Become a freelance story editor

…and help authors tell better stories

If you’ve ever dreamed of editing novels or nonfiction books for a living, Club Ed can help you make that dream come true. Our classes and other resources will support you on your journey.

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Editing Certificate – Fiction

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Editing Certificate – Nonfiction

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Editing Science Fiction and Fantasy

April 10 – May 7, 2023: $275
How to edit science fiction and fantasy. In this instructor-led, four-lesson class, we’ll discuss the basics of the developmental editing of science fiction and fantasy novels.
The class covers
basic conventions of the genre; what we mean by “speculative fiction”; differences among various subgenres; refining a “kitchen sink” story to focus on an overall central conflict;
guiding authors who are overly reliant on common tropes; helping authors break free of predictable plots; showing the author how to create a consistent story world and more!

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Editing Short Nonfiction (including acquisitions)

April 17 – May 14, 2023: $275
How to edit short nonfiction for print and online, including acquisitions. Four weeks, instructor-led.
This class introduces editors to the ins-and-outs of editing short nonfiction, such as articles and blog posts. Even for freelancers, such editorial roles often include an acquisitions component, where editors assign and acquire stories for a journal, magazine, online channel, or other outlet.
We’ll dive into the nitty-gritty of understanding audience expectations, ensuring short pieces meet the needs of the client, creating effective assignment briefs, working with writers, the challenges of editing AI-generated content, checking for plagiarism, sourcing photos and illustrations, getting editing clients, and more!

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You’re In control

You Decide How You Want to Learn

You can go at your own pace with classes intended for self-study. If you prefer instructor feedback, try an instructor-led class. Or, choose a combination of self-paced and instructor-led classes. And don’t forget to check out the certificate program, designed to prepare you to offer paid developmental editing services for novelists.

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Beginner

Get a quick start with fast facts about freelance editing, understanding what developmental editing is, what you need to know to begin, and how to read like an editor.

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Established Professional

Pull up a beach chair. Many Club Ed classes are meant for experienced editors.

Editors of Any Experience Level

Editors of any experience level (even none!) may enjoy Naked Editing, where you can see the process of a developmental edit unfold.

Naked Editing: Self-Paced Version

This self-paced class is meant for writers and editors, new and experienced, who are interested in following along as a developmental edit unfolds on a complete fiction manuscript.

Note: Recent current events force me to point out that there is no actual nudity by anyone in this class.

In this course, you’ll:

  • learn how to perform a brief manuscript assessment and first read-through.
  • complete a developmental edit and draft the revision letter.
  • compare your work with the expert editor’s work from taking notes to finalizing the edit.

This is a great way to get some practice with developmental editing while having an expert edit to consult as you work.

This class uses THE MAGE OF MOTOR AVENUE as the manuscript.

Full Course – $49

Get started today.

Course Catalog

How it works

All classes are entirely online and asynchronous (you don’t have to be at a specific place at a specific time).

Self-paced classes can be accessed for eighteen months after purchase and allow you to go at your own pace. Classes have answer keys or other ways of assessing your own work.

Instructor-led classes begin and end on specific days and have weekly assignments with instructor feedback. The assignments have deadlines and the classes include forum participation but you don’t have to be at a particular place at a particular time to participate in the class.

Students from all over the world have taken Club Ed classes but Club Ed is US-based and the materials and suggested resources reflect that. All classes are text-based and accessible, but if you need any accommodations, please let us know!

Everything You Need

  • Get started in editing fiction with a convenient package of six self-paced classes.
  • Save money over purchasing each class individually.
  • Learn on your schedule, at your pace.
  • Use answer keys to check your progress.
  • Live monthly chat on Club Ed Conversations for questions.
  • Classes include Foundations of Storytelling, Principles of Developmental Editing, Writing Effective Editorial Queries, Writing the Revision Letter, Manuscript Evaluation, and Evaluating Your Effectiveness as an Editor.
$325 | Get Instant Access

What people are saying

[Jennifer’s] advice isn’t just helpful but also pragmatic. She does a great job of showing her students the actual steps that they need to take to strengthen their editing work. She also has a great sense of humor and knows how to write, both of which make taking her courses fun.
Rachel Lapidow
Freelance Copy Editor and Proofreeder
Jennifer is a wonderful teacher. She’s easy to understand, to the point, and motivational. I highly recommend Jennifer to any editor looking for a mentor or teacher to fine-tune their developmental editing skills and market those skills to publishers and presses. You’ll come away with clear and specific action steps to further your career as an editor in the publishing world.
Val Mathews
Acquisitions Editor/Developmental, Line,
and Copy Editor/Writing Coach
Jennifer is an amazing teacher and mentor. The depth of her knowledge of writing, editing, and the publishing industry shines through. She has a gift for focusing on specific areas that need improvement, and her feedback is clear, kind, supportive, and thorough, and her exceptional intelligence, sharp wit, adn compassion make her a delight to interact with. She’s helped me grow tremendously as an editor, writer, and entrepreneur.
Stephanie Marshall Ward
Academic Editor, Social Sciences, and
Fiction Editor
Jennifer Lawler offers fantastic classes. I’m finishing a cycle of her classes that focus on setting and world-building, character, and plot/story structure. Her feedback on classwork is extremely helpful.
James Gallagher
Castle Walls Editing
I highly, highly recommend Jennifer Lawler’s courses. They were career-changers for me.
Alli Agro
Developmental Editor and Story Coach

Ready for your resort experience?

Take a Club Ed class and watch your editing skills soar.

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Recent Posts

DE craft

Join the Club!

Club Ed started out as a place to take editing classes, but over time it has morphed into a community. To support that community, I’ve launched a membership program for anyone interested in developmental editing and book coaching, whether for fiction or nonfiction. Through April 30, 2023, enjoy a special introductory price ($12/month or $100/year)….
Read More Join the Club!
DE craft

Dealing with Unhappy Clients

There are two kinds of freelance editors: those who have pissed off a client and those who will piss off a client. It’s inevitable. No matter how competent you are, someday you’re going to have a client who’s unhappy with your work. This can feel awful, even soul-killing, the first time it happens. It can…
Read More Dealing with Unhappy Clients
DE craft

Editor’s Insight: Lisa Poisso

I’m re-running this blog post because Lisa will be talking with Club Ed members (Tuesday, March 7, 2023) about landing and working with indie author clients. For more information on becoming a Club Ed member, click here. I asked several experienced editors to weigh in on three of their top tips for succeeding as a…
Read More Editor’s Insight: Lisa Poisso
DE craft

Adopt a give-it-a-try attitude

Just a few days ago, I had the idea that a service I could offer is “positive manuscript evaluations” – that is, ms evaluations that focus on affirming and supporting an author instead of critiquing their work. For someone who has spent her entire editing career telling people where they’re going wrong, this was a…
Read More Adopt a give-it-a-try attitude

Club Ed FAQ

Club Ed offers two types of classes, self-paced and instructor-led. All are offered entirely online with no in-person component. Classes do not require Zoom or phone participation. For all classes, the lessons and manuscripts used for the assignments are written as Word documents. Some supplemental materials are PDFs.

Because developmental editors need to be able to work from written sources, all materials are provided that way. If this does not match your learning style, Club Ed classes will not be right for you.

Instructor-led courses have a feedback component. You turn in an assignment each week and the instructor reads and responds to your efforts, highlighting what you’re doing well and offering suggestions for improvement. Assignments are sent to the instructor and returned with comments via email.

Forums are associated with each instructor-led class, where students can discuss assignments and ask questions and or share thoughts about the lessons.

Club Ed understands that adults have busy lives! Students occasionally miss a deadline. As long as the class has not ended, assignments can be turned in after the official deadline, but the instructor may not be able to give feedback right away if you do miss a deadline.

Late work cannot be accepted after the official end of class. However, because the certificate program requires that you turn in all of the work in instructor-led classes to be considered as having completed that class, and the option of repeating the class is expensive (and unnecessary, in many cases), we’ve developed a way for you to make up late work.

This is done by using the Missed Homework product. You can use this to complete a class for the certificate or just because you want feedback on an assignment you missed. 

Because giving feedback takes time, Club Ed charges a small fee ($15) to help defray the cost of doing this.

To submit a late homework assignment for feedback, purchase the Missed Homework Makeup product and send along your assignment to ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com. Your feedback will be returned within two weeks. 

You will need one Missed Homework Makeup product per assignment missed. 

This will allow you to count an instructor-led class as complete for certificate purposes.

All sales are final and refunds are not offered unless a class is canceled by the instructor/Club Ed. Please be sure that your schedule allows full participation in any instructor-led class before you register for it.

If you have registered for a class by mistake, please reach out to the Resort Director as soon as possible. Registrations can sometime be changed to another class, but not if a class has already started or you have already done work in a class.

If you are not happy with the content of a class, please get in touch with the Resort Director to see what can be done: ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com

No. Class registrations are not transferable. When you register for a class, it is understood that you will be attending the class. When you register for a class, you create a user profile (or add to an already created user profile) that cannot be assigned to someone else.

If you would like to give someone the gift of a class, we have a solution for that! Use a Club Ed gift card. You can purchase these in a variety of amounts and anyone who has the gift card code can use the code to register for a class.

For instructor-led courses, start with Beginning and Intermediate Developmental Editing of Fiction. Then, take any other class you’re interested in. A popular series is Editing for Character Development, Editing for World-Building and Setting, and Editing for Plot and Story Structure, all instructor-led.

Advanced Developmental Editing of Fiction can be taken any time after Intermediate Developmental Editing. It can be taken more than once, using different manuscripts, if you want to get practice editing full manuscripts.

For self-paced courses, start with DE 1 through 6 (Foundations of Storytelling through Evaluating Your Effectiveness as an Editor). This is the equivalent of the instructor-led Beginning and Intermediate Developmental Editing for Fiction classes. 

From there, take any other class that appeals to you. Advanced Developmental Editing of Fiction or Developmental Editing Practicum (the self-paced version of Advanced DE) can be taken anytime after you complete DE 6: Evaluating Your Effectiveness as an Editor. 

It means your malware program automatically generates a warning when it encounters a Word document. It is possible for a bad, bad person to install a malicious macro on a Word document, which is why these programs flag Word documents. But there is no danger to your computer (or phone, tablet, etc.) if you download materials from this website.

If you’ve taken developmental editing of fiction classes anywhere else, you can start with any of the intermediate level classes – this is anything other than Beginning and Intermediate Developmental Editing of Fiction (or the equivalent self-paced DE 1 – 6). You may not be accustomed to doing effective editorial querying if your class wasn’t taught by a publisher-trained editor, but you will be able to easily catch up.

If you would like to learn how a beginner class taught by a different instructor can be applied towards the Club Ed Certificate in the Developmental Editing of Fiction program, send an email to ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com and we’ll figure out your next steps.

For students interested in offering developmental editing of fiction as a service for pay, the certificate program allows you to build confidence that you know what you’re doing. More information about the program can be found here.

Club Ed will provide course completion letters on request (ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com).

For instructor-led classes, you will need to have completed all of the assignments to receive the letter. For self-paced classes, you will need to provide your written assignments so that we can confirm you did them.

For all classes, state the name of the class, the date of the class (when you enrolled for self-paced classes), and any specific information that letter needs to contain, such as the cost of the class.

Please allow three or four business days for this process.

No. The materials used in Club Ed classes are almost all from previously published work and using your homework as a sample could mislead a potential client into thinking you had worked on the published book.  

For samples, ask current clients for permission to share their edited materials with potential clients (never post a client’s material on your website, even if they’ve agreed to allow you to use it). Most clients will prefer not to share so you may need to offer an incentive, such as a reduced price for the edit.

Another option is to make up a sample using your own writing (being sure to disclose this), or to use a manuscript that is in the public domain (see Project Gutenberg at www.Gutenberg.org) and editing it as you would a contemporary manuscript. 

And don’t forget: Testimonials will go a long way towards convincing a potential client that you have the skills they’re looking for.

Club Ed accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards and debit cards using Stripe as our payment processor. If you would prefer to use Paypal, please inform the Resort Director (ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com) and she will generate a Paypal invoice for you.

Club Ed also offers a gift card option.

All classes are held entirely online. Internet access is required to download the materials and access the forums. All materials in the Club Ed classes are written documents, typically using Word although a few may be PDFs. Such materials are typically more accessible to individuals with disabilities than video and audio recordings.

For instructor-led classes, all forums are text-based for the same reason.

If you have an accessibility need not addressed by the use of written documents, please get in touch with the Resort Director at ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com, providing specific details of the accommodations you need in order to participate fully in the classes. We will do all that we can to ensure access.

If you experience problems downloading files or progressing to the next section, it is usually a broswer problem, not a Club Ed website problem. Try these steps before reporting an issue:

  • Clear your browser cache by pressing Shift+Ctl/Cmd+R for most browsers.
  • Log completely out of Club Ed and log back in.
  • If neither of the first 2 steps work, you may need to clear your browser history. This is unique for each browser but it usually involves going into the browser settings area. This can cause you to be logged out of any saved accounts but it is something you should do regularly because glitches can accumulate with a large saved history.
  • Try resetting your password.
  • If none of these steps work, please send an email to ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com and provide a detailed explanation of the exact nature of the problem, the date/time you experienced the issue, the page URL where the problem occurred and any error messages you encountered. Thank you!

Go to the Student Dashboard > Go to Account > (scroll a little) under Edit Profile Information, click on My Profile > Edit (last item on the navigation bar on the left) > (scroll a little) find Pronouns, then add yours to the box > Click Update Profile.

If you have any difficulty with this, just email the Resort Director (ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com) and she’ll add the information for you.

Club Ed®LLC is a California company, based in Los Angeles – but we have students from all over the world. All classes are offered online, and while for instructor-led classes, homework assignments are typically due on a particular day, joining in forum discussions, reading the lessons, and asking questions can be done at any time.

Club Ed® is a registered trademark.