Description

Developmental Editing of Nonfiction is a new format—an online self-study class for editors interested in working with writers to develop their nonfiction articles and books. Typically, students have some experience with editing but haven’t done much in the way of developmental editing and want an overview of the knowledge and skills involved. The eight lessons in this self-paced class cover the basics of developmental editing (what it is and isn’t), the specifics of developmental editing in action, how to edit for the reader and the client, and more. The first half of the class focuses on short-length pieces. The second half focuses on book-length manuscripts. There is no instructor feedback for this course, though each lesson includes an answer key with a sample edit so that you can track your progress. Two recorded webinars are also included in the course materials.

NOTE: The course focuses on the craft of nonfiction developmental editing rather than the business of developmental editing.

Instructor Jennifer Lawler is the author or coauthor of more than 30 books, including a number of novels under various pen names. A former college English teacher—try not to hold that against her—she now works as a freelance writer and book development editor. She has worked as an acquisitions editor for a romance imprint and was once a literary agent. In her spare time, she teaches copyediting for the University of California–San Diego, even though she unfortunately lives nowhere near San Diego. She earned her PhD in medieval English literature from the University of Kansas and a black belt in Taekwondo at approximately the same time. She has not quite decided which has been more useful.

Enroll in this class any time and take up to 6 months to complete the lessons. You may download lessons and resources for later use.

Please note that refunds cannot be given after you have registered.