Monique Gray Smith

Cover of book showing a rural road lined with mailboxes.

Road to Equality

Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Belgian Architects Today

Agata Toromanoff

Proud To Be Me

Polly Daktilly

The Feel-Good Meal Plan

Lindsay Pleskot

10 Days that Shaped Modern Canada

Aaron W. Hughes

Keeping Aboriginal Kids Safe

Legal Services Society

Tales from the Homestead

Sandra Rollings-Magnusson

Salmon

Rowena Rae

Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho

Lobsters and Fruit Flies and Me, Oh My!

Ed Kravitz

Palm Tree Destinations

Skye Sherman

Growing Up Trans

Dr. Lindsay Herriot / Kate Fry

Little You

Richard Van Camp/ Julie Flett

A Bartender’s Guide to the World

Lauren Mote/ James O. Fraioli

British Columbia Early Learning Framework

BC Ministry of Education

Bodies of Enchantment

Nicola Levell

Why We Need Vaccines

Rowena Rae

A Season in Chezgh’un

Darrel J. McLeod

Plain Language Techniques for Clear, Targeted Writing

Workshop for Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)

Impressions

University of British Columbia, Faculty of Dentistry

Peak Season

Deirdre Buryk

Calling Stones (Conversations)

Faye HeavyShield

The Larder of the Wise

M. Anne Wyness

Matters of Life and Death: Public Health Issues in Canada

André Picard

Yawd

Adrian Forte

Vile Spirits

John MacLachlan Gray

The York Factory Express

Nancy Marguerite Anderson

The Famous Five

Barbara Smith

Fisheries Indigenous Knowledge

First Nations Fisheries Council of British Columbia

Luschiim’s Plants

Dr. Luschiim Arvid Charlie/ Nancy J. Turner

Journey After Midnight: India, Canada and the Road Beyond

Ujjal Dosanjh

No Place for the State

Christopher Dummitt/ Christabelle Sethna

The Magic Boat

Kit Pearson/ Katherine Farris/ Gabrielle Grimard

The Basics of Writing Effective Briefing Notes

This Place

Created by Christine M’Lot

A Year in the Woods

Torbjørn Ekelund

The Side Gardener

Rosie Daykin

Power Dynamics and Boundaries

BC Campus/ Women & Gender Equality Canada/ BC Ministry of Post-Secondary Education

Great Bear Rainforest

Ian McAllister/ Alex Van Tol

The Bomb and America’s Missile Age

Christopher Gainor

Hamaka

Exploiting Hope

Jeremy Snyder

The Essential Cottage Cookbook

Andrea Buckett

The Well Teacher

Wade Repta/ Andrée Repta

My Paddle’s Keen and Bright

Rika Ruebsaat

Last Flight to Stuttgart

Lisa Jean Russ

The Mind-Body Cure

Bal Pawa

Protecting Water Our Way

First Nations Fisheries Council of British Columbia

Maenam

Angus An

New Indian Basics

Preena Chauhan/ Arvinda Chauhan

Powwow

Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane

A Year of Leading

Kevin Reimer

105 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia

Stephen Hui

Calling Bullsh*t on Busy

Andrew Mellen

Aboriginal Peoples and the Law

Jim Reynolds

Métis Rising

Yvonne Boyer/ Larry Chartrand

Strengthening Understandings: Elder Knowledge and Early Childhood Research and Practice Project

BC Regional Innovation Chair for Aboriginal Early Childhood Development

21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act

Bob Joseph

Outside

Sean McCammon

Swimming Holes and Beaches of Southwestern British Columbia

Alex McKeen/ George Harwood Smith

Mushrooms of British Columbia

Andy MacKinnon/ Kem Luther

Wild Horses

Linda L. Richards

The Krause Berry Farms Cookbook

Sandee Krause

Talk 2 More People

Tony Esteves

Anna Cooks

Anna Olson

The Three Spartans

James McCann

Canada and Colonialism

Jim Reynolds

Alberta’s Cornerstone

Shari Peyerl

Hand Drawn Vancouver

Emma Fitzgerald

After Us the Deluge

Kadir van Lohuizen

The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi

Keith Seifert

Folklife and Superstition

Sandra Rollings-Magnusson

Bark!

Zazie Todd

Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please

Joseph Kimble

Hollywood in the Klondike

Michael Gates

Christy Goerzen

Lily Collison

Katherine Luo

International Journal of Indigenous Health

Echo

Elisa De Wyngaert/ Lou Stoppard/ Ellen Sampson/ Charlie Porter

Chemical World

Rowena Rae

Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again

Kevin Thomas Townley, Jr.

An Architect’s Address Book

Robert Lemon

At the Bridge

Wendy Wickwire

All the World’s a Mall

Rinny Grimaud

Starting a Conversation about Mental Health

BC Ministry of Advanced Education/ University of British Columbia / BC Campus

Tyee Bridge

Barry Baugh

John Hatch

Victoria Dickenson et al.

