Networking online and in person has many benefits for freelance professionals in the publishing industry. As a global team, we share job ads, discuss software and style manuals, improve professional standards, get sound advice on running an editorial business, and more. If you are an editor, writer, publisher, or designer, you likely took the time to choose professional associations to join for networking, professional development, job board listings, and/or certification.

Membership in such associations offers training discounts, software discounts, workshops, and opportunities to attend annual conferences and industry events (including online) to develop your skillset and grow exposure. Membership fees range from $75 to $400+ per year.

Conference attendance is a great way to:

• Learn about the latest developments in the field (editing tools, editing rates, training opportunities, trends in the industries, updates to dictionaries and manuals, etc.).
• Meet editors, writers, journalists, literary agents, and other publishing professionals who specialize in various niches and introduce yourself as a specialist for potential collaborations and referrals.
• Build long-term professional relationships with colleagues whom you already know via online interactions.
• Get to know the association and consider contributing as a volunteer or presenter in the future.

Below are some of the US, Canadian, and international conferences that are popular among writing and editing professionals. As a specialist in resume writing, editing in the humanities, and writing for businesses, I have left out conferences for life sciences editors and technical writers.

For a list of science-related editing associations as well as other international and local networking groups, please visit: https://bit.ly/2YX1KR6. The page is part of the Copyeditors’ Knowledge Base, curated by medical editor Katharine O’Moore-Klopf, owner of KOK Edit.

 

Writing and Editing Conferences, Worldwide

Organization: Editors Canada

Website: www.editors.ca

Head office: Toronto, ON, Canada

Conference dates: June

 

Organization: ACES: The Society for Editing

Website: https://aceseditors.org/

Head office: Gardnerville, NV, USA

Conference dates: April-May

 

Organization: Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA)

Website: https://www.the-efa.org/

Head office: New York, NY, USA

Conference dates: August

 

Organization: Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)

Website: https://www.awpwriter.org

Head office: Riverdale Park, MD, USA

Conference dates: March

 

Organization: Modern Language Association (MLA)

Website: https://www.mla.org

Head office: New York, NY, USA

Conference dates: January

 

Organization: The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), formerly the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP)

Website: https://www.ciep.uk/

Head office: London, UK

Conference dates: September

 

Organization: Mediterranean Editors and Translators (MET)

Website: https://www.metmeetings.org

Head office: Tarragona, Spain

Conference dates: October

 

Organization: College Art Association (CAA)

Website: https://www.collegeart.org

Head office: New York, NY, USA

Conference dates: February

 

Organization: Association of Art Editors

Website: https://www.artedit.org

Head office: St. Louis Park, MN, USA

Conference dates: February, at the CAA conference

 

Organization: Book and Periodical Council (BPC)

Website: http://www.thebpc.ca

Head office: Toronto, ON, Canada

Conference dates: Book Summit, June

 

Organization: Books, Publishing & Libraries Research Network | Common Ground Research Networks

Website: https://booksandpublishing.com

Head office: Champaign, IL, USA

Conference dates: July

 

Organization: Writer’s Digest, a division of Active Interest Media

Website: https://writersdigestconference.com/

Head office: Cincinnati, OH, USA

Conference dates: August

 

Organization: American Booksellers Association

Website: https://www.bookweb.org

Head office: White Plains, NY, USA

Conference dates: BookExpo America, May

 

Organization: Clarity, an international association promoting plain legal language

Website: https://clarity-international.net

Head office: UK, multiple locations

Conference dates: October

 

Organization: PLAIN (Plain Language Association International)

Website: http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/

Head office: Canada

Conference dates: September

 

Organization: Association Media & Publishing

Website: http://associationmediaandpublishing.org/

Head office: Washington, DC, USA

Conference dates: June

 

Organization: Association for Women in Communications (AWC)

Website: http://www.womcom.org/wp/

Head office: USA, multiple locations

Conference dates: September-October

 

Organization: American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASPBE)

Website: http://www.asbpe.org/

Head office: Wheaton, IL, USA

Conference dates: GenerationB2B Conference, May

 

Organization: Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW)

Website: http://sabew.org/

Head office: Phoenix, AZ, USA

Conference dates: October and April

 

Organization: International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)

Website: https://www.iabc.com/

Head office: San Francisco, CA, USA

Conference dates: June

 

Organization: Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)

Website: http://www.spj.org/

Head office: Indianapolis, IN, USA

Conference dates: International Conference on Journalism & Mass Communication, August

 

Organization: Society for Scholarly Publishing

Website: https://www.sspnet.org/

Head office: Wheat Ridge, CO, USA

Conference dates: May

 

Organization: The Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd)

Website: iped-editors.org

Head office: Wynnum, Australia

Conference dates: June

 

Career Advancement Conferences in Canada

 

Association: Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling

Website: https://www.ceric-eric.eu/

Conference Website: https://cannexus.ca

Head office: Ottawa, ON

Conference dates: January

 

Association: Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE)

Website: https://www.cacee.com

Head office: Toronto, ON

Conference dates: May-June

 

Association: Internationally Educated Professionals (IEP)

Website: https://www.iep.ca

Head office: Scarborough, ON

Conference dates: March

Resources for freelancers:

✔ In this article for ACES, I provided a list of remote job boards

✔  This article is about building your online marketing channels (website, directory listings, LinkedIn)

✔ Several posts via Editors Canada blog on applying for editing jobs

✔ Resources for freelancers on my blog

✔ Summing up 10 Years of Full-Time Freelancing

✔ How to Design a Flyer to Advertise Your Services

✔ Top Challenges Freelancers Face & How to Address Them

About the author:

Tanya Mykhaylychenko is the owner and operator of www.tm-editorial.com providing resume writing and copy editing services to job seekers, academic professionals, and businesses.