SD/PEN conducts Program Meetings on the third Thursday of every other month at 6:30 pm. Program Meetings feature special guest speakers or panelists who discuss a variety of topics pertinent to editors, writers, and freelancers.
SD/PEN also periodically hosts special Networking Events, including our annual holiday party.
In addition, SD/PEN presents one or two Workshops each year that offer in-depth and often hands-on instruction in different topics, from grammar to web technology.
Click on the event listings below for more information.
Note: program topics and presenters are subject to change.
Expert marketer and career coach Marissa Marsala presents an in-depth look at how to use LinkedIn to grow your network to find a job or expand your business.
In this four-hour workshop, you will learn
- How to optimize your profile
- Best ways to build your network
- How to use LinkedIn groups to enhance your network, shorten your job search, and increase your qualified leads
- How to target and follow companies and people on LinkedIn
- How to get noticed by recruiters, hiring managers, and prospects
- Best ways to find jobs and qualified leads on LinkedIn
- When, why, and how to adjust your settings
Marissa Marsala is a recruiter, career coach, and frequent motivational speaker at networking events on career-related topics. She is an expert marketer with 15+ years of experience and a former human resources management professional with 12+ years of experience. She blends both areas of expertise to assist clients.
Workshop fee includes a light lunch served from noon to 1 pm. A vegetarian option will be offered.
Please register and pay at www.stc-sd.org.
Space is limited!
Rusty Huber and Bryan Harris of Manifest Creative Studios will give writers, editors, and entrepreneurs everything they need to develop a visual style for their business or project, establish and manage their web presence, and start creating or enhancing their own website using WordPress.
Once again, SD/PEN is collaborating with the Society for Technical Communication (STC) San Diego to present a highly informative workshop. SD/PEN members can register for either the full day or a half day (single session); both options include a special networking lunch provided by Elijah’s Deli. A continental breakfast is included during the morning session.
Morning Session: Branding and Marketing Essentials
9:00 a.m.–12:00 noon
Learn the fundamentals of building a successful brand identity by diving into the four major components of a successful visual brand: colors, fonts, logos/graphics, and layout. Find out the latest in industry trends and learn how to develop and manage a successful web presence as a solopreneur.
Networking Lunch: 12 noon–1:30 p.m. (buffet-style lunch from Elijah’s Deli)
Afternoon Session: WordPress Bootcamp
1:30–4:30 p.m.
Roll up your sleeves and get to work in this hands-on session on how to use the WordPress content management system. Install, configure, and customize your own website from the ground up, and learn how to incorporate widgets and plug-ins, such as Ninja Forms and Yoast SEO, into a WordPress site. Please bring your own laptop or tablet to participate.
- Both Sessions (includes Networking Lunch): members $50 / nonmembers $80
- Single Session (Morning or Afternoon) + Networking Lunch: members $35 / nonmembers $50
- Networking Lunch: $15 (nonworkshop participants are invited to join the networking lunch)
Just launching a freelance editing and writing business or looking to take your business to the next level? Then be sure to sign up for our next full-day workshop that will give freelance editors and writers indispensable knowledge and skills to become more effective and successful.
The all-day workshop will present five one-hour presentations on five distinct topics related to setting up and improving your home-based business.
-
Workshop Program
8:30 am – Registration/Networking
9:00 am – Alex Bennett: Legal Basics – Liability and Contracts
10:15 am – Janina Goldberg: Time Management
11:30 am – Martin Ceisel: Finding Clients via Bid Sites
12:30 pm – Networking Lunch
1:30 pm – Nikki Achartz: Pricing and Profitability
2:45 pm – Allison Mellon: Digital Marketing Strategy – Getting More Clicks, Customers, and Conversations
The registration fee is $60 for members and $90 for nonmembers and will include coffee, beverages, and pastries in the morning and a networking lunch.
Seating is limited, so register today!
About the Presenters
Nikki Achartz (Pricing and Profitability) of Snap Savvy Strategies has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs develop a comprehensive visual content marketing strategy that integrates the right mix of professional photos, self-generated images, and content to build the KNOW > LIKE > TRUST > BUY relationship and shorten the sales conversion process.
