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Courses >
Writing & Publishing > The Keys to Effective Editing
 Ask any published writer and you will hear that a good editor is not just helpful, but essential. If you aspire to be an editor, this course will teach you the fundamentals of top-notch editing for both fiction and nonfiction. If you're already working as an editor, you'll not only brush up on your skills, but will also learn about recent advances in your chosen profession. If you're a writer, you will learn essential self-editing tools to give your manuscripts the professional look that publishers like to see.
From the language of editing to grammar, punctuation, and syntax to the all-important relationships between editor, author, and publisher, every facet of editing will be explored. Online editing is gaining popularity; its complexities will be unraveled and its advantages and pitfalls explored. Can you make a living as an editor? Tips and resources for finding work will be addressed at length. When you finish with this course, you will feel confident enough to tackle even the most complex of manuscripts.
This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Jacquelyn Landis.
 Jacquelyn Landis holds a bachelor's degree and has worked as a nonfiction editor for over 15 years. Her editing repertoire includes books, articles, and business manuals written by best-selling authors such as Eva Shaw, George Carpozi, Anthony Robbins, Ken Druck, and Tom Blair. She has been a speaker in the UCSD Extension program and has participated in writing panels at the University of San Diego. Jacquelyn is also the author of numerous published books and magazine articles.
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Requirements:
Internet access, e-mail, and the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser. Although this course will teach English grammar, punctuation, and style, you must be fluent in English and have a better-than-average spelling ability.
Syllabus:
All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
| Week One |
| Wednesday - Lesson 01 |
Have you ever wondered just what editors do with writers’ manuscripts? In this first lesson, you’ll find out. You’ll learn about the different types of editors—copyeditors, acquisition editors, developmental editors, production editors, and more—and exactly what their jobs entail. Because this course focuses on copyeditors, you’ll explore the three levels of copyediting: light, medium, and heavy. Finally, you’ll be introduced to five immutable laws of editing designed to make your job as a writer or an editor much easier.
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| Friday - Lesson 02 |
If you’ve ever seen a page marked up by an editor, you probably wondered what all those funny-looking marks and symbols meant. In today’s lesson, the mystery will be revealed. All the marks will be displayed and defined, and you’ll learn to use them as a sort of shorthand to fix errors. At the end of the lesson, you’ll have the opportunity to practice using your newly learned copyeditors’ marks in an entertaining exercise.
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| Week Two |
| Wednesday - Lesson 03 |
Today, you’ll be given some invaluable tools for increasing awareness of detail while you’re writing or editing. You’ll learn the theory behind these tools and how to use them to help you with accuracy and consistency. Then we’ll shift gears and delve into the intricacies of fiction writing and editing. You’ll take a close-up look at fiction writing devices such as narration, exposition, dialogue, and point of view, and how each can be effectively incorporated into a manuscript.
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| Friday - Lesson 04 |
Grammar and punctuation are two subjects that usually evoke a big “Ugh!” Today’s lesson is a review of the basics of English grammar and punctuation, but the ugh-factor is conspicuously absent. You’ll revisit all those principles you learned in school, but in a light-hearted manner guaranteed to ease the pain. Proper grammar and punctuation are the hallmarks of good writing and editing, and you’ll be glad you had the chance to bring your knowledge up to date.
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| Week Three |
| Wednesday - Lesson 05 |
Today’s lesson will take you into the world of spelling, capitalization, and numbers. Most people are surprised to learn that there are actually rules governing how words are spelled and capitalized, and whether numbers should be spelled out or in digit form. You’ll learn not only the rules but also the exceptions. The benefit of knowing all the variations is that you’ll create consistency in your work, and your writing/editing will shine.
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| Friday - Lesson 06 |
This lesson explores all the writing pitfalls that can leave readers in a state of confusion. You’ll learn to recognize and fix mixed metaphors, garbled syntax, nominals, redundancies, and much more. You’ll also learn how to untangle overly wordy sentences, how to eliminate sexism, and how to create parallel structure. One of your goals as an editor or a writer is to produce clarity. This lesson will put you firmly on the path to achieving that goal.
