Most activities of EFA's chapter in Rochester NY are listed here. EFA-Rochester meetings will see some variety in day and week in 2007, and have changed location. The January, February and March 2007 meetings will be held at the Brighton Memorial Library (2300 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, 14618). Meetings are free to EFA members and for up to three times to nonmembers, and are open to working writers, editors, proofreaders and other editorial professionals throughout the Rochester area. Potential new members are always welcome. For more information, please contact Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, chapter coordinator, chap_rochester AT the-efa.org. You must be an EFA member to join an EFA chapter. Chapter events are open to all members, guests of members, and freelancers interested in joining EFA.
Next Meeting
Networking Picnic
Thursday, July 31, 2008 (TBA)
Details TBA.
Previous Meetings
General Meeting
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Rochester chapter met to hear invited speaker Karen Deyle, the restaurant critic for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper.
Tax Planning for Freelancers
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Our presenter was Pamm Dodge, representing H&R Block, who borught $25 coupons, as well as a slew of useful tips and sample forms. We met at The Renaissance, Card Room, 2500 East Avenue (entrance on Penfield Road; free and valet parking onsite).
Holiday Meeting
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The theme of the meeting was "New Year's Resolutions for Editorial Professionals," with the goal of brainstorming ideas about how to fulfill such resolutions by enhancing business, resources, visibility and skills in the new year.
Swap and Sell
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The first swap-and-sell meeting of the Rochester chapter met in the Card Room of the Renaissance apartment building at 2500 East Avenue.
Networking
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The Rochester NY chapter held an informal networking/social meeting in the Card Room of the Renaissance, 2500 East Avenue.
Marketing and Promotions
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Even in this electronic world, editorial freelancers still need business cards and often have use for promotional items such as brochures or conference and client giveaways. Judy Shenouda of Shenouda Associates, Inc. showed how clever cards and practical promotions can create, rev up and enhance an image, marketing efforts and overall branding for a freelance business.
Magazine Publishing
May 22, 2007
Robbi Hess, new owner/publisher of Byline magazine, spoke about the adventure of buying a magazine and becoming a publisher, as well as what Byline is looking for and how it can help writers get published. Chapter coordinator Ruth E. Thaler-Carter provided information on freelance rates of other area publications.
General Meeting
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Meet, Greet and Network
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Rochester chapter members shared and critiqued each others business card, brochure, web-page printout, and other materials in a general networking session.
Websites, Part 2
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Chapter coordinator Ruth E. Thaler-Carter provided a recap of the January meeting and additional details on setting up and managing a website — why, how, what, who, etc. Participants brought printouts of their own websites for critiques and discussion.
Effective Websites
Thursday, January 25, 2007
The Rochester chapter started the new year at a new location — the Learning Center of the Brighton Memorial Library (2300 Elmwood Avenue) — with a session on effective websites for writers, editors and other editorial professionals. Topics included hosting companies and options, design concerns, updating and management, keywords and search optimization, and more.
Holiday Meeting, and New Publishing Opportunity
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
The invited speaker for the December meeting was Robbi Hess, new owner of Byline magazine, but she was unable to join us due to a family emergency. Instead, participants enjoyed potluck refreshments and an evening of networking, and discussed goals for the new year. Almost everyone at the meeting expressed a desire to learn and do more about their websites in 2007 — either launch one, update and enhance one, or make one better. Based on that discussion, the January meeting (see above) will focus on just those issues.
General Meeting
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
At its October monthly meeting, the Rochester chapter discussed a new meeting location for 2007, heard a report on the successful Communication Central conference, shared resources for end-of-year planning, and discussed potential chapter activities in 2007.
Grantwriting Tips
Tuesday, September 15, 2006
Pamm Dodge of the Upstate New York Grantwriters Association shared tips on becoming a grantwriter with members and guests of the Rochester chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association at the chapter's September meeting. Details to come.
