Training

Based on materials by Margaret Aherne, this is an introduction to the principles of copyediting and covers:

• copyediting within the publishing process
• structure
• style
• author queries
• checking facts
• illustrations, tables and figures
• language, grammar and vocabulary
• working like a copyeditor.

There are exercises to complete during the sessions and for homework. I provide a comprehensive delegate pack which includes a resource list to take you further in your learning, and I encourage delegates to stay in touch if they need further advice or information on copyediting.

This course has more of a workshop feel than Introduction to Copyediting, which focuses more on instruction. You’d be encouraged to take Introduction to Copyediting, or a course of an equivalent level, before embarking on it. Delegates send in a sample of their work in advance so that I can assess it in terms of the copyediting tasks it might need and offer advice on building individual checklists. Here is an outline of the two sessions:

Checking

• reviewing and discussing our own work and tasks
• discussing the many checks we have to undertake as copyeditors – how to do them, how to keep tabs on them
• using an exercise by Margaret Aherne to recognise common copyediting errors and to start creating our own task checklist
• starting a more complex exercise by Margaret Aherne (to be finished for homework) that will allow us to continue building our task checklist

Changing

• discussing why you might change an author's text
• practising changing an author's text for various reasons including elimination of repetition, ensuring inclusivity and conforming to legal requirements

This new course is aimed at people who are moving into academic editing, particularly from an academic research background. Writing your own research paper, thesis or book is very different from editing other people’s, and this course aims to help you make the transition from academic to editor.

Discussion includes:

• differences between academic research and academic editing
• how copyediting works: principles and processes
• essential style points to establish
• anatomy of a journal article, thesis and book
• managing citations and references
• how to get the best out of authors
• academic language and phrasing, and when and how to rephrase
• common problems in academic text and how to fix them
• tips for working like an editor
• resources for academic editors

At the end of the course you will be provided with a comprehensive delegate pack and a list of useful resources.

Whereas Introduction to Copyediting looks at copyediting within the traditional publishing process, this course covers copyediting within businesses and other organisations that publish various types of content from booklets to newsletters to web pages. It covers:

• what copyediting is, and what this means for non-traditional publishers
• stakeholders
• structure
• style
• content, including fact-checking, inclusive language, legal issues and plain English
• punctuation
• tips for working with a number of authors
• language and formatting issues to look out for when editing colleagues’ work (or your own)
• working like a copyeditor.

I give delegates the opportunity to send in a sample of their work so that I can provide advice and tips for improvement. I produce a comprehensive delegate pack which includes a resource list, and I encourage delegates to stay in touch if they need further advice or information on copyediting.