This is a truncated version of the EFA Chicagoland Chapter News. If you would like to read the full e-newsletter, visit the archive, where you can also subscribe to have it delivered to your inbox monthly.

MIND CANDY

• Sing Along. Sometimes you don’t know you need something until you see it—or, in the case of James Harbeck’s new editors’ anthems, hear it. “Ode to Editing” and “The Manuscript” feature such memorable lines as “we work magic with words and grammar” and “And was a manuscript turned to gold / From all those dark and leaden drafts?” Sing it loud, sing it proud, people!
• Be Accountable. Do you miss “the kinds of discussions and professional camaraderie that come with in-office jobs”? If so, James Gallagher of Castle Wall Editing details how he started an accountability group so you can also “learn and increase your connections in the editing community.”
• Aw, Rats. We’re No. 1! For the seventh consecutive year Chicago was named the rattiest city in the United States. Kinda makes ya proud, huh?

FREELANCE NEWS

The Big Business of Writing and Getting Published

The Authors Guild Foundation is presenting a series of free “Business Bootcamps for Writers” that cover the business of writing and the “nuts and bolts of what lies ahead after completing a manuscript.”

The first four webinars—which covered publishers, finding an agent, legal vetting, and the acquisitions process—aired in October. Two more are scheduled this month: “Your Legal Rights and Making Your Contracts Work for You” on Nov. 1 and “The Acquisitions Process: What Should Authors Know?” on Nov. 3.

Recordings of each session are accessible online, and the Guild plans to add more webinars to the series. You can sign up for the Guild’s mailing list to keep updated on new boot camp sessions.

More stuff for book editors:

• The Chicago Manual of Style’s Shop Talk Fiction+ section was created for writers, editors, and publishers of fiction and creative nonfiction.
• The Editorial Arts Academy, an online community helping people become freelance book editors, has a monthly newsletter called “The Editor’s Query.” You can sign up here.

Chicago BACP Entrepreneur Certificate

The Entrepreneur Certificate Program is a free program available to attendees of the Chicago Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection’s (BACP) business education workshop and webinar series.

The program “gives entrepreneurs the information they need to start and grow a business in Chicago.” The curriculum covers essentials in business planning, financing, marketing, legal issues, technology, and more. Currently available sessions can be found on the BACP’s workshops and webinars calendar.

To complete the program, participants must attend nine BACP workshops or webinars. The classes are free, but to get the certificate they must be completed within six months of beginning the program.

Chicago Creative Worker Assistance

If you or someone you love is a Chicago resident who works in the arts—including those in art-, theater-, music-, and film-related fields—you may qualify for a loan through the Chicago Creative Worker Assistance Program.

Grants of $2,000 to $3,000 will be awarded through a lottery system. The deadline to apply is Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. Central Daylight Time.

PODCASTS TO PONDER

By Amy Spungen

• The Editing Podcast. Have you ever wondered if blogging might help your freelance business? In this three-part episode, Carol Saller shares some thoughts on blogging for editors and writers with Louise Harnby and Denise Cowle … and you. (Episodes 77–79, Sept. 30, Oct. 6, and Oct. 12)
• The Creative Penn Podcast for Writers. Natasa Lekic explains “How to Edit Your Book and the Different Kinds of Professional Editors” to host Joanna Penn. Lekic’s views on the distinctions, and her take on editing software, are worth hearing. (Episode 553, May 31)
• The Deliberate Freelancer. Learn “How and When to Say No” to a project in this very helpful episode. Don’t say no to learning how to say no! (Episode 112, Sept. 16)

CALENDAR

For media- and publishing-related conferences, webinars, and other events of interest to self-employed editorial freelancers, see the Media Types Omnicalendar.