Alex Bennett (Legal Basics) is a business attorney with over ten years of experience in the legal industry. He is also a freelance editor and writer. Prior to starting his editing career, Alex formed and administered legal entities for a major Silicon Valley law firm and a renewable energy company in San Francisco. Today his legal practice is focused on working with small businesses, including freelancers.
Martin Ceisel (Finding Work) has seven years of professional writing experience, including technical writing, copywriting, and every freelance opportunity you can think of. He is currently an in-house copywriter for Welk Resorts.
Janina Goldberg (Time Management) is a Mindset & Process Strategist who works with female entrepreneurs in creating, evaluating, and streamlining current business practices and processes and cultivating a strong mindset to accomplish them. Janina helps you get clear on the “It’s all in my head” processes and mind chatter using her unique ‘white board’ method and partners with you to declutter, clarify, and co-create a plan for bringing your best self to achieving more in your business.
Allison Mellon (Digital Marketing Strategy) is an agency-seasoned digital marketing consultant and campaigner. She reviews site performance and optimizes to build better brand experiences. She partners with creative and development teams to push boundaries and transform ideas into effective, measurable marketing platforms and programs. She's a hands-on production partner who always adds a bit of levity to every working relationship and project.
Sponsored by Society for Technical Communication San Diego (STC San Diego) and the San Diego Professional Editors Network (SD/PEN).
Setting rates is one of the most challenging parts of running a freelance editing business. If you don’t charge enough to live on, your business is not sustainable (or you have to work yourself into the ground to do enough hours to get paid enough). But you’re worried that you’ll scare off your clients if you increase your rates.
So, what should you do?
Join Dr. Malini Devadas in this online workshop where we’ll explore your mindset and how it is stopping you from earning more money in your editing business. By the end of this workshop you will know how much you need to earn in your business (and therefore what you need to charge). You’ll also have a better understanding of your own mindset so that you can take the steps required to get to your desired income.
Dr. Malini Devadas completed a Ph.D. in neuroscience and worked in medical research before realizing she enjoyed the writing more than the lab work. She began her editing career in 2004, working in-house at a small consultancy firm. In addition to learning her editing craft, she also learned a lot about running a business. In 2013, Malini set up her own editing and writing coaching business. Since then, she has spent much of her time studying marketing and realizing that mindset is the biggest thing holding back most sole traders. She is currently working as a mindset coach so that she can help other editors increase their income by valuing their own skills and taking marketing action.
SD/PEN Fall 2020 Workshops Details:
"Setting Your Freelance Rates" with Dr. Malini Devadas
Tuesday, October 13, 6:45 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Pacific Time
"Secrets of PDF Markup” with Adrienne Montgomerie
Saturday, October 17, 9:45 a.m.–11:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Workshop Cost:
Members: $20/single workshop, $30/both
Nonmembers: $35/single workshop, $55/both
BUY TICKETS
If you're not using these tools, you're working too hard. Turn PDF markup into the only way you want to work. Learn the tools, hacks and best practices for Adobe's free Acrobat Reader app that will cut your time dramatically when correcting page proofs, presentations, websites, and even multimedia apps. Dread onscreen markup no more.
Adrienne Montgomerie is a certified copyeditor who has been editing on-screen since 1997 for Canada's largest publishers and international organizations. She teaches all stages of editing at three universities and has authored several books including Editing in Word and Getting the Numbers Right. You know her online as SciEditor. www.scieditor.ca
SD/PEN Fall 2020 Workshops Details:
"Setting Your Freelance Rates" with Dr. Malini Devadas
Tuesday, October 13, 6:45 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Pacific Time
"Secrets of PDF Markup” with Adrienne Montgomerie
Saturday, October 17, 9:45 a.m.–11:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Workshop Cost:
Members: $20/single workshop, $30/both
Nonmembers: $35/single workshop, $55/both
BUY TICKETS
This workshop will teach you to create a LinkedIn profile that actually works. Touching on the six Ps—planning, profile, people, participation, perseverance, and patience—your profile will ultimately bring clients to you.
As a semi-retired, independent business communications consultant, Chris Morton tries not to break a sweat about finding engagements. His goal is to work hard on assignments, not be constantly chasing them down. Using LinkedIn as his inbound marketing tool has lined the way to career success—with zero cold calls. Long-term clients find him, with his profile appearing in hundreds—if not thousands—of searches each week. Typically, more than 400 people view it over any given 90-day period.
