I have copyedited Professional School Counseling, the scholarly journal of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), since 2012. Hundreds of articles, numerous special issues, and millions of words later, I have a deep familiarity with field-specific usage and style, areas of focus, authors, sources, and standard practices. Work on the journal has given me a deep appreciation for the many facets of school counseling research and practice. In my crossover roles as editor of ASCA’s state newsletters and feature writer for ASCA School Counselor magazine, I am able to draw on my knowledge of current research in the field and my connections to scholarly authors to showcase research findings in other contexts.

Challenge

Journal work requires that I stay on top of changes to style guides and to usage related to changes in the larger world, especially around race, ethnicity, gender, and ability. To approach these, I refer to resources – not only the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual and the Merriam-Webster dictionary, but also the Conscious Style Guide, APA style blog, and APA staff consultants. For example, I recently consulted with an APA staff member on whether to capitalize “whiteness” and “white supremacy” in light of the general APA practice of capitalizing race (White/Black). I also maintain connection with a community of academic editors in the U.S. and around the world, and stay in tune with discussions on usage issues and editing practices.