There are about 58 new standards in Editors Canada’s latest update to the Professional Editorial Standards, and their ethical and professionalism guidelines bring editing into a much higher standard of practice (in line with editing standards from the UK and Australia). This revision was a major overhaul from the 2016 version, which was a minor update from the original. There’s a whole new section on conscious language and one on plain language (which is not about word choice). Many standards were consolidated into section A: The Fundamentals of Editing, rather than repeating them at every stage of editing. There’s a lot more wording in this like tact, respectful, potentially harmful, and accessible.
Professional standards define each stage of production in detail, as well as those concerns that affect every stage too. Check out the standards & my summary of the changes as well as an updated comparison of ethical standards for editing and proofreading work around the world.