The Obesity Code Cookbook

Dr. Jason Fung

Howie Tsui

Alice Ming Wai Jim/ Diana Freundl/ Howie Tsui

What Comes from Spirit

Richard Wagamese

A Matter of Confidence

Richard Zussman/ Rob Shaw

UBC: The Next Century

Tyee Bridge

Tall Tales, Long Lenses

John E. Marriott

Onscreen Proofreading: Professional Standards, Tips, and Tools

Workshop for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Picking Up the Pieces

Carey Newman/ Kirstie Hudson

When Women Rise

Dr. Michele Kambolis

Arne Quinze

Arne Quinze et al./ with photography by Dave Bruel

Well Aged

Ralph Milton

Everyday Mediterranean

Vanessa Perrone

Voices from the Skeena

Roy Henry Vickers/ Robert Budd

A Girl Called Echo, Omnibus

Katharena Vermette/ Scott B. Henderson/ Donovan Yaciuk

George Paginton: Painting a Nation

Sharona Adamowicz-Clements and Darrin J. Martens

Communication, Healthy Relationships, and Consent

BC Campus/ Women & Gender Equality Canada/ BC Ministry of Post-Secondary Education

You Got That Right! The Story of Wendy McDonald and BC Bearing Engineers

Lana Okerlund

Hawksworth, the Cookbook

Chef David Hawksworth

Open Every Window

Jane Munro

The Way Home

David A. Neel

Baking Day with Anna Olson

Anna Olson

Possessing Meares Island

Barry Gough

Teacher Guide for Sugar Falls, A Residential School Story

Christine M’Lot

In Search of April Raintree

Beatrice Mosionier

Heart Matters

Children’s Heart Network of BC Society

Return to Solitude

Grant Lawrence

I Will See You Again

Allison Crawford/ Lisa Boivin

Unexpected: The Life and Art of Sophie Pemberton

Kathryn Bridge

Secret Life of the City

Hanna Bjørgaas

Sheet Pan Everything

Ricardo

Crossing Into Canada

Alison Mountz

Leading Meaningful Change

Beverley Patwell

Player-Coach

Val Markos/ Tammy Martin

Applied Marketing

Rochelle Grayson/ Daniel Padgett/ Andrew Loos

Have Bassoon, Will Travel

George Zukerman

Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls in the Workplace

WorkSafe BC

Wired for Music

Adriana Barton

Plasticus Maritimus: An Invasive Species

Ana Pêgo/ Bernardo P. Carvalho/ Isabel Minhós Martins

Service on the Skeena

Geoff Mynett

Theatrum Mundi

Anthony Alan Shelton

Concrete Playground

Giulia Riva/ Tristan Manco/ Dries Van Melkebeke

My Paddle’s Keen and Bright

Rika Ruebsaat

Flying to Extremes

Dominique Prinet

Boone & Kurtz Contemporary Business

Michael H. Khan et al.

Wayi Wah!: Indigenous Pedagogies

Jo Chrona

Making Seaker

Karen Autio

The Digital Matrix

Venkat Venkatraman

From the Laboratory to the Moon

David H. DeVorkin

British Columbia in Flames

Claudia Cornwall

British Columbia in the Balance, 1846–1871

Jean Barman

Vanishing Fish

Daniel Pauly

Code of Ethics

Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia

The BC Wine Lover’s Cookbook

Jennifer Schell

Built to Last: Smith Bros. & Wilson at 125 Years

Lana Okerlund

Tamara Williamson

Ian Hanomansing

Sam George

Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Saving Seeds

Dan Jason

Pulling Together: A Guide for Indigenization of Post-Secondary Institutions

BCcampus

Nanihtsulyaz ‘int’ en (Do things gently)

BC Campus

Rowena Rae

Trish Magwood

Kwanlin Dün First Nation

Conserving the Legacy

G. Wayne Pepper

Sharks, Skates, Rays and Chimeras

Gordon McFarlane/

Jackie King

The Medicine of the Berry Patch

BC Campus/ Women & Gender Equality Canada/ BC Ministry of Post-Secondary Education