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| Week Four |
| Wednesday - Lesson 07 |
When is it appropriate to use an abbreviation? When should you hyphenate words? Most people have a general knowledge of abbreviations and hyphens, but when it comes time to actually use them, they haven’t a clue. Today, you’ll learn all the ins and outs of the rules that guide their use. Then you’ll look closely at a less-glamorous but critical part of a manuscript: bibliographies, footnotes, citations, and endnotes. Editors and writers need to know how to properly reference quoted material within a manuscript, and the simple guidelines in today’s lesson will make the process easy.
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| Friday - Lesson 08 |
The relationship between an author and an editor is tricky at best. Throw a publisher into the works, and you have the potential for a powder keg of emotions. Today’s lesson shows you how to keep life harmonious within the author-editor-publisher relationship. Writers will be able to see things from the editor’s perspective, and editors will learn how it feels to be in the author’s shoes. Both of you will gain insight as well as a good brush-up of your people skills.
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| Week Five |
| Wednesday - Lesson 09 |
Today, you will learn about a different way to edit, which has become the norm rather than the exception. Editing manuscripts on-screen is the wave of the present, and in this lesson, you’ll explore the intricacies of making edits electronically, thereby eliminating the physical manuscript. You’ll then learn about copyright law, permissions, and fair use, all of which are essential for both editors and writers to become familiar with.
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| Friday - Lesson 10 |
Manuscripts have many parts beyond just the text. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to edit such peripheral material as tables, charts, and artwork. If you’ve ever seen a caption that didn’t fit the photo it was describing, you’ll understand the need for this extra scrutiny. Next you’ll learn all about the components of a book that come before and after the text, namely, the front and back matter. You’ll learn the function of parts such as the foreword, the table of contents, the index, and many more.
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| Week Six |
| Wednesday - Lesson 11 |
After five weeks of absorbing the technical elements of editing, it’s time to have some fun. Today, you’ll take a close look at the intricacies, inconsistencies, and irregularities in the English language. These are the things that defy classification but still are important to know. You’ll learn about oddball words and phrases, the do’s and don’ts of usage, and the many ways in which language is like a puzzle that’s never finished.
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| Friday - Lesson 12 |
This might be the most important lesson of all. Today, you will learn how to find work as an editor. Whether you’re interested in a staff position or want to begin a freelance career, all the help and advice you’ll need is in this lesson. You’ll also learn some basic business practices that will make your life as an editor easy.
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To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Student Reviews:
"As an aspiring writer and editor, I felt this course was extremely helpful. I now have the tools and the confidence to jump-start my career. Thanks, Jackie, for your amusing anecdotes and excellent instruction."
"Every aspiring writer should take this course. It was helpful on many levels. I have recommended it to other writer friends."
"Excellent and practical course with an interesting presentation of the material. I would definitely recommend this course to others."
"I am in the executive secretary/admin assistant support field. This class has broadened my knowledge in several areas. Things I should have learned in my youth has just registered with me. I have more confidence in my abilities and Ms. Landis has taught me how to access tools for growth and research in the writing field. I will always remember this class and the doors it has opened for me."
"I enjoyed this course. The instructor's writing style was clear and interesting. I feel that I have learned more about the world of editing and that I have gained confidence in my abilities to proofread and edit at work."
"I found this course very useful because it was easy to incorporate what I learned into my daily projects and responsibilities."
"I learned so much from this course. The instructor made the entire learning process enjoyable and fun. She has a genuine gift in presenting interesting coursework and knows how to effectively lessen a student's fear. Teaching is a gift of which she possesses."
"There is so much to be learned about editing. Jackie did a terrific job covering the material. This was a wonderful investment of my time."
"This class was great. I liked the way it was useful to both aspiring editors and to writers. I was a bit nervous taking a class after so many years out of school, but Jacquelyn Landis made it both fun and informative. I was comfortable after the first lesson and I feel that I really learned a lot."
"This class was well worth my time. I printed out all the lessons and quizzes and put them in a 3-ring binder to use as a reference tool. Jacquelyn Landis has a rare combination of technical expertise and gracious style that allows her to be highly effective in teaching the intracacies of the English language. This course should be mandatory for all high school freshmen."
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
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