Manuscript Works

Module 1 (Week 1): What Academic Developmental Editors Do

Module 1 covers what developmental editing is and how it benefits academic authors. You’ll get an overview of the scholarly publishing process and when developmental editing typically takes place in the life of an academic manuscript.

Optional assignment: Reflect on your preparation for becoming an editor and your goals in taking this course

Module 2 (Week 2): Beginning an Editing Job

Module 2 offers an overview of a typical developmental editing job and details the steps an editor will need to take in preparation for editing. We’ll go over the nuts and bolts of learning about the author’s goals and deciding if and how to move forward with an author and their manuscript.

Optional assignment: Decide what kinds of authors/texts you want to work with; craft a questionnaire that will help you determine if an author/text are a good fit for you

Module 3 (Week 3): Assessing the Text

Module 3 dives into the work of reading and evaluating a writer’s manuscript, showing you how to think like a developmental editor. We’ll cover the four pillars of scholarly writing and how to assess a text’s strengths and areas where further development (editing) is needed.

Optional assignment: Generate assessment notes for an academic manuscript

Module 4 (Week 4): Editorial Letters and In-Text Edits

Module 4 covers the deliverables of professional developmental editing, showing you exactly what you will be producing for your authors. You’ll learn the typical components and structure of an editorial letter along with best practices for in-text comments, queries, and edits. You will see real examples of editorial deliverables, which are rarely publicly accessible due to client confidentiality.

Optional assignment: Draft an editorial letter and write up in-text comments and edits

Module 5 (Week 5): The Author-Editor Relationship

Module 5 turns to a less tangible but still vital aspect of being an successful editor: working effectively with human authors. You’ll learn the concrete steps of acquiring a new author client and communicating with them throughout the editorial engagement. We’ll also cover general tenets for productive editorial relationships and how to handle tricky author situations.

Optional assignment: Reflect on your own tenets and/or reflect on a tricky author situation; what questions do you still have? how might you handle it differently in the future?

Module 6 (Week 6): Running an Editorial Business

Module 6 discusses what it means to be a self-employed editor and how to market your editorial services to reach new clients, including what you need to include on your editorial website. We’ll go over various pricing models for editorial services along with concrete lessons on how to set rates and how to get paid. (In-house editors are welcome to skip the last module, though you may find it helpful if you are contemplating a freelance side-hustle or career pivot.)

Optional assignment: Draft the structure and copy for your editorial website (or go ahead and build it)