Rosie-coloured glasses
A few years ago, as a fledgling freelancer, I began working on a massive autobiography project. The subject and client was the grandfather of some dear friends, the head of a family I had known for more than half my life. The project itself was quite remarkable – a deeply personal expression of a life well-lived, and a song to the beauties of love, life and literature in the face of destitution and suffering. It became the book Tea, War & Crocodiles.
At the time, I was learning the craft of editing and developing my business skills – it was a steep learning curve, but my clients’ belief in me helped me believe in myself.
I clearly remember one day, feeling somewhat out of my depth, opening my email to a notice that the Rosemary Fitzgibbon Editorial Award was open for submissions. The Rosie recognises excellence in editing and is open every second year. I thought to myself, “If I can make this autobiography work, I should put my name down for that award. Cos I’ll have bloody earned it.”
There are only a handful of awards for text editors in the English-speaking world of publishing. A decent trawl of the internet the other day brought up four in total, three of which form a subset of other writing or publishing awards. The only organisation I could find that offers regular awards specifically for book/text editors was Australia’s Institute for Professional Editors (IPEd) – of which I am a member. One of IPEd’s awards is the Rosie.
The idea of nominating for the Rosie stuck in the back of my mind until last year (2022), when nominations opened again. I almost didn’t throw my hat in the ring – a combination of imposter syndrome and embarrassment had me almost convinced it wasn’t worth it. But in the end, I reached out to my client’s family and received such a dousing of support that I had to go ahead. Months passed and I received an email saying I had been long-listed. I was over the moon! I hadn’t told many people of my submission, but now I was shouting it from the rooftops. I felt like I’d already won. But there was another round of documents to submit and more months to wait as the selection committee did their work.
In April (2023) I received another email saying that, although I hadn’t made it onto the short list, the panel had decided to award me an honourable mention. Not immediately realising the significance of this, I was disappointed. It wasn’t until a few weeks later when the shortlist was announced and I saw the calibre of the other editors under consideration that it really sank in. To be a freelance editor, early in my career, and producing work that is considered alongside the best in the industry was incredibly validating and empowering. It convinced me that I am where I should be, doing what I do best.
To read more about Tea, War & Crocodiles, and order your copy, click here.
To read more about the 2023 Rosie Award winner, click here.
