In January 2014, I gave a talk to the Editor’s Association of Canada (EAC) on the changing face of publishing and what it means for editors and writers. Editors learned about self-publishing and indie publishing, publishing myths, and where to find new editing opportunities.
Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of award-nominated speculative novels, short stories and non-fiction. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books.
Nina Munteanu Writing Coach 
enjoyed this, Nina. when do we meet?
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Let’s meet soon! I’m back from the States and reading break is over … back to school! 🙂
Bestest,
Nina
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Hi Nina, I was doing some wider research when I came across your talk. I watched curiously up until the point where you named and shamed that writer, which I think was very unprofessional. I do not know him or had heard of him before but was struck by the nature in which you thought it was okay to do this. Not only that but I do not believe that writers cannot be editors, take Jude Fisher for example, a most famous editor and author in her own right. I understand the need to market it yourself in this increasingly difficult climate, but I wouldn’t recommend building a reputation that relies on putting others down.
IQ
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Thanks, Ivory, for sharing your opinions.
Regarding the writer/editor I gave as an example in my talk: did I “shame” that entrepreneur writer? Really? That’s a very strong word. I used him as an example of a smart entrepreneur–a writer who also edits (which is what I do, by the way; so I’m not sure how you can infer that I don’t support writers who also edit); a writer who knows his market. I used him as an example to point out to my audience of mostly introverted editors that they need to think further afield and market themselves more effectively.
I do recommend that you revisit the meaning of “shame” and “shaming”. Firstly, the verb, shaming, implies intent, of which I certainly had none for my fellow writer. In fact, if I was shaming James Hutchings—that’s the name of that enterprising writer/editor—then I was most certainly shaming myself too—a writer/coach with a self-admitted weakness for spelling (https://ninamunteanu.me/2015/01/25/why-writers-cant-spell/); I was also shaming fellow professional writers, who look rather skeptically at their fellow writers as editors; and I was shaming my audience of introverted editors, who needed bolstering in their very own area of expertise. None of this is shaming. It is truth.
I shared what my fellow professional writers shared and this was as valid as it was real (and ultimately of use to Mr. Hutchings, if he were to see it, in fact: critical feedback is the cornerstone to learning and improvement). It was also, for that audience, a critical point to raise and learn from. These are people with a professional skill in editing. That is their livelihood. When someone, like writer James Hutchings (and myself for that matter) is successful with skills acquired in a different way, this is worth considering and studying. I also chose to reveal how writers tend to look upon other writers (as editors), which was also valid and good for the editors to see in terms of how they present themselves. Did I “shame” James Hurchings or hurt his business? I’m sure I did not. I simply shared the truth. And the truth is good. It makes no judgment; we do that.
Nina
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