors Guild’s Red Pencil Conference is May 6! In line with the theme of “Seasons of an Editing Career,” I spoke with Katherine Moore and Alex Crawley, students at the University of Washington’s Certificate in Editing program, about their thoughts on where they are in their professional journeys, what kind of resources they wish were available to them, and what’s the best part about where they are in their careers right now.
Whether you’re a seasoned editor or just starting out, Red Pencil has something to offer. There’s still time to sign up for virtual, in-person, or hybrid options through our registration page here. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other professionals in the editing industry! But hurry! Registration closes for good at 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, April 30.
Keynotes and Copyediting Fiction with Amy J. Schneider
Red Pencil is back after a four-year hiatus, and we’re pleased to announce that Amy J. Schneider, a veteran editor and author of the new book, The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s conference. If you haven’t registered yet, the deadline for the Early Bird registration has been extended to March 13, so don’t miss out! Read on to hear from Amy about her keynote, staying current in the publishing industry, and how her StetPet, “Alice the Land Shark,” helps her work.
2022 State of the Guild Address
The past three years have been fraught with uncertainty and stress.
I know, not the most positive way to begin. However, to appreciate our accomplishments means reflecting on the past.
At the start of the pandemic in 2020, we board members went into survival mode. We acted quickly to determine how to continue doing what we do while living in isolation and social distancing parameters. With Erin Cusick’s excellent leadership, and a board full of creative thinkers, we got through it with great success. In 2021, the world was still in the midst of a pandemic without a clear sign of relief. We continuously questioned whether we’d be able to have in-person member meetings again, or if we could plan a Red Pencil event. Under the inspirational leadership of Jesi Vega, we were encouraged to focus on the positive, to run virtual events, create new policies, and concentrate our efforts on keeping the Guild a well-oiled machine while providing engaging events for members far and wide.