Member news

EFA Board & Committees

Co-executives: Christina M. Frey, Ruth Mullen Secretary: Joy Drohan Treasurer: Marcina Zaccaria

Chapter Development: Akiko Yamagata Diversity & PR: Sangeeta Mehta E-bulletin: Denise Larrabee

Education: Molly McCowan Events: Amy Spungen Job List: Joy Drohan Social Media: Ruth Mullen

Membership: Lourdes Venard Publications: Robin Martin

Website: Karen Wallace

Members at large: Maria Alonzo, Nanette Day, Andrew R. Huston, Brittany Krysinski, Denise Larrabee, Cody Sisco, David Stacks

Office staff: Susan Patton, General Manager Christina Shideler, Membership/Programs Coordinator Vina Orden, Events & Communications Coordinator Juliana McArdle, Website and Online Platforms Assistant

THE

FREELANCER

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, Editor Ana Traversa, Proofreader

Copyright © 2021 Editorial Freelancers Association, Inc. ISSN 1094-4567

The Freelancer is published six times a year by the Editorial Freelancers Association, Inc. 266 W. 37th Street, 20th Floor New York, NY 10018 newsletter@the-efa.org

Phone: 202-920-4816 Toll-free: 866-929-5425 E-mail: office@the-efa.org Web: www.the-efa.org

No portion of this newsletter may be reproduced in whole or in part without specific permission of the individual authors, who retain the copyright to their articles, or permission of EFA. Acknowledgment should be made to the Freelancer when it is the first publisher. Contact the EFA for more information at newsletter@the-efa.org.

Member news

• Jennifer Della’ Zanna has received the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity’s Educator of the Year award. • Wendy Meyeroff was a guest on On the Record (https://www.wypr. org/show/on-the-record#stream/0), a morning radio program from Maryland NPR station WYPR, discussing hurdles of applying for unemployment benefits and what an early end to benefits would mean: https://www.wypr.org/ show/on-the-record/2021-07-07/gigfreelance-unemployed-oh-my. • Heather Pendley was “privileged to be featured in the American Society for Indexing July newsletter”: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ featured-indexing-newsletter-heatherpendley. • Lyn Sorresso has published a first essay about being nonbinary, specifically about growing out facial hair as a transmasculine person: https:// www.functionofbeauty.com/blog/definitionofbeauty/growing-my-mustache-is-away-to-find-out-what-i-actually-want/.

“I’m excited about it! and ... it might be useful to read this perspective for sensitivity purposes in [colleagues’] work,” she said.

She is open to answering questions; contact her at alyssasorresso.com. • Ruth E. Thaler-Carter received a Terry Harper Memorial Scholarship to attend the 2021 national convention of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in the fall. She will present a session about freelancing and help staff the SPJ Freelance Community’s Freelancers Corner during the conference, which has been moved from in-person to online.

Thaler-Carter has been asked to present a webinar about diversity for the American Society for Indexing (ASI), which is expected to occur early in the new year. Her leadership in reviving the St. Louis chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) was featured in an IABC newsletter. • Christine Van Zandt’s funny nonfiction children’s picture book, A Brief History of Underpants, was published in June by becker&mayer! kids, a Quarto Kids imprint. • Michele Wojciechowski interviewed actor Lou Diamond Phillips for Esquire recently: https://www.esquire. com/entertainment/a36676635/lou-diamond-phillips-interview-playing-filipinoamerican-characters/.

“When you work as a writer for decades, you get used to it,” she said. “The assignments are still fun, but the bylines, well, you don’t get thrilled about them as you once did. Except in situations like this.” n

We need you!

The EFA seeks a new editor of the bimonthly Freelancer newsletter. Experience with using InDesign and editing newsletters preferred. To be considered, send your statement of interest and qualifications to: newsletter@ the-efa.org.

Long-time EFA general manager retires

By Joy Drohan, EFA Secretary

Susannah Driver-Barstow, EFA’s much-appreciated general manager, is retiring this summer. “Susannah has been the chief operating force behind the EFA for the last 10 years,” said Bill Keenan, outgoing EFA co-executive. “She manages the staff and has run the day-to-day operations of the association with a thorough knowledge of where it’s going and where it’s been. She interacts with both board members and members with an openness and consideration that helps to get things done.”

If you want to get something done in EFA, but you’re unsure how to proceed, a familiar refrain is “Ask Susannah. She’ll know.”

Driver-Barstow began as EFA’s sole employee about 10 years ago after the retirement of Judith Greenstein; until then, she had been a freelance editor and EFA member, and had served on the board for a year.

“I was just ready for a change from freelancing,” she said. “I had certain knowledge of the organization and how things work that were needed in that position. I was interested in giving it a try. I never expected I’d do it for 10 years.”

