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Physical Sciences and Engineering
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After completing her Master's in Geochemistry, this editor's
life took a literary turn. She is a published novelist (Dell
and Avalon), and a frequent contributor to the University of
British Columbia's The Graduate magazine. She also edits
science articles and is an active member of the Editors'
Association of Canada.
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You have published six articles in 2005 and two in 2006.
So are you primarily a writer or an editor?
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I am a writer. It's what I have always wanted to be. |
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So then, what made you decide to become an
editor?
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After graduating, I worked at McGill University in
geochemistry and co-authored a paper that was published in
Canadian Spectroscopy. I debuted as a writer in 1975 with my
first novel, and since then I have written 5 novels and
published one more in 2005. Besides writing, I joined the
Editors' Association of Canada in 1992 with the intention of
extending the range of my work. I learned the ABCs of
editing in workshops conducted by the association. Having
written for a long time, I was familiar with editing. Since
joining EAC, I have edited over 50 science articles for
journal publication, written and edited over 90 job
descriptions for 15 government departments, and have also
edited non-fiction, novels, press releases, and articles.
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Why did you take up literature? It's not the usual choice
for a Geology graduate, is it?
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Yes, I majored in Geology at university and followed it up
with Geochemistry. Somewhere along the way, getting involved
in technicalities and the minutiae of science lost its
appeal. I have been interested in arts like painting and
literature since I was a student; so, I decided to go down
that road. But I'm a scientist at heart. I wrote "Stephen
Hawking in Seattle" in 2006 and "Einstein and the World Year
of Physics" in 2005, which are about science. Editing theses
on geology rekindles many memories. People cannot be experts
in all things at the same time. But geochemistry is still my
home base.
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Does the fact that you are a writer affect your work as
an editor?
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Writers spend lots of time doing research, but then struggle
to succeed as novelists. Most editors don't spend time on
research, but I do. I take great effort to understand what
authors want to convey and to judge whether they are
expressing their intentions and information correctly. I try
to gain knowledge of all things as accurately as possible.
To be a writer is to develop such an attitude.
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So, you like to be perfect. How exactly does one get to
be a "perfect editor"?
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Exactly! I am a perfectionist and everything I do has to be
the best. When I edit, I have to go back to the text,
comprehend the context, extract the meaning, and try to
express it in a lucid manner. In cases where I cannot guess
what the author is trying to convey, which happens sometimes
when English is a second language for the author, I will
re-read the text several times. Usually, I will work on a
hard copy first and then return to the monitor; so, editing
for me is a time consuming process. In order to make work
satisfying, I take the time I need. It's the same when I
write.
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What is the most important thing to keep in mind when
editing?
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Everything. Everything! A period, a space, whatever,
everything. My eyes fall on everything.
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In order to make the finished product perfect, the
original document itself should be readable to a certain
extent, right? What should authors keep in mind while
writing?
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I would like authors to study the journals to which they
plan to submit their work. Sometimes, I am stunned to find
that the document does not follow the journal guidelines
even after I have done everything to make the document
compatible. I am a scientist and have considerable
experience in submitting theses; so I wonder why authors
commit such mistakes. I strongly suggest that authors check
journal guidelines before they start writing.
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Note that the views expressed on this page are of the person
interviewed and do not necessarily reflect the views of Enago as
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