The Credit Game

Richard Moxley

Arthurs

Raegan Steinberg/ Alexander Cohen/ Evelyne Eng

What Young Children Need You to Know

Bridgett Miller

Blue + White

From the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Collection

Habitat Matters

North American Waterfowl Management Plan

The Heart Protection Kitchen

Tracy Severson/ Sergio Fazio

The Curious Passage of Richard Blanshard

Barry Gough

Vignettes of Japan

Antonia Huber

Benchers’ Bulletin

The Law Society of British Columbia

Navigating the Messy Middle

Ann Douglas

New Capital

Nick Hannes

Homo Digitalis

Thierry Geerts

Understanding the Early Years

Martin Family Initiative

Los Angeles Interiors

Corynne Pless/ Tim Hirschmann/ Ye Rin Mok

The Essential Guide to Intermittent Fasting for Women

Megan Ramos

Wag

Zazie Todd

Nature Out of Balance

Merrie-Ellen Wilcox

Capacity to Connect

Government of BC/ Vancouver Island University/ BCCampus

The Smallest Objective

Sharon Kirsch

A Journey Back to Nature

Catherine Marie Gilbert

BC Medical Journal

Doctors of BC

Finding Our Own Way: The Story of MNP’s First Sixty Years

Lana Okerlund

Me Tomorrow

Drew Hayden Taylor

Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey

Author: Margriet Ruurs, Artist: Nizar Ali Badr

The HBC Brigades

Nancy Marguerite Anderson

Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage

Audain Art Museum

Scoliosis

Tenner J. Guillaume, MD/ Walter H. Truong, MD/ and others

Pride: Celebrating Diversity and Community

Robin Stevenson

Unravelling Canada

Sylvia Olsen

Mushrooming

Diane Borsato/ Kelsey Oseid

Hakai Magazine

Divine Threads

April Liu

Beyond Inclusion

SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue

Pure Grit

Lily Collison/ Kara Buckley

Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder

Julia Zarankin

Whose Chinatown?

Leaving Abuse

Legal Services Society

The Science and Spirit of Seaweed

Amanda Swinimer

Kah-Lan and the Stink-Ink

Karen Autio/ Emma Pedersen

Craigdarroch Reconstructed

Jim Wolf

Let’s Talk about Suicide

BC Ministry of Advanced Education/ University of British Columbia/ BC Campus

Moving from Within

Dianne L. Woodruff

Raymond the Buffalo

Lou Beauchesne/ Kate Chappell

SkyNews

Upholding Indigenous Economic Narratives

Shalene Wuttunee Jobin

The World’s Best Swimming Pools

Stefanie Waldek

A Spartan at Sea

James McCann

The Trylowsky Collection

Asking for My First Legacy Gift

Tiny Frog Strategies

Understanding Financial Accounting

Christopher D. Burnley

Conservation Canines

Isabelle Groc

Appealing to the Crowd

Jeremy Snyder

Chasing Rivers

Tamar Glouberman

Henry & Self

Kathryn Bridge

The Early Childhood Educator

Early Childhood Educators of BC

On the Cusp of Contact

Jean Barman

Braided Learning

Susan D. Dion

Walls

Orac Decor

Bill Burns

Implementation Guide for Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence

BC Campus/ Women & Gender Equality Canada/ BC Ministry of Post-Secondary Education

The Brideship Wife

Leslie Howard

Testimonials

“Thanks, Lana, for your work on Peace, Love & Fibre. I was so happy with the copyedit, and Mairlyn Smith [the author] told me she just felt so lucky to have someone asking these questions now rather than after publication! We were both really pleased at how thoroughly you’d researched her style, making notes and choices based on her previous books. It was pretty much the perfect author/ editor/ copyeditor connection.”

— Zoe Maslow, Senior Editor, Appetite by Random House

“The corporate history book you produced for us is amazing, and so was your team. Thank you!”

— Randy Mowat, Senior Vice President, Marketing, MNP LLP

“The copy editing and proofreading services provided by West Coast Editorial Associates are uniformly excellent, and their on-time performance is exceptional.”

— Jay Draper, Managing Editor, BC Medical Journal

“Lana, I want to thank you for a great course. I think you do a great balancing act of delivering honest critique while staying respectful and kind. I have learned so much!”

— Proofreading student from Simon Fraser University

“Thank you to Barbara, for not only her exceptional writing and editing work but also her professionalism when working on complex projects with tight timelines and with a variety of stakeholders involved. Barbara has become a person we all know we can count on for delivering high-quality work.”

— Robynne Devine, Senior Projects Manager, Collaborative Projects, BCcampus

“I knew we were in good hands. You certainly have been excellent to work with, and I will recommend you to anyone without hesitation.”

— Monika MacNeill, Manager, Corporate Identity, humanworks consulting group inc.

“Amy, thank you so much for not only creating a lovely website but also being such a patient guide throughout this process. It’s been fun and I love the result.”

— Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho, Author, The Feral Children of Dunbar Street (forthcoming)

“The clear writing course was excellent, and is worth taking, either as an introduction or a refresher. The learning was expertly tailored and it was a pleasure to work with Lana from start to finish. The interactive sessions were a safe forum for all questions, no matter how small, and they answered the needs of all our participants, regardless of their level of experience.”

— Andrea Loken, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

“Thank you, Rowena, for your efficiency and eagle-eyed skill in editing this book. Having such a competent and reliable editor has been of great comfort to me.”