During Driver-Barstow’s tenure, membership has increased by about 100 percent to more than 3,000. The EFA’s Board of Governors has grown since she started, and the office staff has also grown, with related additions to Driver-Barstow’s responsibilities.

In 2017, the EFA hired Christina Shideler to help in the office. Her job has been split into two part-time jobs with the addition of Vina Orden in 2019. In 2020, the EFA hired Juliana McArdle. Driver-Barstow has overseen all of their work.

“Susannah has been a joy to work with and unquestionably the best boss I’ve ever had,” said Shideler, membership and programs coordinator. “I’m continually impressed with her ability to juggle the myriad tasks to keep the organization running, while remaining kind and understanding to all.”

Some EFA programs, such as Education, have also expanded in the last decade. When Driver-Barstow started with the EFA, the EFA still offered in-person classes in the New York City office. In spring 2021, 1,323 students took online courses — the highest number of participants in EFA history.

“Susannah’s exemplary managerial skills have kept EFA running smoothly as volunteers came and went, as new initiatives led to new challenges, as we hired talented new staff and moved to a new office, and as we dealt with COVID-19,” said Sheila Buff, who oversaw the Discussion List and Job List for about 20 years.

Driver-Barstow was an integral part of the website redesign and keeping the site updated. She also contributed to the rate survey in 2020 — another large EFA project — as well as the 2019 conference in Chicago and the move to a new office in 2019.

Driver-Barstow has most enjoyed getting to know the members of EFA. “It’s a wonderful community,” she said. “I love that people support each other and care about the careers of their colleagues and also the field of editorial freelancing. I think there’s something irreplaceable about being able to talk

to your colleagues who are doing what you do.” Driver-Barstow and her husband will begin moving out of New York City upstate to a small town where they have had a house for many years. She intends to expand her volunteer involvement with environmental and voting rights groups there. “I am going to greatly miss working with our terrific staff and the extremely talented and committed Board members I’ve come to know over the years,” she said. “It’s a wonderful community ... people “The EFA has grown phesupport each other and care about nomenally over the years,” said the careers of their colleagues and long-time member Elliot Linzer. also the field of editorial freelancing.” “Much of what EFA has accomplished over the past decade can be linked directly to the work of our general manager, Susannah DriverBarstow. She will be missed by all of us.” “Susannah has been so much more than a paid employee,” said Robin Martin, chair of the Publications Committee. “She has really held the organization together over the last 10 years. She is truly committed to the people and the mission of the EFA. She’s been the glue that has held all the parts of this organization together through our tremendous growth and movement into the 21st century.” “I am going to miss all at the EFA — those I’ve had the opportunity to meet in person and those I’ve met just through your words on screen,” DriverBarstow said on the EFA Discussion List. “It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to be part of the team making our growth possible, through members supporting members, with incredibly dedicated, generous and skilled volunteer leadership, and with our terrific staff. I know the future is bright for the EFA!” Driver-Barstow has set a high bar for her successor. n

Member profile

Meet Edward Batchelder

Interview by Sarah Banks

First paying job:

Editorial assistant at Houghton Mifflin — the job was mostly secretarial, but I got to write manuscript reports and I learned enough about publishing to know I didn’t want to be involved in it. When several editors retired, I was laid off and started a parallel career as a freelance writer.

When started editorial freelancing:

I moved to NYC in the mid-1990s, and a friend of a friend of a friend knew someone at Ballantine Books — I started working for them as a sideline to legal proofreading and freelance writing. It was a great job for variety: I did all kinds of fiction — romance, horror, historical, literary — as well as self-help books, encyclopedias, and Vietnam memoirs.

Career/Job before freelancing:

My occupational life has been pretty picaresque. I’ve worked a mental institution, driven a cab, painted houses, delivered government surplus food to daycare centers, taught ESL in the U.S. and abroad, and held way too many temp jobs.

When joined the EFA and how membership has helped freelance career:

When I moved to Buffalo in 2005 and started freelancing full time. I can’t point to any specific career benefit (for example, I’ve never gotten a single job I’ve applied for), but it’s been an invaluable resource nonetheless. The listserv has been a spiritual lifeline; I’ve learned a lot from other editors; and I’ve made a close friend I’ve never met. cornerstone of my existence. I use it to work, keep up on current events, correspond with friends, and listen to new music. I wish that weren’t the case—I’d much rather edit on paper, read newspapers and books, write letters, and swap mixtapes with friends.

Favorite/most used reference book(s)/ website(s):

These days, I mostly edit academic manuscripts, so Google Books is essential for verifying quotes that seem to have gone awry. I have mostly internalized the Chicago Manual of Style, but I double-check things there pretty regularly.

