Course Objectives

• Explain the role of an editor in a variety of realms, including print and online.
• Explain levels of editing and how they apply to projects.
• Write a cover letter to an author.
• Formulate appropriate, effective and respectful author queries.
• Resolve the trickier problems of grammar and usage, based on sound editorial principles and authorities.
• Identify problems of organization and flow in a manuscript and suggest a reorganization that meets the needs of the text's audience and author.
• Identify problems of wordiness and redundancy in a manuscript and suggest effective alternatives.
• Edit a technical manuscript including figures, tables, and other elements.
• Create and follow a style sheet. Understand the copyeditor's role in the publishing process, including the responsibilities and the limitations of authority.
• Prepare for the challenges and opportunities in the publishing industry for both in-house and freelance copyeditors.

What You Learn

• Steps in making a manuscript into a book
• Sizing up the job, including levels and types of editing and time and cost estimates
• Brief comparison of editorial styles, including author’s versus house style; when to use a particular style; and the tricky points of editorial style
• Grammar, usage and concision
• Editing for cohesion, including organization, transitions and topic flow, tone, accuracy and lists
• Editing special elements, including tabular matter; illustrations; captions, labels and legends; glossaries; and indexes
• Different types of reference systems
• Footnotes, endnotes and in-text notes
• Bibliographies and reference lists
• Business of editing and a new world for editors, including in-house editing and the realities of freelancing; technology and the publishing business; and growth areas and new jobs for editors

How You Learn

• Online lectures
• Reading assignments
• Editing exercises
• Discussion participation
• Midterm
• Final editing assignment