Andrea Ledesma

I’m seeing a worrying trend of archival conferences slowly transitioning into in-person only. At first they were digital, then they were hybrid, and then digital accommodations for presenters under extenuating circumstances. This was problematic enough as digital audiences began to be eliminated. Many of whom finally felt they were able to participate for the first time. Presenters also needed to disclose why they needed digital accommodations. Something that may make presenters quite uncomfortable to disclose. Me 10 years ago certainly wouldn’t have been able to. There are certainly exceptions, but I’ve noticed that we are getting to a stage where some conferences are eliminating language that even suggests digital accommodations in their callouts. Conferences heavily focus on networking and hosting in-person only eliminates those who may benefit from that networking most. Travel can be difficult for many of us. For myself, it’s health related. I also think of those who need to care for small children or sick relatives, students/early career professionals/those in the global south who cannot afford to travel because few stipends exist, and those who work in very small non-profits that are not awarded the time to be away. This is particularly troubling when so many conferences are themed around underrepresentation. I understand the difficulties that go into organizing a conference. I’ve been responsible for organizing events, including conferences in the past. I was organizing guest lectures during the pandemic. There are contractual obligations to sponsors and host sites but we need to be doing more. So, think about why certain demographics are more prevalent in our field. By returning to in-person only, we’ll always be stuck at the stage of “we need to be a more inclusive field.” Those voices that are necessary for such inclusion initiatives will never get to participate in the “here’s how”.

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Question for the publishing community! I'm an illustrator looking to publish children's storybooks. Can anyone share their experiences and insights on: 1. The various ways to publish a children's book (traditional, self-publishing, hybrid)? 2. How to reach and connect with publisher houses? 3. Which notable publishers in Islamabad and Rawalpindi (Pakistan) are open to considering new book proposals? 4. What profit share can an illustrator expect from a publishing house? It would be really helpful if I get any kind of guidance. #ChildrensBookPublishing #IllustratorLife #PublishingCommunity #Bookillustrator

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Just learned that my picture book, IF THE RIVERS RUN FREE, is on the short list for the Green Earth Book Award from The Nature Generation! So many incredible environmental books on this list: https://lnkd.in/gjwWeTwv

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Hey, editor friends! 👋🏻 I've just added more scholarship spots to all my self-paced courses! These scholarships are for editors from marginalized groups who can't afford the full price. There's a limited number for each course. They're first-come, first-serve, no questions asked. 🔗 Link in comments 🔗 #AmEditing #Edibuddies #Editor #Editing

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Almost every conversation I have with publishing clients about accessibility remediation now includes questions about AI. I get it - the size of the task, especially considering backlists, can be pretty intimidating, and AI tools seem like an obvious fit. But as vendors flood the market with AI-powered solutions, there are some key questions to ask them, and important things to be aware of when assessing their offerings. I wrote a piece exploring this topic for my friends at Inclusive Publishing, and I really hope this can add to the growing discussion of this fascinating topic. https://lnkd.in/eq9ttyFM #ai #copyright #accessibility #ebooks #publishing #digitalpublishing

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What makes a human copyeditor so special? With artificial intelligence dominating most fields, it's easy to forget the power of a copyeditor's mind. If you aren't a copyeditor, you may perhaps not understand the process, but I ask these questions (and some more) when I read a piece of text: 👉 Is the writing clear and concise? 👉 Does it convey the intended message effectively? 👉 What is the purpose of the text? 👉 Is there consistency with the author’s unique voice? 👉 Does the author maintain the flow and structure of their writing? 👉 Are there instances where sentences could be improved? 👉 Is everything spelled correctly? What about punctuation marks? 👉 Are all facts accurate? 👉 Have sources been appropriately cited? 👉 What does the house style say? Why does it state something? Why is the house style silent about this? 👉 Should I check a different source material? A copyeditor’s ultimate goal is to make your writing the best it can be while respecting your voice and intent. So, as I work through each sentence, I ask myself, "Would changing something make it better?" #copyediting #humancopyeditor #mind

