Advanced Editorial Workshop

Course Objectives

• Oversee a book project from original manuscript to printed piece
• Understand the substantive editor's role in the publishing process
• Create a clear, succinct and sufficiently directive editorial memo describing a manuscript's strengths and weakness and an editorial plan for dealing with them
• Identify problems of organization, flow and focus, and suggest a reorganization that meets the needs of the text's audience and author
• Identify unclear writing and suggest effective alternatives
• Identify wordiness and redundancy and suggest effective alternatives
• Formulate appropriate, effective and respectful author queries
• Ensure consistency in a manuscript by creating an effective style sheet
• Discuss opportunities for developing and incorporating online technological resources such as websites, interactive activities and software programs into a text's overall package
• Discuss the challenges and opportunities in the publishing industry for both in-house and freelance editors

What You Learn

• How to take a book manuscript through its initial evaluation, editing and organization, and its finalization for print production
• Starting work on a manuscript
• Improving a manuscript’s readability
• Evaluating a manuscript as a whole
• Consistency throughout a manuscript
• Editorial memo, time estimation of the work and style sheet
• Organizing a manuscript and controlling length
• The lead role of the editor Illustrating a manuscript
• Lead editor’s responsibilities during production
• Finding work as an editor and the business realities of freelancing

How You Learn

• Online lectures
• Discussion assignments
• Editing exercises, including reorganizing, finding illustrations and finalization of a manuscript

Is This Course for Me?

Designed for those who have already completed Editorial Workshop I JOURN X405 and Editorial Workshop II JOURN X415 or the equivalent, this course is for editors and writers who want to develop their skills in applying the principles of effective writing and manuscript organization to the editing of nonfiction book manuscripts.