How did you become an editor?
It is a family tradition going back four generations. Edgar Sands (great-grandfather) was a reporter and editor for two Vancouver-area newspapers, Ronald “Ronnie” Shuker (grandfather) was a small-town newspaper editor and publisher, Hugh Shuker (granduncle) was an editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, Lang Sands (granduncle) owned and operated two small-town newspapers, Ronald “Ron” Shuker (father) is a retired magazine editor and Ronald “Ronnie” Shuker (yours truly) is an international editor whose birthday just happens to fall on National Proofreading Day (true story).
How long have you been an editor?
Fourteen years: eight as a part-time (2008–2016) and six as a full-time freelance editor (2016–2022) with five mixed in as a staff editor (2011–2016).
What kinds of editing do you do?
Book editing for traditional publishing houses and self-published authors, monograph editing for science and development organizations, feature editing for magazines and newsletters.
What are your areas of expertise?
Sports, travel, farming, fisheries.
What style guides are you familiar with?
Chicago Manual of Style, Council of Science Editors’ Scientific Style and Format, Associated Press Stylebook, Canadian Press Stylebook, several house styles.
What is your standard rate?
$65 USD per hour.
Do you charge extra for quick turnarounds?
30% for 24-hour, 20% for 48-hour, 10% for 72-hour express editing.
Do you offer any discounts?
Discounted retainer rates are negotiable for three-month, six-month and annual contracts. Seniors, students and veterans receive 40% off.
Do you require a deposit?
Half upfront, the other half upon completion. However, deposits are waived for current and referral clients.
Who are your clients?
Past and present clients include book publishers, media, non-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations, not-for-profit organizations and corporations, as well as philosophers, scientists, screenwriters, self-published authors, students, teachers and writers.
Where do you work?
Out of a home office when in Toronto. But bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels, coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, parks, bus stations, train stations, airports, buses, trains, planes, you name it, when on the road.
What is the most unique place you’ve ever edited in?
Either a hotel room in Pyongyang, North Korea, or a tour bus in Chernobyl, Ukraine.
Do you ever write about your travels?
Professional Facts
- Published five books as an editor and another as a co-editor
- Edited dozens of other books for traditional publishing houses and self-published authors in Canada and the United States
- Edited hundreds of monographs for science and development organizations working in countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kiribati, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and Zambia
- Edited thousands of magazine articles over 11 years with The Hockey News, first as a staff editor (2011–2016) and currently as its editor at large (2016–2022)
- Named a finalist in 2015 for a Canadian National Magazine Award in the category of Best Editorial Package: Print
- Ghostwrote a foreword for Wayne Gretzky in a photography book
Personal Facts
- Born in Toronto but raised on a small farmstead north of the city where there was and still is no cable
- Earned a diploma in tourism and travel (Seneca College), a bachelor’s degree in philosophy (King’s University) and a master’s degree in journalism (Western University)
- Drove across both the United States (New York to Los Angeles) and Canada (Clayoquot Sound to Cape Spear) on coast-to-coast road trips
- Cycled 150 miles to circumnavigate Jeju Island in South Korea
- Participated in the Guinness World Record for the highest altitude hockey game ever played, set on February 6, 2018, in the Himalayas at 14,343 feet
- Toured both sides of the Demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea
- Traveled across Russia, from Vladivostok to Moscow, on a weeklong train trip aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway