Course Details

If you excel at grammar and thrive on detailed work, copyediting might be the career for you. An experienced and skillful copyeditor can be an invaluable member of an editorial staff or can even have a lucrative freelance career. But in order to flourish in the business, you must have a range of specialized knowledge and skills, including impeccable grammar, spelling, and punctuation, great people skills, and QuarkXPress or InDesign. This three-hour seminar will tell you all you need to know about starting your copyediting career.

In this seminar, you can expect to learn:

• The difference between copyediting and proofreading
• How to brush up on your grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills
• Proofreading and copyediting symbols
• Grammatical pitfalls: misplaced modifiers, collective nouns, and other tricky situations
• Gaining the computer skills you need
• How to use reference books and resources effectively
• Developing a copyediting resume and finding work as a copy editor
• What to expect once you get a job

Instructor Bio

Gary North's Courses

Gary North is a longtime news editor, copy editor, writer and reporter who has worked for such chains as Knight-Ridder, Gannett, Belo and MediaNews Group plus numerous independent publications and websites as well as affiliates of CBS and PBS. He's also worked as a public information officer and in public relations departments of various nonprofits plus for-profits including Southern California Edison. He is a former president of the Los Angeles Newspaper Guild and currently works as a senior copy editor and features copy chief at Variety and Daily Variety.

Testimonials

I feel lucky to have taken this course. I learned a lot about the craft of editing, and by the time the class was over, I was better at it. I think I'm a stronger editor now and I look forward to applying all the things I learned in this class in the near future. -- Tim Crowley

"Gary was an exceptional instructor. In addition to being insightful and passionate about the field, he was always courteous to everyone in class. I was especially impressed with the efforts he made to email us supplemental material, and his willingness to help his students outside of the course." -- Andrew Wisot

"The class had valuable information that I hadn't been able to acquire elsewhere. All the handouts were relevant and useful, and they included an extensive list of online resources for employable copyeditors that I'll start using immediately. Gary did a wonderful job!" -- Lynette M. Smith

"He was a good instructor and went that extra mile to make sure we all got what we needed from the class. He's also included an offer to help each of us in the future and I fully plan to take him up on that offer." -- Gail Wichert

"My boss is already assigning me more copy editing jobs, and coworkers are coming to me for style questions." -- Freddy Puza

"I learned so many valuable skills that I will carry with me throughout my career. Gary's enthusiasm for copy editing and kind demeanor made every class a pleasure." -- Angela Salazar