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Until recent years the editing industry has been an unregulated industry, with virtually anybody able to assume the title of editor and work as an editor.

There are seven societies of editors in Australia; one in each state – Canberra, NSW, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia – with South Australia also representing editors in the Northern Territory. The societies joined forces in 1998 to create the Council of Australian Societies of Editors (CASE) which was succeeded, in 2005, by IPEd, the Institute of Professional Editors Limited. IPEd members are the national societies of editors.

The aim of IPEd is to “… advance the profession of editing by planning and implementing national initiatives – an accreditation scheme, promotion and communication campaigns, training and mentoring – and other activities to support Australian societies of editors and their members, and editors in general.”

IPEd created a national accreditation program. The program aims to "… create a scheme comparable with registration/accreditation schemes already well established in many professions, such as accounting, engineering, law, psychology and public relations." The first exam was piloted in September 2008 and 112 editors nationally received accreditation and earned the right to the title Accredited Editor.

The long-term aim of IPEd “… is to create a situation where accreditation is seen by editors as a normal step in their careers and by clients and potential clients as an indication that they can expect a good job from an accredited editor.”

Every two years a National Conference of Editors is held in a different state. This year’s conference – the industry’s fourth conference – will be held from 8-10 October at the Adelaide Festival Centre.

More information can be found on the IPEd website.

Just as you can confuse by being ambiguous when you write, I was at cross-purposes while chatting with a friend at the gym last week. My friend said “Are you a word expert Lesley?” to which I replied “Yes.” My friend went on to talk about how she was experiencing many problems and verging on insanity trying to format a report she was doing at work.

I explained I could definitely help her with the content, and with the formatting to a point, but that I had a colleague to whom I could refer her who would be able to help her with her formatting issues better than I could.

My friend went on to outline some of the problems she was having and I explained that I could help her with some of them, but probably wasn’t the best person for the job.

We went on a little bit like this for a while. I’d told her I was an expert so understandably she was expecting me to be able to help her solve her problems. The more she told me, the more I could picture my colleague helping her to bring her report together nicely. On hindsight I was beginning to wonder why she’d asked if I was a word expert, when it didn’t appear that she really wanted any help with her words at all. We left the conversation open, deciding to continue later in the week when we both had more time.

Not until I was cycling my way home did the penny finally drop – my friend had asked me if I was a Word expert, not a simple, everyday, generic English language ‘word’ expert. Suddenly, the light was on and there was somebody home! 
Lesley MacCulloch, Director 

Welcome to your new and improved Birch Writing Solutions online service. We’ve not been away, but we’ve been quiet for a little while – and now we’re back, bigger and better! Thanks to all our loyal clients who have been allowing us to work with them and contining to keep us busy through what have been internationally and nationally challenging times.

We can now service all your writing needs. We’ve expanded our range of professional editing and writing services and have grown our range of specialised editors, business writers and trainers so that we can help you more.

We have developed stringent quality procedures so that we associate with only the best, most professional national editors and we only offer you experts who have met our expectations in terms of values, standards and provision of service excellence. We intend to bring you more and more of what you need, and access to services that are ideal for your purposes.

We invite you to take a look around our new site – but do watch this space, as this is only the beginning. Our newsletter will be coming in the springtime so why not sign up today? We'll bring you tips, offers and industry news so that you'll know what to look out for when you're searching for editors or business writers to suit your requirements. Or if you're a professional editor, writer or trainer, why not check out our careers section. We're always on the look out for associates who meet our levels of excellence and deliver to our high standards. 

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