The Professional Benefit of Blogging
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Is blogging worth your while? Members of the Rochester, NY, chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association tossed the idea around at their August meeting and agreed that blogging can lead to paying work, and can be a worthwhile professional tool even if it doesn't generate any income. Advantages include a having forum for ideas and perspectives that otherwise might not get heard, a way to polish writing and thinking skills, and a basis for convincing clients that your words are indeed worth their while on a paying basis. Disadvantages include lack of editing, which can mean embarrassingly sloppy writing being seen by the world at large; too much freedom of expression, when expressing political or other opinions could make some clients not hire a blogger; and the risk of having blog content stolen, published without the author's knowledge, or plagiarized.
How to Make Money from Your Summer Vacation
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Admit it: You?ve always wanted a legitimate way to write off that trip or vacation as a business expense. At the July 18 meeting of the Rochester chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), Carol Sauka, writer, speaker, spokesperson and moderator, provided tips on planning and organizing out-of-town and overseas jaunts that qualify as legitimate business expense for writers, editors and other editorial freelancers.
Breaking Out of Writer's Block & Overcoming Procrastination
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Details to come.
Informal networking
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Rochester-area writers, editors and other editorial professionals enjoyed an informal get-acquainted session at the May meeting of EFA-Rochester. A highlight of the evening was the opportunity to swap and critique business cards and other promotional items.
The Magic of a Bestselling Book Proposal
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Got a book idea burning a hole in your brain? At the April meeting of the Rochester chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), Randi Minetor enthralled her audience with the tale of how she sold her book in no time flat to the first publisher who received her proposal!
Randi Minetor's first book, Breadwinner Wives and the Men They Marry, sold to the first publisher who received it in less than seven days. In it, she profiled couples where the wives make more money than the husbands. At the time of her EFA-Rochester presentation, Minetor was working on a series of nine books about the Passport To Your National Parks' program for Globe Pequot Press, one of the leading travel publishers, and she had only written a single chapter of the first book when the publisher bought it, just three weeks after it arrived in the slush pile. "Both of these deals were made on the strength of the nonfiction book proposal, a magical document that demonstrates my understanding that writing is an art, but publishing is a business," Minetor said. She shared the format, style and content that make a book proposal sing.
When she isn't writing successful book proposals (and books!), Minetor is the president of Minetor & Company, Inc., a public relations and marketing firm that specializes in communications solutions for small high-technology companies and select nonprofit organizations. She served as executive director of the High Falls Film Festival for several years. As of February 2006, she is represented by Regina Ryan Publishing Enterprises, Inc.
Tips on editing for law firms
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
As the home of the former Lawyers Co-op and HQ of legal-publishing giant Thomson West, Rochester is a major player in legal publishing, and that means opportunities for editors and proofreaders. The March 2006 meeting of EFA-Rochester featured tips on entering that niche from legal editor Carol Calamia. In recognition of Rochester's long ties with legal publishing, Calamia educated participants on what it takes to succeed in editing for a law firm. For 20 years, she was the copy editor at Nixon Peabody LLP (and its predecessor firm, Nixon Hargrave), as well as creating presentations for attorneys. She also writes a series of clever, easy-to-digest tips on grammar and usage for the law firm. Recently promoted to CLE administrator, Calamia has a depth of skill, knowledge, and experience that is hard to match.
General Meeting
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Topics included:
- EFA membership benefits
- Upcoming national education programs
- Member news
- Planning for future chapter meetings and special events.
Editing Skills and Opportunities
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Independent writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, and other editorial professionals got the lowdown on essential skills and local opportunities in editing at the January 2006 meeting of EFA's Rochester chapter from chapter coordinator Ruth E. Thaler-Carter. Details to come.
Holiday cheer and networking
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Independent writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, and other editorial professionals enjoyed an informal evening of networking over holiday refreshments at the December 2005 meeting of EFA's Rochester chapter. Participants swapped ideas for meeting topics and presenters in the new year, shared useful resources, and announced recent successes and new projects.
End-of-year tax planning
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Independent Rochester-area writers, editors, proofreaders and other editorial professionals found out about end-of-year tax planning at the next meeting of the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) of Rochester.
