Conferences Home | Write Edit Index Home
Listed alphabetically by presenter.
A–G | H–L | M–Sa | Sc–Z
Maintaining consistency through a staggered delivery process
Maryam E Ahmad, Karin Hosking, Frances Marston and Sally Tetreault-Campbell
The Bioregional Assessment Program is delivering information on the ecology, hydrology, geology and hydrogeology of 13 regions in Australia. In the program, about 200 authors from four agencies are collaborating to write around 150 publications over a staggered delivery period of three years.
In a fast-paced environment of staggered delivery and cross-agency collaboration, project teams rely on editors to ensure consistency across publications produced by different parts of the programme, from different disciplines and pertaining to different subregions.
Six editors are responsible for substantive editing, copyediting and post-production proofreading. Language standards and glossary terms are made consistent through the use of robust processes and tools.
This talk covers some of the practices developed by the editorial team to ensure consistency in the Bioregional Assessment Programme, including:
- processes for agreeing on, and implementing, language standards
- processes for getting approval on, and linking to, glossary definitions of terms
- tools for automating as much of the process as possible.
Maryam Ahmad, AE, is a member of the Knowledge Integration Team at CSIRO Land and Water. As part of her role, she has been responsible for developing editing standards and conventions for large, integrated multi-disciplinary projects. Maryam has an Advanced Master of Arts in Writing, Editing, and Publishing from the University of Queensland and is a member of the Canberra Society of Editors, the Australian Science Communicators and the ACT Writers Centre.
Karin Hosking, BBS MEd AE, worked as an accounts clerk, careers adviser and business analyst prior to accidentally discovering the joys of editing about eight years ago. She now works four days per week as an editor and research assistant with CSIRO’s Land and Water Flagship, and does occasional freelance and pro bono editing on the side. Karin lives in Canberra with her partner Andrew and three eccentric goldfish.
Frances Marston is a member of the Knowledge Integration Team at CSIRO Land and Water. She draws on her vast domain knowledge of ecology- and water-related issues to do with catchment processes and function to integrate and decode technical language for non-specialist audiences. Storytelling is a critical focus of her editing work. Frances has a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Graduate Diploma in Outdoor Recreation Management.
Sally Tetreault-Campbell is a member of the Knowledge Integration Team at CSIRO Land and Water. She is experienced in the management of publication workflows and quality assurance of publication metadata. She is now leaping into the linked data world, working with software developers and researchers in linked data and controlled vocabularies to develop, implement and maintain an automated glossary. Sally has a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry and now conducts her own experiments in her kitchen.
Supporting copyright creators in the digital age
Libby Baulch
This presentation will cover how to work out if you need a copyright clearance, and where to start if you do; legal rules on attribution and making changes to other people’s works; who owns copyright; and how Copyright Agency|Viscopy licensing works.
Copyright Agency and Viscopy are not-for-profit organisations whose services are jointly managed as Copyright Agency|Viscopy. Their joint membership includes photographers, artists, writers and publishers. Copyright Agency|Viscopy manages licensing arrangements for a range of sectors, including education, governments, corporations, cultural institutions and auction houses. Copyright Agency also manages the artists’ resale royalty
scheme, whereby a percentage from the sale price of resold artworks is paid to the artists. Copyright Agency|Viscopy collects and distributes more than $100 million each year in copyright fees and royalties.
Libby Baulch is policy director at Copyright Agency|Viscopy, a position she has held since 2009. Before that, Libby headed the Australian Copyright Council, a not-for-profit organisation providing a range of services to creators such as free legal advice, information, training and advocacy.
Information architecture and web indexing
Alexandra Bell and Mary Coe
How do users find information on a website? How do indexers apply their skills in the online environment?
Alexandra Bell and Mary Coe will discuss navigation, search functionality and site indexes. They will provide specific examples from their work at NPS MedicineWise and on redevelopment of the ANZSI website. Specific topics will include:
- thesaurus construction, maintenance and integration with site search
- collaboration with users and stakeholders
- the organic nature of website indexing
- site indexes.
