Description
Self-paced courses are undertaken by the student at their own pace. No instructor feedback is given, although models are provided in the lessons. All self-paced courses include at least one live Q&A session, held via Zoom. Students will have 365 days to access the course material. To extend access by 3 to 12 months from the initial access end date, email the education coordinator. More information about how our classes are conducted is available here.
After placing your order, your course will be added to your personal course library on our education site. That site has different login information from the main EFA site. Please check your email for information on how to access the course.
Access to course materials begins immediately and lasts for 365 days.
This self-paced course covers in-depth topics dealing with language issues and authorial style, including:
• Flexibility in editing
• Word choice
• Sentence structures
• Literary devices
• Nominalizations, passive language, wordiness, and other issues
• The author-editor relationship
• Tools and processes
• Breaking into copyediting and gaining experience
This intermediate-level course assumes that you have a basic knowledge of copyediting skills and are interested in honing your skills in querying, preserving author voice and style, and learning more about writing issues you may encounter. You will also learn when to be flexible and break the “rules.”
You will have access to this course for one year, providing ample time to return to it and review the lessons, assignments, and models (examples). It’s a great choice for anyone looking to refresh and strengthen their existing copyediting skills.
Required texts:
- The Copyeditor’s Handbook, 4th ed., Amy Einsohn and Marilyn Schwartz (the accompanying The Copyeditor’s Workbook is not required for this course, although it has exercises you may want to do on your own.)
- The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed. If you’re an EFA member, don’t forget to apply your 20% discount!
- The Subversive Copy Editor, Carol Fisher Saller
Taking the “Copyediting: Beginning” self-paced course is strongly recommended.
Lourdes Venard (she/her) has more than 35 years of writing and editing experience, including at major newspapers Newsday, The Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and The Washington Post. She currently works for the News Literacy Project, an education nonprofit, and teaches copyediting at the University of California, San Diego. She also has experience as a freelance editor. She is co-author of the EFA booklet Sensitivity Reads: A Guide for Editorial Professionals and served on the advisory board of The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition.