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#Rockfordians, my colleague Rachel León is seeking submissions for The Rockford Anthology as a part of Belt Publishing's city anthology series. Please share the submission guidelines with anyone you think might be interested in contributing: We want your Rockford story. We’re building a collection of stories written by current or former residents of Rockford, Illinois, offering a snapshot of the city. Stories can take different forms: essays, poems, photos, hybrid work. Rockford is full of history. There’s triumph: Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap and Fred VanVleet’s NBA championship win. On the Waterfront and South Main Mercado. Cheap Trick and Michelle Williams. But also injustices and tragedy: the People Who Care race discrimination lawsuit. Mark Anthony Barmore’s murder by police at the House of Grace daycare. The faces behind reports that Rockford continually has a higher per capita crime rate than Chicago. Share your stories of pride in this city. Or your shame. Memories of growing up in Rockford—from your involvement in the arts and music scene to your old schools. What would you tell someone who has never been here? Where would you show them? Would you tell them any city history or local folklore? We want stories of dreams and disappointment. How have you reckoned with the crime impacting your neighborhood? What are your frustrations about the city? What about your hopes for the future? Do you have a local hero, your favorite neighborhood, or a place that holds meaning? Is there a memory that defines your Rockford experience? A moment of fear so stark it still wakes you up at night? A day of joy so intense that it can still make you laugh throughout the day? To accurately capture this city, we need a variety of voices. We are actively seeking work from people of all ages, abilities, gender identities, sexualities, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds who have personal connections to Rockford. We want the story only you can tell about this city. Length We have no formal word limit, but we are looking to keep essays to five pages or less. Shorter is better.  You may submit up to three poems for consideration, but likely only one will be selected for publication. Formatting Double-spaced, 12-point serif font is preferred, but don’t stress about it. We’ll take your submission in whatever format works best for you. Questions & How to Submit Email: rockfordanthology@gmail.com Submission Deadline October 15, 2024. #anthologysubmissions #RockfordIllinois

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I’m still reflecting on lessons learned from the ACES: The Society for Editing conference. An insight I really appreciated from Graph Massara of the Trans Journalists Association was that inclusive language goes beyond just what words to use: it’s also how we use those words. For example, Graph pointed out that when “transition” is used as a transitive verb–a verb that takes an object, as in “so-and-so transitioned this person”–transitioning is done to transgender people. But when “transition” is used as an intransitive verb–a verb without an object, as in “this person transitioned”–transgender people have autonomy; transitioning is something they do. The examples in the presentation showed that the forms of words (e.g., transitive versus intransitive) can influence perceptions of power. This idea aligns with what I wrote in the “Narratives, framing, and sentence structure” section of the ACS Inclusivity Style Guide (https://lnkd.in/essjHiZt) and what I try to think about when editing. Thanks again, Graph, for a thought-provoking presentation! #InclusiveLanguage #ConsciousLanguage

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Here's a fun resource I've used as part of my media literacy curriculum for the last several years: https://lnkd.in/gXV7vVbn I keep the basic assignment simple: Play the game with nothing but ill intent, then tell me two things you learned. Works great for online discussions, in-class discussions or as a short homework assignment.

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4 Planning Strategies to Write a Compelling Novel via Writers In The Storm #amwriting #writetip #nanowrimo #pubtip https://lnkd.in/eZBcHEJr

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Want to get into editing? ✍️ Check out this free UChicago webinar on landing your first job in editing on Monday, April 29. Their expert panel will reveal insider tips for landing your first job in the #publishing industry. Learn how to ace #copyediting tests, leverage online resources, research potential employers, and more. https://lnkd.in/gKusvDxs  #amediting #bookediting #freelanceediting