Indexers Available: a new look
Alexandra Bell, Madeleine Davis, Mary Coe and Denise Sutherland
The Indexers Available (IA) section of the ANZSI site is a public directory of indexers, to help authors, editors, publishers and indexing colleagues locate an indexer best suited to their needs. Since 2011, ANZSI has been investigating how best to improve and develop this section of our website. A working party was set up, based in the NSW branch of ANZSI, and it set to work.
Based on the working party’s recommendations, a new version of IA will soon be launched, as a major subsection of the new ANZSI website. In this session, two members of the working party, chair Madeleine Davis, and Mary Coe, will outline the processes, decisions and survey undertaken during the redevelopment consultation period. Then the website redevelopment team, Ali Bell and Denise Sutherland, will then discuss the new IA section of the new website, showing how to get the most out of the site.
Alexandra Bell and Mary Coe share the job of website indexer & metadata analyst at NPS MedicineWise. They have both earned a Master of Information Studies from Charles Sturt University. Ali and Mary are also active ANZSI NSW members, and they recently worked on a database indexing project together. There are a few things that they don’t share, however …
Mary has 25 years experience as a freelance indexer, working with books and databases. She continues to operate her solo business when she’s not sharing jobs with Ali. She is based in Sydney.
Ali has been working with websites in one way or another for over 10 years, and is the ANZSI webmaster. She has a Master of Applied Linguistics and enjoys thinking about the way people describe what they’re looking for. She has recently moved to Canberra.
Madeleine Davis has 20 years’ experience as a back-of-book and loose-leaf indexer. She has been an active ANZSI member since 1995 at both state and national level. She is the chair of the Indexers Available working party.
Denise Sutherland is ANZSI’s ACT Region branch president, one half of ANZSI’s website redevelopment team (Ali Bell is the other half), and the society’s newsletter editor. She has a background in science, and a degree in graphic design. Denise is a well-established non-fiction author, with over 12 books to her name, including four titles in the ‘For Dummies’ series. In her business, Sutherland Studios, she also writes cryptic crosswords, edits, designs and indexes. She designed the conference logo and website, and is the conference webmaster.
Matrix reloaded: EPUB ebook indexing
Glenda Browne
This presentation follows on from the ‘Matrix’ and other EPUB sessions presented by Jan Wright, David K. Ream and Glenda Browne at the 2013 ANZSI conference in Wellington.
It will provide a brief update on work of the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) EPUB Indexes Working Group, includingdevelopment of the IDPF Adoption Readiness Roadmap. This roadmap aims to encourage the adoption of specifications once they have been approved.
This will be followed by an update on EPUB indexing. There has been less change than expected in the last few years, and the adoption of ebooks seems to have slowed (although it is certain that it will not stop). Some of the important developments have been in software, including Adobe InDesign and some specialised indexing add-ins.
With the IDPF EPUB Indexes specification now in its final format, it is time to consider the decisions publishers will need to make about the provision of active, linked indexes, and the skills and knowledge that indexers will need. The approach taken to creating a linked index will depend on the technology the publisher is using, and on the desired outcomes. Indexers
should know the advantages and disadvantages of different technical options for making linked indexes.
Glenda Browne has been a freelance indexer and active ANZSI member since 1988. She is currently ANZSI president and also the ANZSI representative on the IDPF EPUB Indexes Working Group. Glenda teaches indexing at Macleay College and for ANZSI. She is co-author of Website indexing and The indexing companion, and author of The indexing companion workbook: book indexing. Glenda was awarded Highly Commended in the ANZSI Medal for her index to The indexing companion. See www.webindexing.com.au for more information.
Creating online training resources
Hilary Cadman
Online training offers many opportunities for editors, either as recipients or presenters. One option is webinars—these are relatively inexpensive, and can be used for anything from working with an individual client to presenting to hundreds of participants. The technology is flexible, so that even when working with large groups it is possible to include some interactive elements. Another option for training is to create videos of onscreen activity; again this can be done at low cost. Videos can be used in a number of ways; for example, to pass on tips to clients or other editors, or to form the basis of an online course. In this presentation, Hilary will talk about her experience of creating training courses using webinars and videos.
She will discuss the various tools that she has used, and outline the main advantages and disadvantages of these technologies.
