Courses: Self-Paced
Self-paced classes can be accessed for eighteen months after purchase and allow you to go at your own pace. Read the materials and do the lessons when you have time. There is no instructor feedback, but exercises and answer keys help you understand how to put the principles into practice.
Advanced Practice: Editing for Point-of-View and Perspective
$49. How to edit fiction for point-of-view and perspective. Two lessons. If you already know how to spot head-hopping and can explain why that first-person narrator is slowing down the pacing of a story (and what to do about it), this is the class for you! This class is a deeper dive into how to…
Class Package: DE 1 through 6
$325. How to become a developmental editor. This class bundles together all six self-paced Essentials of Developmental Editing classes for a lower price than purchasing each class individually: DE 1: Foundations of Storytelling DE 2: Principles of Developmental Editing DE 3: Writing Effective Editorial Queries DE 4: Writing the Revision Letter DE 5: Manuscript Evaluation…
for writers • instructor-led classes • instructor-led nonfiction classes • self-paced classes • self-paced nonfiction classes • services – editor Jennifer Lawler
Club Ed Gift Card
$25 – $250. Give a gift of learning!
DE 1: Foundations of Storytelling
$79. How to edit novels. This self-paced class contains four lessons and starts at the beginning: what a novel is, how genres work, how readers read. You’ll learn not just the definition of story conflict but how to identify it when you see it. You’ll learn what GMC stands for and you’ll understand what editors…
DE 2: Principles of Developmental Editing
$79. How to edit novels. This self-paced, four-lesson class covers the ABCs of the practice of developmental editing of fiction: understanding the developmental editor’s role how developmental editing differs from other types of editing and feedback questions to ask when developmental editing the mechanics of developmental editing basics of writing editorial queries working with authors…
DE 3: Writing Effective Editorial Queries
$49. How to write editorial queries. In developmental editing, much of the guidance we provide to authors takes place in the editorial queries. This self-paced class provides information about best practices for developmental editors, particularly for fiction. The class includes a thorough description of effective querying practices, a sample manuscript edit with ineffective queries for…
DE 4: Writing the Revision Letter
$49. How to write a revision letter. The revision letter, which provides the overview of your main editorial findings and suggestions, is a crucial component of the developmental edit, but they are easy to get wrong – including the wrong information, prioritizing the wrong revisions, overwhelming the author with the wrong details. This self-paced class…
DE 5: Manuscript Evaluation
$49. How to do a manuscript assessment, evaluation, or critique. This self-paced class teaches you how to add the additional service of manuscript evaluation to your menu of offerings. This is a great option for authors not ready for a full developmental edit who just need some overall guidance about where their ms is going…
DE 6: Evaluating Your Effectiveness as an Editor
$49. How to evaluate your editorial skills. As a freelancer, you don’t have a boss or coworkers giving feedback about your performance. If you work primarily for indie clients, your clientele may not even know what effective editing looks like. What if there are better ways for you to do your work? In this self-paced…
DE Detective
$79. How to use sentence-level clues to track down developmental problems. This four-lesson, self-paced class is meant for working with fiction authors. When a manuscript has obvious problems, they’re, well, obvious. The overemphasis on backstory has slowed the pacing to a crawl, the POV hops from head to head, it takes three chapters for the…
Developmental Editing Practicum
$500. How to edit a novel or nonfiction book. This self-paced class is intended for those with some developmental editing experience. For fiction editors, it is ideal to have taken the Beginning + Intermediate DE for Fiction classes or the self-paced DE 1 through 6 classes. For nonfiction editors, the Basics + Principles of Developmental…
Editing for Point-of-View and Perspective
$79. How to edit for point-of-view and perspective. This four-lesson, self-paced class is intended for those with some developmental editing experience or who have taken the Beginning + Intermediate DE for Fiction classes or the self-paced DE 1 through 6 classes. This class goes beyond the basics of head-hopping to dive deep into problems in…
Editing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
$79. How to edit mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. This four lesson, self-paced class walks you through the principles of developmentally editing the related genres of mystery, suspense, and thriller. It covers: Understanding genre conventions Helping authors create a strong central conflict Keys to building tension and suspense Common problems in crime fiction Character development…
Editing Novels in a Series (self-paced)
$79. How to edit novels written as part of a series. Three lessons. Editing series work is complex. You need to edit for all of the usual issues as well as series-related issues, such as the protagonist being an only child in Book 1 and having four siblings in Book 2, without any explanation of…
Editing Science Fiction and Fantasy (self-paced)
$79. How to edit science fiction and fantasy. This self-paced, four-lesson class discusses the basics of the developmental editing of science fiction and fantasy novels. The class covers: basic conventions of the genre (reader expectations)—what to do when authors violate these and how to tell when they have why the “what if?” matters and how…
Editing Short Stories and Novellas
$79. How to edit short stories and novellas. Four lessons, self-paced. This class discusses the basic expectations for various types of short fiction, ranging from flash fiction up through novellas and focuses on how DE differs when it is applied to short fiction and novellas as opposed to full-length novels. It also shows: Strategies for…
Editing the Romance
$79. How to edit romance novels. In this self-paced, four-lesson class, you’ll learn the basics of the developmental editing of romance. The class is meant for editors who have either some experience editing fiction or who have taken a developmental editing of fiction class. Each lesson includes an assignment for you to do to practice…
Essentials of Conflict
$79. How to edit novels for conflict. This four-lesson, self-paced class digs into what story conflict is, how authors create it (or don’t), and what you, the editor, can do to fix it. It covers: how character development impacts conflict and how conflict impacts story structure the eternal trifecta (goal, motivation, conflict) to help you…
Evolution of a Novel
How the novel revision process works. For writers, editors, book coaches, and critique partners interested in learning about the revision process. Follow along as an author shows how her vision for a novel changes from the original draft to the final published version. Identify what you, as a developmental editor, coach, or critique partner, could…
Explorations: Editing Literary Fiction
$79. How to edit literary fiction. Self-paced, four lessons. This class explores the concept of literary fiction and what to consider when editing such novels. It discusses what we mean by “literary fiction” and how it differs from genre fiction (if it does). It looks at perspective, the uses of a narrator, character arcs, and…
How to Edit Query Letters, Synopses, and More!
$79. How to edit query letters, synopses, and more. This four-lesson, self-paced class is meant for editors who would like to offer additional services to authors beyond manuscript editing. In this class, you’ll learn how to edit: query letters and story synopses for authors planning to follow the traditional publishing path elevator pitches for authors…
Naked Editing: Self-Paced Version
$49. Learn what a developmental edit looks like. 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. It is a reading-intensive class. Note: Recent current events force me to point out that there is no actual…
Notes on Editing Memoir
How to edit memoir. This four-lesson, self-paced class is informational-only, meaning you will not complete assignments based on the lessons. I do recommend that you read a few published memoirs as you work through the material. Notes on Editing Memoir will help you understand the distinction between memoir and autobiography, and between journaling and memoir….
Starting Your Editing Business
$79. How to start your editing business. This four-lesson, self-paced class helps new editors start and grow their editing business, whether copyediting, developmental editing, coaching, or some combination. Each lesson includes information on topics such as: finding your purpose identifying your potential clients conducting a personal skills inventory gaining more experience setting fees using letters…