Project most proud of/Favorite client:

I worked very closely with a sociologist friend on his book, Where the North Sea Touches Alabama (University of Chicago Press, 2011), a beautiful, thoughtful memoir about a friend’s suicide and his own parallel passage through a difficult period of his life.

Best advice about freelancing received or would give:

“People keep working in a freelance world … because their work is good, because they are easy to get along with, and because they deliver the work on time. And you don’t even need all three! Two out of three is fine. People will tolerate how unpleasant you are if your work is good and you deliver it on time. People will forgive the lateness of your work if it is good and they like you. And you don’t have to be as good as everyone else if you’re on time and it’s always a pleasure to hear from you.” — Neil Gaiman

It’s a great observation but not entirely accurate — most of the time, you really do need all three, although maybe Gaiman doesn’t.

Website and/or blog: www.e-w-b.com

Star who would play me in the movie version of my life and why:

Cate Blanchett — I think it would take someone of her prodigious talent to make my life seem even remotely interesting to other people. And she did a great job as Dylan in “I’m Not There.”

Last book read for pleasure:

Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. I read it as a child (my mother taught Greek mythology) and I wanted to revisit it. It held up well.

Deathly afraid of:

The next release of MS Word.

Known as/Nickname:

The guy who does my taxes calls me Eddie; I let him get away with it only because he saves me so much money.

Hobbies/Interests:

I spend a lot of time repairing things — my century-old house, the toys broken by my kids, useful furniture salvaged from the streets.

What else colleagues might like to know:

I’m married to a Greek, our twin Continued on page 6.

Volunteer profile

Meet Amarilys Acosta

Interview by Sarah Banks

When and why did you join the EFA?

I officially became an EFA member in 2018 after it was highly recommended to me in an online copyediting class at the University of California San Diego and the instructor invited me to check out the Diversity Initiative. By then, I’d been taking EFA courses for almost a year, but only as a guest.

I joined because I’d made the decision to start my editing business and treat it as a part-time job, so I wanted to network with other editors and put my name out there as fast as possible. I hoped having my name in the member database helped with visibility, which it did to moderate success. The Diversity Initiative (DI) was also a huge draw, because it connected me with other editors of color and editors from minority groups.

What do you see as the value of volunteer work?

Work is what you do to feed yourself, and volunteer work is what you do to feed your heart. Nothing fills my heart more than sharing my time and skills to help others achieve their dreams of writing, especially when it comes to underrepresented groups in publishing. Volunteering also brings a sense of community; it’s all in the people you meet and the positive changes you accomplish as part of a group. It’s not me, me, me. It’s me, you, us, everyone.

Where have you volunteered other than the EFA?

I’ve always volunteered my time and skills whenever I can. In high school, I created my class video yearbook because I was the only one with knowledge of video software and Photoshop. In college, I volunteered my design skills to create the English Department’s newsletter and a couple of posters for Drama Club events. I was also one of the hundreds of volunteers at the 21st Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico, helping with athlete signups and creating ID cards for each delegation. The experience was as awesome as it sounds and I’ll never forget it!

These days, I volunteer my time and expertise as an acquisitions editor to writer events by joining their pitch sessions and Q&A panels.

What volunteer work have you done with the EFA?

I volunteer with the EFA’s Diversity Initiative. I’m a past subleader of resources and, along with the awesome DI team, I helped review the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey.

Why did you choose that work?

The Diversity Initiative’s goal of achieving a diverse membership and promoting equitable access for all is one I fully support. At the time I joined, the resources subleader was in charge of updating the DI Style Guide and the Resource List, which contains links to BIPOC associations and events, articles relevant to diversity discussions, and more.

There was also a pending project called the Word List that greatly interested me, so I volunteered as subleader. The idea was to have a main document that editors could reference for words used in diversity discussions; not just the correct words, but also harmful terms to be avoided. We completed the Word List of Diversity and Contested Terms in 2019, and it is now a free resource for all our members. Life has gotten a lot busier since then, but I continue supporting the DI however I can and I’ve enjoyed seeing the group grow over the years.

Of what volunteer work are you most proud?

The Word List of Diversity and Contested Terms is my proudest work without a doubt. I couldn’t have done it without the wonderful team of volunteers that helped get this project off the ground. We all learned so much about word usage and context of many of the terms.

What advice do you have for EFA members considering volunteer work?

Try it! Find a group, network a bit, then see the openings they have and work with them. The experience and connections you make are always worth it.

What benefits have you gotten out of EFA volunteer work?

Networking is usually the thing that makes most of us shudder and grimace, but volunteering is the easiest networking opportunity ever and a great experience overall. You’re not forcing yourself to connect; the connection comes from sharing time and skills to create something to help others.

What are your freelance services and skills?

I’m mainly a developmental editor, so I offer manuscript critiques and developmental editing of genre Continued on next page.