— Geoff Mynett, Author, Service on the Skeena

“West Coast Editorial Associates conducted a workshop on proofreading and developed a proofreading manual for our division. They did an excellent job tailoring their products to our needs, and both services were well received by staff.”

— Public Involvement, Liquid Waste Services and Water Services, Metro Vancouver

“Rowena presents tools and techniques for plain writing in an accessible and concise manner. The course is engaging and interactive, providing multiple opportunities to apply the tools and build knowledge. I appreciated that the course covered both vocabulary and formatting options to foster clear communication. Throughout the course, I reflected on examples of my own work that could be improved by using plain language and was able to apply the best practices immediately.”

— Jennifer Sainz, Workshop Participant

“If you’re an employer looking to improve your team’s effective communication for internal or external purposes, we wholeheartedly recommend Rowena Rae and the West Coast Editorial Team as facilitators and subject matter experts. Their courses offer invaluable tools and knowledge, helping to enhance the skills of your workforce and ensuring your organization’s success.”

— Caroline Gores, Employer

“Thank you for leading ICBC’s office of strategy management through 4 hours of plain language instruction. The pace and level of content was just right for our team, and the practice exercises and discussion time helped cement the concepts.”

— Workshop participant from Insurance Corporation of British Columbia

“The expertise West Coast Editorial Associates brings to any project is invaluable and required in today’s business environment.”

— Lionel Sandner, President, Edvantage Interactive

“The thorough and diplomatic work of West Coast Editorial Associates allowed us to turn our attention away from concerns about content and focus on design and production.”

— Susan Mavor, Principal, Metaform Communication Design

“It is grand to have the backup support that Audrey’s [blog] notice has given to my Churchill and Fisher. You professionals do so much of the heavy lifting in my line of work, essential to the productivity and quality of good historical writing.”

— Barry Gough, Author, Churchill and Fisher

“The team at West Coast Editorial Associates provided a tailored writing course that helped our staff truly understand how they can get their message across more concisely and confidently. Whenever someone asks me to recommend a writing workshop, I always provide WCEA’s name.”

— Manager, federal government department

“We can’t thank you enough for helping us turn our family history into such a beautiful book. From interviews to writing to photos and design, we enjoyed working with you from start to finish—you totally exceeded our expectations. Our family will treasure this book for generations.”

— Weymark family

“[Ruth Wilson] is both rigorous and respectful, plus smart. Grapple her to your heart with hoops of steel—you probably already have.”

— Ann Finkbeiner, science writer, to her publisher Hakai Magazine

“I remember my first call asking for assistance in professionally editing and publishing a book. To see what has been accomplished is certainly beyond my expectations. A big thanks to Lucy for keeping us moving and truly, at times, pushing us to the finish line!”

— Beverly Collins, National Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian Union of Postal Workers

“As ECEBC’s managing editor for many years, Barbara is always professional and detail-oriented, and she cares deeply about our work. She is a shining star.”

— Emily Gawlick, Executive Director, Early Childhood Educators of BC

“Thank you, Rowena, for developing and delivering such a practical, informative, and engaging writing workshop for my policy team. I have already recommended you to several government colleagues and look forward to working with you again in the future.”

— Jenny Inkpen, BC Liquor Distribution Branch

“West Coast Editorial Associates has always delivered high-quality services. The partners we’ve hired have impeccable work ethics, are extremely reliable, possess an exemplary style of writing, and always offer invaluable suggestions.”

— Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada

“Lucy was a phenomenal instructor. She clearly is passionate about not only editing, but about creating future editors. She was knowledgeable and friendly, and I loved that she always participated in group discussions.”

— Proofreading student from Simon Fraser University

“The plain language course was enjoyable and exceptionally engaging and practical. I strongly recommend everyone takes this session at least once! Rowena creates a learning environment where individuals feel safe and encouraged to ask questions. Her extensive knowledge base is truly impressive, and I left the course with valuable tips and tricks that I can use every day!”

— Vanessa Maragh, Workshop Participant

“Lana, we are so fortunate to have had you lead us through the process of producing our 125-year history book. Your thoughtful and detailed research, interview skills, and amazing writing led us to this great outcome. We sincerely appreciate your commitment to making our history come to life.”

— Jeff Musialek, President and Co-CEO, Smith Bros. & Wilson

“I had used other proofreaders and thought my book copy was clean and ready to go. Ruth returned a proof that showed what everyone else had missed. Now my professional readers have a professional book. I am thrilled with Ruth’s work and recommend her completely.”

— Louise Karch, Author, Word Glue: Find Your Million-Dollar Brand Name

“Thank you for the great webinar on tone. Your approach is engaging, and it was great to see participants thinking about the concepts and where they can improve. They loved it!”

— Sherilyn Danis, Foundation of Administrative Justice

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Testimonials

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