Hilary Cadman is a highly experienced technical editor and trainer, with a background in science. She works with a range of clients in Australia and overseas, and her editing qualifications include accreditation with the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences in the United States, the World Health Organization and IPEd. Hilary is passionate about finding better ways to work on and in her business, Cadman Editing.
Users’ expectations of book indexes
Mary Coe
If you don’t find it in the index, look very carefully through the entire catalogue.
(Sears, Roebuck, and Co., Consumer’s Guide, 1897)
This quote points directly to users’ expectations of the usefulness of a book index. Do readers assume that the index will help them? What course of action will they take if they don’t find it useful? To step back even further, what do readers think an index is?
Current book indexing practice is based on assumptions about the behaviour of index users. Mary Coe will report on an exploratory user study that investigated readers’ expectations and use of book indexes in an effort to fill this gap in knowledge. Results of the study could also inform design of index usability testing and research on navigation within
books.
Mary Coe has been a freelance book and database indexer for 25 years, working in a wide range of subject areas and formats. She recently completed a Master of Information Studies (Applied Research) course at Charles Sturt University. She is an active member of ANZSI.
Biography indexing: approaches and challenges
Madeleine Davis
A comparison and discussion of indexing books on the lives of politicians, writers, painters, actors, sports men and women, musicians, lawyers, entrepreneurs/business people, Uncle Tom Cobley and all. Are there different indexing approaches to different types of biographies? What are the basics? What, if any, are the special characteristics of different types of biographies? Are there specific issues of content, style and layout? Are there differences between indexing historical figures and biographies of living people? This session will outline how to begin and develop the framework
for a biographical index.
Madeleine Davis has 20 years’ experience as a back-of-book and loose-leaf indexer, including indexing 24 biographies. She has been an active ANZSI member since 1995 at both state and national level, and has a Postgraduate Diploma in Publishing and Editing, Macquarie University. Madeleine was awarded Highly Commended in the ANZSI Medal for her index to Frank Lowy: pushing the limits (HarperCollins, 2000).
Everything in its right place: fiction continuity
Sarah JH Fletcher
Impossible timelines. Absent characters speaking. All editors and proofreaders of fiction grapple with continuity problems—hopefully before a reviewer finds them! This session will be an entertaining yet practical guide to sharpening up your continuity skills, setting out a variety of best-practice strategies based on real-life examples.
Overuse injuries: prevention and management for editors and indexers
Sarah JH Fletcher
Overuse injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis are all too common among editors and indexers, affecting quality of life and even ending careers prematurely. However, injury prevention is treated as an afterthought—if at all—when training new editors and indexers. This session provides a foundation for educating new entrants to the publishing industry, as well as setting out prevention tips for established workers and suggesting practical management strategies for those who are already dealing with an overuse injury. The session deals primarily with the upper body (hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck).
Sarah JH Fletcher has several years of in-house editorial experience at trade publishers and has been freelancing as an editorial consultant since 2011. She specialises in children’s and young adult novels, adult commercial fiction and ebook quality assurance. Her current editorial clients range from digital startups to independent and multinational publishers. Sarah is the commissioning editor at Koala Books, an imprint of Scholastic Australia, and she sits on the corporate advisory board of Editia. She also serves as a judge for the Aurealis Awards. Sarah is an experienced and well-regarded speaker across a range of editing and publishing topics. She was formerly known as Sarah Hazelton.
Writing, editing and publishing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content: three viewpoints
Lisa Fuller, Laurie Bamblett and Pauline McGuire
Most Indigenous writers in Australia will be edited by non-Indigenous editors and much of the material about Indigenous Australia is written by non-Indigenous people. How then can we create the best possible literature in a way that’s acceptable to everyone involved?
At Aboriginal Studies Press we publish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors as well as material written about their histories and cultures. Our day-to-day experience of working in a cross-cultural space has encouraged us to formulate some general guidelines for ethical publishing. We didn’t sit down to write a book of rules; instead, we want to create a living document based on our experiences. We see it as a starting place for those who are new to the area, as well as somewhere to explore the challenges and pleasures of this kind of publishing.
In this session we’re presenting three different but related viewpoints. We’ll provide a brief context to Indigenous publishing in Australia, touch on some of the more common cultural protocols as well as the challenges and opportunities of transcribing an oral culture into written form. Lastly we’ll explore how we adapt the standard rules of consistency and style to Indigenous-centred content and a storytelling form and language that’s not necessarily standard Australian English.
