Book Editing

The 2-day Book Editing course is a highly popular editing and proofreading course, which has succeeded in providing an excellent base for a career in publishing. It provides a thorough grounding in the essentials of book editing and proofreading. The content is very practical, with an emphasis on putting into practice everything that is covered during the course. You will be provided by the course leader with exercises to try out and feedback given throughout the training.

The certificated course concentrates on editing and proofreading skills for the book publishing industry and focuses on the techniques required in preparing text for publication.

The course is designed for those wishing to work in editorial and proofreading and those who work in books and related publishing. The course is suitable for both those changing career direction, as well as those already in publishing and requiring refresher training. The course is very thorough and provides delegates with practical and solid skills required for an editorial role in book publishing.

*Note that this course assigns homework each week. Homework consists of reading, small exercises and revision.

"I really enjoyed this course. It was a chance to learn more about the industry I have so much passion for. The tutor and teaching was really good, I'm so eager to put my newly learned skills into practice."

- Andrea Ford,  Finance Administrator, Scania Finance Great Britain

Course Content

Week 1: Introduction to the course

• The role of the copy-editor
• Copy (manuscripts) and proofs
• Parts of a book
• The impact of technology on the editorial process
• How to work on copy
• Introduction to copy-editing marks

You will learn:

• Skills that aid the editorial process
• The professional way to copy-edit text
• Some key BSI marks to use in editorial

Week 2: English for copy-editors I

• Using capitals and quotes
• Introduction to House Style
• Exercise: copy-editing

You will learn

• How grammar and using quotations affect text
• The importance of House Style
• More BSI marks

Week 3: English for copy-editors II

• Using hyphens and dashes; using apostrophes
• Exercises: copy-editing

You will learn:

• The difference between ‘en’ dash and ‘em’ dash and where to use them
• How apostrophes change the meaning of a sentence
• More BSI marks

Week 4: Typography and illustrations

• Feedback on homework; discussion
• Dealing with trademarks in copy
• Introduction to typography
• Handling illustrations

You will learn:

• How copyrights and trademarks affect text
• How typography changes the tone
• How to manage illustrations in text

Week 5: Editorial production; media law

• Feedback on homework; discussion
• The role of the copy editor in production and how the copy editor relates to others in the production process
• Typesetting and DTP systems
• Media law: defamation and copyright

You will learn:

• How to manage tasks
• How using DTP systems improves editorial production
• Choosing media that is right for the text

Week 6: How print production works

• Feedback on homework; discussion
• Repro/colour houses and printers
• Print terminology
• How offset lithography works

You will learn:

• The options when choosing a printer and the different processes
• How to make the printed text look and feel how you want it to
• The benefits of using various printing operations

Week 7: Proofs and proofreading I

• Types of proofs encountered by copy editors
• Introduction to proofreading and the use of BSI proof correction marks

You will learn:

• How to manage and cope with certain proofs
• How BSI is useful, efficient, and why it is still used

Week 8: Proofs and proofreading II

• Feedback on homework; discussion
• Common problems in proofreading
• Exercises: proofreading

You will learn:

• The difficulties of proofreading and how to overcome them
• Practice and building off of mistakes.

Week 9: Revision

• Feedback on homework; discussion
• Exercises: copy-editing and proofreading

You will learn:

• To target areas that you might still find tricky before the exam
• Last minute questions will be answered by the tutor

Week 10: Examination

Practical two-hour examination of copy-editing and proofreading skills and editorial production knowledge

Assessment and Certificate:

Delegates will tackle hands-on exercises at the end of each section to cement their learning, and personal achievement will be assessed throughout the course.

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