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Friday’s Book Recommendation is “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros. This novel is an oldie but goodie. The stories within this book are based off of Mango Street on the Latino side of Chicago and as a Milwaukee native, I related to this book the moment I read the first page. This novel is filled with a series of vignettes (short, descriptive passages that capture a moment in time), and I liked the set up as it paced the book well, with each vignette intertwining into the others to create an overarching story. The novel goes through one year in the life of a 12 year old girl named Esperanza, a Mexican-American, dealing with the realities of becoming a young woman facing racism, classism, sexism, and grappling with those experiences to come into her own identity. I encountered this book as a young adult and as someone who experienced all of those things around the same age, this book resonated with me. Knowing others have experienced the same frustrations, confusion, and trying to figure out your identity with a culture that is different from the ones around you, helped me understand and work through my own experiences from my teenage years. As someone who loves poetry and also started writing poetry to help work out those feelings, the imagery of this book was one of my favorite elements. The simple comparisons were still powerful when describing Esperanza’s house, street, family, neighbors, and feelings. Sandra stated that his novel is based on hers and others’ experiences and that shines through with each story. You can buy “The House on Mango Street’’ at all of the retailers (Amazon, B&N, Audible, etc.). You can also find out more about Sandra Cisneros at sandracisneros.com. Happy reading! #bookrecommendations #thehouseonmangostreet #sandracisneros #readerslife #writerslife #latinareader #latinawriter #latinaauthor

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No matter how long I work as an editor, there are words I have to look up -- either in Merriam Webster or CMS (Chicago Manual of Style) -- to know how to treat them properly. I recently had a client who thought we should skip the copyediting stage and I nearly gasped. For those out there who don't know why copyediting is so important, here is a peek behind the curtain at my list of items to look up for the book I'm currently editing: the Company, not the company (ref. the Dutch East Indian Company) sir or Sir if in middle or end of sentence crew member, one word or two Italicize names of ships? Or put in quotes ax or axe blond or blonde shift English spelling of words: sculls, canvass, towards dress coat or dresscoat Gentlemen capped if used as title in the court: Honorable Gentleman Crawley pitch dark -- hypen? cell mate or cellmate close-by not close by if a proper noun ends in "z" how do I make it possessive? Is the 's italicized if the added to an italicized word? The list is longer but I don't want to bore you. Making all these details correctly and applying them consistently throughout the manuscript is the difference between a book being edited and a book being professionally edited. In the world of self-publishing, hiring professionals for typesetting, cover design, and editing is the difference maker. There are no shortcuts...(short-cuts? short cuts?)

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Time for more bloggy goodness! Here are four key principles that good copyeditors apply to their work (rather than that what we actually do to the text). #AptWords #amediting #blog

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One of the most common typos I see as a cookbook copyeditor and proofreader? Hellman's. It's Hellmann's, folks! Two n's. A close second? Frank's RedHot. Not Franks RedHot. Not Frank's Red Hot. This is your reminder to mind those proper nouns! #cookbookeditor #amediting #proofreader #copyeditor #cookbooks

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Authors don't see the experience we've gained by editing countless book manuscripts, newspaper and magazine articles, and other publications. For some of us, that equates to years of reading millions of words, looking up precise definitions (denotations and connotations), fact-checking everything that doesn't seem right, and referring to style guides and other reference materials when we are unsure of a grammatical principle. Few authors can afford to pay us what we are worth. So we quote a price that we consider fair to the author, even as we bite the bullet. But our bottom line—or at least my bottom line—is that I want to help authors produce the best book we can.

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A #FreelanceEditor needs more than a collection of trustworthy #EditingResources. You need trustworthy #BusinessResources, as well. #AmEditing #LaunchYourEditingBiz

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Editorial Tip: This week I'm tackling the "that" vs. "which" conundrum. Now I know if I start talking about restrictive clauses and nonrestrictive elements your eyes will glaze over. So let's just use this easy tip from Grammar Girl, a favorite online resource: If removing the words that follow would change the meaning of the sentence, use “that.” Otherwise, “which” is fine. Example: Dogs that bark annoy me. Dogs, which can be expensive, make great pets. #writeright

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✈ Later this week, I’ll get to see the world’s largest bottle of catsup. (Ketchup? Catsup? Is there a difference?) When I learned that I’d be speaking at Reaching Forward South in Collinsville, Illinois, I Googled the area. That’s how I discovered the city is home to a 170-foot water tower shaped like a catsup bottle that just happens to be on the National Registry of Historic Places. I made a plan to visit, of course. A plan, on vacation or in the library, sets clear goals and outcomes. And #LibraryMarketing works best when the promotions are tied to a library’s overall strategic plan. But that’s not always as easy as it sounds. Here's how to create a marketing plan even if your library’s strategic plan sucks or is non-existent!

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