Aboriginal Studies Press is the publishing arm of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).
Lisa Fuller is a Wuilli Wuilli woman who is also descended from the Wakka Wakka and Gurang Gurang mobs. The editorial and production officer at Aboriginal Studies Press, she is a trainee-editor who was fortunate to attend the 2014 Residential Editorial Program. Lisa is completing her Masters of Creative Writing and is the joint winner of the Anne Edgeworth Fellowship 2014 with support from the First Nations Australia Writers Network.
Laurie Bamblett is a Wiradjuri researcher and community development worker. He works and writes from AIATSIS and Erambie Mission in the heart of Wiradjuri country.
Pauline McGuire is a non-Indigenous woman who has worked in publishing for many years, with stints at Penguin UK, Angus & Robertson and Hodder Headline (now Hachette), but faced with the cultural wealth of Indigenous Australia she sometimes feels like an absolute beginner. At Aboriginal Studies Press Pauline manages research publications, working with both AIATSIS researchers and other academics to produce online books, papers and research reports.
Automatic indexing of newspaper clippings
Grisoula Giopoulos
In late 2010, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library introduced LAST, the Library Authoring System and Thesaurus, an automated system for the selection and indexing of newspaper clippings. Four years later we take a look to see what the impact of this system has been in doing this task, how it has affected the workplace, and what its value is for our clients and the service we provide.
Grisoula Giopoulos graduated with a Graduate Diploma of Information Management (Librarianship) from the University of New South Wales in 1988. Former jobs include organising a slide collection for an engineering firm; sorting and cataloguing the Sydney Futures Exchange library; and indexing journal articles for a database on the Daintree region, now listed as a World Heritage site. She currently works at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library where she has indexed journal articles and newspaper clippings and edits the in-house thesaurus.
Digital first: making the transition from print to online publishing
Bobby Graham
Are you an aspiring content creator? Raring to write in the blogosphere? Set on becoming a self publisher? The internet offers a digital panacea with services like Google Drive—a collaborative authoring platform; Medium—an online newsreport; and Unbound—a crowd-funded digital publisher. These digital enablers fulfil different publishing requirements and they all have one thing in common: hypertext markup language.
Derided 20 years ago as a callow online upstart, sidelined for a while by PDF—its more flamboyant cousin—HTML has come of age, cementing its supremacy as the language of the internet.
No need to worry whether you’ve put your <br> in the right spot: it’s been done on your behalf. Modern digital services are beautifully formatted and designed by programmers and developers. Authoring, editing and indexing just work: the underlying HTML speaks seamlessly system to system.
These easy-to-use services make the transition from print to digital liberating. They remove restrictive print constraints. As a content producer, you can unshackle editorial from physical formats. Focus on writing and reading; let digital do the work.
This paper is not an HTML toolkit. Instead it discusses ways to create and publish content, using contemporary web-based services that demonstrate the power of digital first. Some aspects of digital publishing may impact on traditional publishing practice. Rather than trying to ‘fix’ these business
models, I posit new ways of creating, reading and finding innovative content.
Bobby Graham is a digital publisher with a passion for publishing and communication. Bobby holds a Masters in eBusiness and a Bachelor of Arts in English and History. She has worked in government, with publishers and in libraries. Bobby is director of Bobby Graham Publishers. As well as being a businesswoman, Bobby is wife to Thomas, mother to Louis and leader of the pack to Bibi, her fox terrier.
The IPEd essay prize
Brenda Gurr
What kinds of opportunities might postgraduate study in editing offer a prospective student? Brenda Gurr talks about her experiences as an in-house writer and educational editor and her reasons for choosing to study editing at university level. She discusses how her new editing qualification and winning the 2014 IPEd Prize have strengthened both her skills and her freelance writing and editing career, sharing her tips for success.
Brenda Gurr has a background in primary and drama teaching and is the author of numerous resources for primary and secondary students. She is currently working as a freelance writer and editor, specialising in children’s and educational writing. Brenda has recently completed a Graduate Certificate of Editing and Publishing through the University of Southern Queensland.