There are many resources out there on the internet for how authors can utilize social media—for marketing books, connecting with publishers and agents, creating and building a platform. Similarly, there is a lot of content available on how editors can use social media too—to connect with authors and other potential clients, to implement effective content marketing practices, to create and build a platform (it’s all about the platforms these days). There are a lot of great ways editors can use social media to build their businesses.

But what about using social media for its originally intended purpose: to be social? Editing is, by its nature, usually quite a lonesome endeavour. Very few editors go into an office nowadays, and while that can be great in so many ways, it can also be a bit isolating.

Without any co-workers, who can you turn to with a tricky editing query? Without the water cooler, who can you share a proverbial “water cooler moment” with?

Well, just because you might not have co-workers, that doesn’t mean you don’t have colleagues. And just because you’re editing alone, that doesn’t mean you have to be lonely. There are lots of ways to connect with other editors, and lots of places to do so.

Facebook

The way we view Facebook has certainly changed quite a bit in the last several years. As a millennial, I (mostly fondly) recall the way my generation used Facebook: “poking” your friends (though apparently Facebook has revived that feature), sharing constant status updates, posting memes to each other’s walls, and of course, uploading an album of 87 photos (taken with a digital camera, obviously) after every single night out. In contrast, most of Gen Z wouldn’t touch Facebook with a ten-foot pole (except Marketplace; they like Marketplace apparently).

But there is a middle ground! While the way we all use Facebook for both business and personal reasons has changed, the app itself continues to offer a great way to socialize and network: Facebook groups.

Facebook groups are a place to connect, learn, and share with people who have similar interests. You can join (or even create) a group for anything—stargazing, baking, parenting, editing—with people across the globe or across the street. They can be public or private. Here are some popular ones if you’re interested:

• Editors’ Association of Earth
• Editors Canada Members-Only Private Group
• Women Writers, Editors, Agents, and Publishers
• Proofreaders Group
• Editpreneurs

If you want to join a private group, just reach out for an invite. And always remember to review the posting rules for a group! Some may only allow certain topics on certain days, ban talk of politics, or prohibit the use of certain terms (for example, “grammar Nazi” or “grammar police”). So, make sure you take a quick peek so that you can make sure you’re participating in a way everyone can appreciate!

Post-Twitter: Threads

You can’t really talk about social media without talking about Twitter. And yes, I know, I know, it’s “X” now, but honestly, if that was going to catch on, I think it would have by now.  

In its heyday, X/Twitter was unmatched. We’re not going to get into the intricacies of its downfall, suffice to say that the app has been sliding into becoming a hotbed of misinformation/disinformation, AI fakery, unchecked harassment (thanks to the gutting of its trust and safety department), and so much worse, for the past couple of years.

In response, there are now a few different options available that might hopefully fill that void. Perhaps the most popular one is Threads.

Launched by Meta—the behemoth behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—Threads is quite similar in format to X/Twitter. And it’s catching on more rapidly of late, thanks to many, many former X/Twitter users flooding the app.

The downside is that it just doesn’t have as many people on it (yet) as X/Twitter does (or did). But the upside of that is that the people on Threads are there because they don’t like the general vibe of X/Twitter. They want something kinder, more inclusive. It helps that Threads is also devoting staff to active moderation and monitoring of the site as well.

I can only speak to the presence of the bookish community—authors, writers, editors, and readers—but in my time on Threads, I have enjoyed the discourse in the writing/editing community and the general mood of the site as well. I think it’s definitely a viable option if it’s something you’d like to try!

An Old-School Option: The Listserv

In the 1990s, listservs were common. Now, as technologies have evolved, there are other options for communicating within groups that are more convenient. That isn’t to say listservs no longer serve a purpose, just that their purpose is now much more niche.

Basically, a listserv is an email address that allows cross-communication between a group of people. Everyone emails the same address, which then distributes the messages to each person within the list. Think of it like a community forum, but localized in your personal inbox—people can start conversations around a shared interest topic, with each comment visible to all.

The Copyediting-L listserv has been around for over 30 years, and in it, you’ll find job opportunities, editing news, discussion, and the opportunity to get your questions answered by its many veteran subscribers. Please note that topics such as “politics, religion, sex, and operating-system evangelism” are forbidden; though there is an offshoot listserv called Copyediting-Off-list-L that permits all topics. Check both listservs out if you’re interested in subscribing.

Slack

Slack is often known as an app for business: it’s a messaging app that connects people to the information they need, usually in the context of separate teams within an organization.

However, just because you don’t work for a larger organization, that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of Slack! Editors’ Tea Club is a women’s-only Slack group (welcoming cis, trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer editors) that is very active. It offers many channels (i.e., dedicated spaces for specific topics or conversations) and regular online events, including monthly hour-long tea parties (if you prefer coffee, they’ve got coffee chats too), a book club, and educational events. The group also hosted a mini-conference recently!

This club offers a fun and welcoming environment that focuses on and commits to inclusivity, learning, and support. Former TEC Editor Molly Rookwood is even on the Events Team!

Discord

You might not be familiar with Discord, but that’s no reason to dismiss it out of hand! Discord is a voice, video, and text chat app that is home to communities of many sizes, but it's most widely used by small and active groups of people who talk regularly. For example, a small group of friends who play video games together might create their own server to chat while they play, as my husband does.

Most servers are private, invite-only spaces for groups of friends and communities to stay in touch and spend time together. There are also larger, more open communities, generally centred on specific topics. Users have control over whom they interact with and what their experience on Discord is.

While the Editors Lair group predates Discord, that is where it lives now. Editor Crystal Watanabe created Editors Lair in 2019 and moved it to Discord in 2022. It is a private group that is moderated for both spam and offensive behaviour, and the group has a “no politics” rule, except when it’s directly related to an editing discussion. There are channels for hobbies and fun stuff, as well as ones for work-related topics, which are separated into fiction and nonfiction categories.

Not Technically Social Media, but…

As always, Editors Canada is a great way to get opportunities to chat with fellow editors. You can meet up with other editors in your local group (both in person and online) as well as editors from all over with The Editors’ Vine monthly meeting, which is solely online. You do have to be a member to participate, but of course being an Editors Canada member comes with lots of perks outside of just the socializing opportunities, so that’s a decision only you can make.

Ever-Changing Options

I must say that during my research for this blog, I was surprised—at some of the offerings out there that I’d never heard of, and also the lack of offerings in places I expected would have them. I was shocked that Reddit didn’t seem to offer much in the way of editorial communities (there is one, technically, but it hasn’t had a new post in a year).

And yet, where Reddit let me down, a 30-year-old listserv just keeps on trucking. And it’s clear that editors are still very much interested in reaching out and connecting with one another, as demonstrated by the communities on Slack and Discord, which are both relatively new options when it comes to communicating. 

No matter what your preferences are, I feel confident that one of the groups/communities above will fit the bill. Here’s to new friends and new connections!