QuickBytes: Chasing and losing dreams with Eileen C. Ang, Tech in Asia’s lead copy editor

This special edition of QuickBytes is part of “Women in Focus,” Tech in Asia’s campaign for International Women’s Day 2021. In this series, we hear from women in the Tech in Asia team who are driving the company’s growth and development. The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Eileen C. Ang, lead copy editor at Tech in Asia / Photo credit: Eileen C. Ang

Eileen C. Ang is the lead copy editor at Tech in Asia. In this interview, she talks about how she overcame the loss of her writing dream and embraced change to get into the right mindspace for herself.

For the benefit of our readers, what do you do at Tech in Asia?

I’m the copyedit lead at Tech in Asia. That means I head a group of editors whose job is to ensure that subjects agree with verbs, check that the numbers add up, and cajole writers with the correct spelling and usage of “there,” “their,” and “they’re.” In short, a copy editor is essentially an English teacher, error fixer, and style setter (for writing, not fashion) rolled into one.

How did you arrive at this point in your career? Tell us about your journey and the pivotal moments along the way.

A month after graduating from university, I was hired as a junior writer for the supplements section of a major English-language broadsheet in the Philippines. That was my first job, and since then, I’ve had stints as a journalism/writing lecturer, administrative posts in the academe, and freelance gigs as a writer or editor. But I keep coming back to the newsroom, and I’ve been in several kinds: a national daily newspaper, an entrepreneurship-focused magazine, and a trade publication for law firms in Asia.

I never expected to be a copy editor – I didn’t take up a course or have formal training – but I’ve always loved grammar. In hindsight, the jobs I took sharpened my skills in that area. It often fell to me to check for errors or to do final edits, and while those tasks demanded painstaking effort, I found that I enjoyed putting in all that effort and producing work that’s fit for public consumption.

I also never thought I’d be in digital media, especially for a tech publication. My previous editorial jobs were mostly for print publications and, in many ways, I’m quite a Luddite. I didn’t use a banking app, have food delivered, or even order from Lazada and Shopee until the pandemic hit. From that point of view, I’m sometimes still amazed that I’m with Tech in Asia.

I learned that Tech in Asia was looking for a copy editor from a friend who was friends with a Tech in Asia editor. And in hindsight, the job opening came at the right time: I was so ready for a new career challenge and I was also making major changes to my life. I applied, took the test, went for interviews, and got accepted.

A day after I completed yoga teacher training, I joined the Tech in Asia editorial channel on Slack and officially became the team’s copy editor. The last three years have been quite a roller-coaster ride – I’ve seen everything from layoffs and profitability to team buildings and a pandemic. I’ve gone from being a one-woman copy desk to leading a three-person copy squad. The decision to stay, roll with the punches, and bring my A game every day is one of the best I’ve ever made.

What is your biggest achievement in Tech in Asia?

Cheeky answer: Getting Tech in Asia people to care about good grammar! I love it when people randomly ping me on Slack to ask a grammar- or writing-related question [Editor’s note: I do this frequently]. It always gives me joy to help someone out with a concern that’s nagging at them. Sometimes their relief is palpable, even through Slack!

On a more serious note, I’m proud of how I’ve helped to make copy editing an integral process, not just for the newsroom but also for marketing and events. There are days when the requests come in fast and furious from all corners, and it can be both stressful and gratifying – stressful because there’s a lot of work to do and gratifying because it shows that people value what the copy team brings to the table.

Lastly, on the personal level: It’s all the big, juicy stories that I’ve personally edited. There’s no high quite like it – knowing that my efforts helped make something great. I don’t get the glory of a byline (the “Editing by” credit is enough for me), but I do get the satisfaction of being an effective “last line of defense,” as our editor-in-chief Terence Lee once put it in one of our chats.

Mighty proud of our consistently updated style guide, too, although it literally reads like a work in progress.

What about the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career? How did you overcome it?

Growing up, I always wanted to be a writer. At one point, I had no idea how I was going to do it – even then, I had no desire to be anything else.

Do you think the tech industry has done enough to promote gender diversity and empower women?

Who is your female hero or inspiration? Why?

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Flipping the question around a bit – what’s the one piece of advice you’d pass down to other women looking to get into the tech space (or in general)?

For this year’s International Women’s Day, what do you #choosetochallenge? In other words, how do you intend to help further the cause of gender equality?