Flex Training
Flex training allows you to build skills from your home or office at your convenience. Access training materials, complete exercises, receive instructor feedback, and/or participate in discussion.
Introduction to Copyediting
Course Dates
Participants work at their own pace. Upon receipt of your materials, you will have 6 months to complete seven instructional sessions, including videos and assignments. You can register at any time.
Cost
$490
Class Limit
20
Instructor
Patricia Heinicke Jr.
Course Description
Has The Chicago Manual of Style been calling to you? (Or maybe it’s taunting you?) Have you wondered how copyeditors work with authors? With publishers? Or how freelancing compares with in-house work? Do you think copyediting might be the job for you?
Whether you are just starting to think about a career in publishing or are already working as a copyeditor, you’ll find answers to many of your questions in this seven-session video course. It’s packed with information and opportunities to practice what you learn.
This course provides an overview of the copyediting process and practice in resolving some of the writing issues copyeditors face every day. Specific topics include (1) the basic tools of copyediting, including style manuals, style guides, style sheets, reference books, and online resources, (2) basic copyediting issues and techniques, like paper-and-pencil and electronic mark-up, issues of style and special treatment of words (with a focus on The Chicago Manual of Style), effective queries, and editorial judgment, and (3) tips for establishing yourself as an in-house or freelance copyeditor.
The course also includes a brief and challenging grammar refresher, but an understanding of basic English grammar will be assumed. If you do not have a solid foundation in grammar, consider taking a grammar course as well.
This course features the newest edition of The Copyeditor’s Handbook/Workbook. Readings and practice exercises are assigned with each session, and keys in the workbook allow you to check your own work for many assignments. The instructor will review the rest and return them to you with feedback. Opportunities for practice include a mock copyediting test at the end of the course.
Convenient format: The seven instructional sessions of this course are presented as video recordings, available through the instructor’s password-protected channel. You will have 6 months to complete the videos and assignments, working at your own pace.
Added value: Students are invited to schedule one 20-minute consultation with the instructor at any time during the course. Current and former students also meet with the instructor as a group every couple of months to discuss relevant topics, and students are encouraged to post on the course Slack channel.
Praise from a former student:
This course will give you a thorough background in the essentials of copyediting. Patricia is a masterful teacher: supportive, engaging, and knowledgeable—and she has a great sense of humor! I finished the course feeling confident in my ability to take the next steps in my copyediting career.
–EB, May 2020
Required Texts
The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), print or online version.
Amy Einsohn and Marilyn Schwartz, The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, 4th ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2019).
Erika Büky, Marilyn Schwartz, and Amy Einsohn, The Copyeditor’s Workbook: Exercises and Tips for Honing Your Editorial Judgment (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2019).
A recent edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
Recommended Texts
Barbara Fuller, How to Start a Home-Based Editorial Services Business (Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, 2013).
Other dictionaries, including usage dictionaries, as relevant to your work (e.g., A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, Urban Dictionary, Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage).
Other style manuals, as relevant to your work (e.g., The Bluebook, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, The Gregg Reference Manual, Association of Art Editors Style Guide).
Instructor Bio
Patricia Heinicke Jr. has worked as a publishing professional for over 20 years, first in acquisitions at a small scholarly press and then as a freelance copyeditor, developmental editor, writing coach, and ghost writer. Her clients include authors of scholarly books and articles, biomedical abstracts and posters, and self-published memoirs and fiction. She has taught courses and workshops on copyediting, grammar, and other topics at Editcetera, UC Berkeley Extension, and Media Alliance and for corporate clients in the Bay Area and beyond.
