Will AI take over editorial work? Some programs will now allow you to enter a concept and will churn out text.
Book sales are now about marketing and gaming the algorithms, not about the quality of writing. #Editors22
There are more books being published than in any time in history, but the creators and the support structures around them—including editors—are making less and less money. #Editors22
Where do editors fit into a landscape with increasing media consolidation, both in books and periodicals? #Editors22
She also found that none of the articles had been fact checked.
She revamped the editorial process to make the interaction with author more respectful and collaborative. #Editors22
Wowwwwww. She worked at a magazine where the publisher left authors hanging, sometimes for years, and later published their work without consultation. If the authors couldn't be reached, sometimes their work was published under a pseudonym. 😱 #Editors22
Now in Lorina Stephens's #Editors22 keynote. She'll give her perspective on the social, political, and environmental changes will influence our work as editors.
Educational books can educate in several ways: reading, comprehension, writing, cultural exploration, etc. #Editors22
Why do we need diversity in kids' books?
1. Kids deserve to see themselves represented.
2. Kids who have always been represented need to see others be the heroes of their own stories.
3. Strong stories transcend race, ability, sexuality, etc. #Editors22
You are the responsible for the books that will shape the views of a new generation. One way of introducing diversity is to ensure diverse characters. But be careful not to perpetuate stereotypes. #Editors22
If you're just starting out editing children's books, you need to know what's out there. Go to the library and read piles of children's books. #Editors22
Another challenge: limited word count. Children's books are 100–1000 words. Text needs to be concise and clear. Each word has to bring meaning to the table. #Editors22
Writing for a younger audience is challenging. Editors have to conscientious of word choices. One strategy is to look at provincial curricula to see how complex text can be for various reading levels. #Editors22
DC Canada Education Publishing makes books and games for early readers, and language learners. #Editors22
Now in Kara Cybanski's (@itskara45) #Editors22 session on "Editing Children’s Books: Education and Inclusion."
It's fun to take a story that carries a nostalgia and reimagine it in different worlds. We can recognize that original stories had harmful stereotypes and tropes, but they can still carry that nostalgia. #Editors22
Rachel loves seeing characters gain more depth, understanding why characters are doing the things they do. Genre-bending, like taking a fairy tale and making it sci-fi. #Editors22
Jessica asks, "What are your favourite kinds of twists in retellings?"
Tanya loves hearing from characters that didn't have a voice. When characters who didn't have power in the original are given power. #Editors22
Rachel says retellings happen because history happens, change happens. You need a general knowledge of the past and the present, along with an inkling of where the market is headed. #Editors22
Tanya says both are important. Understanding the background is crucial. Tanya would not work on a retelling without reading the source first. #Editors22
Jessica asks, "If someone wanted to start editing retellings, how familiar would they have to be with source stories, and how familiar would the have to be with the market?" #Editors22
Copyright is another issue. The original may not be in the public domain. #Editors22
Storytelling, rhetoric are all about pattern. Are those patterns perpetuating anything harmful? Rachel says that @AmandaLeduc's *Disfigured* changed her life and helped her see what harm may not be immediately apparent but is still there. #Editors22
Red flags? People who take stories that aren't really theirs to tell, who take stories from marginalized communities they're not a part of. We have to be careful not to repeat *harmful* tropes in the original. #Editors22
If an author has used a particular story structure or certain tropes, Rachel will use those to help the author shape their story. #Editors22
Jessica asks, "Do you ever work on stories where the authors didn't realize was a retelling?"
Rachel's and Tanya's authors have generally been aware that they were writing a retelling. #Editors22
Rachel says retellings are a huge part of the market and our culture, and some authors may consider them "easy" ways of breaking into the market, so she treads carefully to ensure that authors are not appropriating. #Editors22
What specific aspect of the original stories are the authors reclaiming? What literary traditions have inspired their work? What are the authors' experience with working outside of their own experience? #Editors22
Jessica asks, "As an editor, how do you approach retellings differently from original content?"
Tanya would first read the story that a retelling is based on to understand where the author is coming from. #Editors22
Tanya says that a lot of the stories we grew up with belittle and bully marginalized people, and retellings are a good way to reclaim stories and make them our own. #Editors22
Tanya sees retelling as a writer adapting an existing story to their own culture and context, and so the plot details, structure, etc., may not be the same. Fan fiction is a retelling, too, though it may not always be published because of copyright. #Editors22