Show and Tell
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
It was time for "Show and Tell"! Members of EFA-Rochester and their guests got critiques of and compliments on their business cards, brochures and website home pages, for a better sense of what works in promoting freelance editorial services.
General Meeting
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Chapter coordinator Ruth E. Thaler-Carter provided a report on the national EFA annual meeting and election earlier in the month, including details of the 2005 national EFA conference on October 8 in New York City. She also provided tips on improving proofreading and editing skills; details to come.
Academic Publishing
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
The EFA Rochester chapter found out what it takes to work in academic publishing from Suzanne Guiod, editorial director of the University of Rochester Press. Suzanne Guiod has been with the UR Press since October 2004. She has worked as a publisher with Arcadia Publishing in Portsmouth, NH; managing editor of the Encyclopedia of New England Culture, a freelance editor, assistant to a literary agent, a production editor, and more.
Honing Your Editing & Proofreading Skills
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
In addition to tips on"Honing Your Editing & Proofreading Skills," the February 2005 meeting featured an update on plans for a fall 2005 national EFA conference.
Tax Planning
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Rochester-area writers, editors and other editorial professionals garnered important tips on improving their year-end tax planning when the Rochester chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) brought Anthony G. Sandonato, CPA, to its December 2004 meeting. Sandonato is a tax manager with Mengel, Metzger, Barr and Co. LLP in Rochester who specializes in tax planning and compliance for individuals, corporations, estates/trusts and exempt organizations. He is licensed in New York State as both an attorney and a CPA.
Share techniques for "Overcoming Writer's (and Working) Block
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Whether one's primary editorial activity is writing, editing, proofreading, copy editing or websites, and whether it's called writer's block or procrastination, every editorial professional faces the occasional internal barrier to getting their work done. In a lively session on "Overcoming Writer's (and Working) Block," participants shared their tips, methods and incentives for overcoming writer?s block and reducing procrastination.
Share Your Favorite Articles?Where Should You Pitch Them?
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Members brought drafts and ideas for unsold articles to this brainstorming session, and generated suggestions for market possibilities for each other. The 2005 Writer's Market was available as a resource.
Why, When, and How to Produce a Website
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Tech writer/editor Katherine "Kat" Nagel, owner of MasterWork Consulting, discussed the basics of "Why, When and How to Produce a Website." Nagel is a Web developer for a number of Rochester-area organizations and colleagues. In an overview approach to this important promotional resource for editorial freelancers, she reviewed design basics, program/application options, work-sample formats, hosting services and other essentials to creating websites.
Tax Issues
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
David G. Young, CPA, is a partner with the firm of Young & Company CPAs, LLP. Young & Company's web site address is www.YandC-CPAs.com. Mr. Young spoke to us about tax issues and provide tax tips and other information, such as the benefits of incorporating.
Intellectual Property
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Attorney William R. Alexander is an attorney with the Rochester firm of Remington Gifford Williams & Colicchio and concentrates in the area of intellectual property. He spoke to the group about intellectual property issues, particularly matters pertaining to copyright law, that are of interest to writers.
Having an Agent
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Robert H. Lieberman, of Ithaca is an agent, a writer, and a filmmaker. He spoke to us about the benefits of having an agent as well as entertain questions about writing fiction. He also will sign copies of his latest book, The Last Boy, which has been optioned for the screen.
Research resources and techniques
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
All are welcome.
Contracts
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Attendees were asked to bring sample contracts along for discussion.
How to Get Writing Work Online
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
During the meeting, attendees were asked to share their strategies, tips, and helpful hints for finding and securing writing work at websites. In addition to talking about which websites, job lists, and newsgroups are useful, and which should be avoided, attendees will be asked to describe their successes at securing online work and to share sample cover letters, resumes, and supporting documentation to help fellow writers in attendance.
A Day in the Life of a Project
Thursday, November 7, 2003
Attendees were asked to share their strategies, tips, and helpful hints for managing the day-to-day aspects of a writing-related project or assignment. Questions such as how to begin a project, how to organize information, and what electronic tools are most helpful will be addressed and discussed.
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