About the Presenter
Chris Morton is a B2B marketing communications/technical editor, author, proofreader, layout artist, and publisher. His 25 years in the medical device, medical imaging, information security (infosec), and B2B/B2C realms enable him to fix web and print content for accuracy, readability, and continuity. Learn more about him at isntthatwrite.com
SD/PEN Fall 2021 Workshops Details:
"The Six Ps of LinkedIn Success" with Chris Morton
Thursday, October 21, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Pacific Time
"Developmental Editing of Fiction: Beginning” with Jennifer Lawler
Saturday, October 23, 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Pacific Time
Workshop Cost:
Members: $20/single workshop, $30/both
Nonmembers: $35/single workshop, $55/both
BUY TICKETS
This workshop is for editors interested in working with novelists to develop their work in progress. If you have some experience with editing but haven’t worked with fiction, then this is for you. It will cover the basics of developmental editing (what it is and isn’t), potential problems and judgment calls, and working effectively with novelists.
About the Presenter
Jennifer Lawler works as a book development editor and teaches the subject. She’s a writer, as well, authoring or coauthoring more than 40 novels and nonfiction books, with publishers including Simon & Schuster, Penguin Putnam, Thomas & Mercer, and Montlake Romance. Her most popular nonfiction work is the award-winning Dojo Wisdom, but her favorite is The Improbable Adventures of a Middle-Aged Woman.
Jennifer’s essays have appeared in Family Circle, Minnesota Monthly, Neurology Now, and several Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies. Join Jennifer’s developmental editor community, ClubEd, here: clubedfreelancers.com.
SD/PEN Fall 2021 Workshops Details:
"The Six Ps of LinkedIn Success" with Chris Morton
Thursday, October 21, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Pacific Time
"Developmental Editing of Fiction: Beginning” with Jennifer Lawler
Saturday, October 23, 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Pacific Time
Workshop Cost:
Members: $20/single workshop, $30/both
Nonmembers: $35/single workshop, $55/both
BUY TICKETS
As editors, we are required to sit for extended periods of time, which can take a toll on our physical and mental health. This workshop will help us examine our workstations and discover ways we can enhance, improve, and change the way we sit at our desks. You’ll learn not only how to create a more ergonomic and efficient workspace, but also how to recharge your energy while sitting in a stationary position. You’ll also learn proper posture and techniques for “walking tall” to repattern the way you walk. Most importantly, you’ll gain the knowledge required to achieve pain-free editing at home.
This workshop will be led by Borko Sijacic, a holistic wellness consultant with expertise in integrated movement science and holistic lifestyle coaching. He is the founder of the Barefoot Youth organization, which provides ergonomics, fitness, nutrition, movement mechanics, and sports performance services to individuals, corporations, and sports teams. His main focus is on improving the mind, body, and soul by connecting modern and traditional practices.
If you’re interested to learn what it takes to edit romance novels, then this workshop is your go-to resource for all things romance. You’ll learn the intricate nuances of what really goes into editing for this genre and the many different styles and subcategories, such as historical romance, romantic comedies, and romance suspense/thrillers—to name just a few. As editors, you’ll learn the types of character flaws to pinpoint, plot holes to fill, and quick fixes to keep writers on track. You’ll walk away from this workshop feeling inspired and empowered to help authors create believable, compelling, and entertaining stories to be cherished by their readers.
This workshop will be led by Gwyn Jordan, founder of Gold Dust Literary Agency, Gold Dust Editing & Book Reviews, and FiBs, a storytelling platform. Gwyn reviews books for Publishers Weekly and freelances for Hallmark Publishing, Entangled Publishing, and HarperCollins. At a young age, Gwyn fell in love with books, and her love affair with the written word continues today. She has worked diligently to transform what many considered a hobby into a successful career. As a literary agent, developmental editor, and writing coach, Gwyn brings her well-rounded perspective when editing fiction in multiple genres or nonfiction work—memoirs, autobiographies, true crime, and self-help books. She has a bachelor’s degree in criminology and a master’s in business administration.
