Rewriting and Substantive Editing (Non-Fiction)

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Some content requires more than just a quick copy-edit . . .

This course combines practical exercises with group discussion and will help you assess and improve such texts efficiently and effectively.

You’ll work on your own, in pairs and as a group to analyse the stylistic problems of different types of text, look at a range of solutions and adjust presentation and organisation to guarantee effective communication.

Between the two sessions you will be asked to look at a longer piece of writing and assess how you would set about editing or rewriting it.

The result? New skills and techniques that you can use to tackle future problems.

Please note that almost all the example texts are drawn from non-fiction or educational publishing; this course is unlikely to meet the needs of someone who works exclusively on fiction.

Who is it for?

Editorial staff and freelancers, working on non-fiction, who are comfortable with the basic copy-editing process but who want to extend their skills or who need to rewrite text.

What will you achieve?

On completing this course you’ll be able to:

assess and explain why a piece of writing doesn’t work
develop and present strategies for improving pieces of writing
adjust the level and tone of a piece of writing
apply the techniques learnt to any text to make it clearer and more accessible

Programme

Identifying problems and considering solutions

Adjusting the level of a piece of writing
Maintaining the author’s voice
Pooling strategies for longer texts
Pros and cons of bullet points
Approaches to cutting text
Editing text written in English as a second language
Considering jargon and specialist vocabulary
Final discussion and queries

How the course is delivered

The course consists of four x 90-minute sessions, each a mixture of delivery and interaction using Zoom breakout rooms and other online tools. There will be 30-minute breaks between each session with the opportunity to do exercises and take a break. The course will run on the same day across two weeks, split into two half-day sessions in the morning from 9am to 12.30pm.

You will need to activate a free Zoom account to join the course. This takes two minutes and does not require any payment. It is purely for administrative purposes.

Any information to be completed beforehand will be sent via email.

If you have any concerns about technical requirements or access please contact us on courses@publishingtrainingcentre.co.uk or telephone (+44) 020 8874 2718.

Delegate feedback

“I enjoyed the course very much. It was well taught and has helped me get the cogs whirring again on the rewriting front.” Content Team Lead, Cambridge University Press

“It was great to learn practical ways of moving past the 'this is a mess' stage when editing text that needs a lot of work. Andrew was a great teacher – well-prepared patient and knowledgeable.” Editor, Natural History Museum

“An enjoyable, interesting and thought-provoking day. I will certainly recommend this course to colleagues and students!” Freelance Editor and Editorial Trainer

The feedback is for the classroom version of the course.

About the tutor

Originally a secondary teacher of English, Andrew Steeds became a copy-editor at educational publisher Thomas Nelson in the 1980s, following a short spell in educational research. He worked on the English and modern languages lists, becoming a commissioning editor for English and drama before leaving to take up similar positions at Macmillan and Hodder & Stoughton.

The publishing world fell into one of its periods of turbulence in the early 1990s. With a freelance career looking marginally more secure, Andrew left Hodder to set himself up independently in 1991. He hasn't looked back.

Andrew’s main area of interest has become the clarification of unnecessarily complicated documents, in terms of how they are written and designed. In Simply Put and the Writing Clinic (which he set up as a virtual co-operative), he works on his own, with designers and with others to enable clients to communicate more clearly and more efficiently with their readers.

For more information about any of these courses, please email courses@publishingtrainingcentre.co.uk or sign up to receive our newsletter for updates on these and our other offerings.

Please read our Terms & Conditions

Session 1: 18 March 2021 | Session 2: 25 March 2021 (mornings only)

Thursday, 18 March 2021

£300+VAT

A number of discounts are available

Course format

Virtual classroom
9am to 12.30pm (BST)
Four x 1.5 hour sessions plus breaks, comprising two half-day sessions on two days, one week apart

A number of discounts are available

Enrol on this course

What you will need

To join the course, you will need access to a computer, tablet or laptop with a camera and microphone. You will need to activate a free Zoom account to join the course. This takes two minutes and does not require any payment. It is purely for administrative purposes.

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