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$79. This four-lesson, self-paced class is intended to describe and discuss the basics of developmental editing for nonfiction with the ultimate goal of helping you establish a freelance career as a developmental editor. It is aimed at beginners, so I include fundamental concepts for students who are not at all familiar with editorial methodology. If…
Nonfiction books are sold to traditional publishers based on a book proposal, not a full manuscript. For indie authors, book proposals are a great way to plan how you will write and promote your nonfiction book. I provide book proposal critiques, including critique of a sample chapter or two for self-help and how-to books. The…
$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,…
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…
$79. How to edit query letters, blurbs, pitches, and more. For nonfiction. 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 for authors planning to follow the traditional publishing path elevator pitches for authors…
A manuscript evaluation is my feedback on your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses based on my experience as a book development editor, acquisitions editor, and literary agent. I evaluate fiction in the following genres: romance (all subgenres), mystery, thriller, suspense, fantasy (all subgenres) and soft science fiction. I don’t evaluate horror, children’s, or YA. For other…
A manuscript evaluation is my feedback on your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses based on my experience as a book development editor, acquisitions editor, and literary agent. I evaluate fiction in the following genres: romance (all subgenres), mystery, thriller, suspense, fantasy (all subgenres) and most science fiction. I don’t evaluate horror, children’s, or YA. For other…
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….
$79. This four-lesson, self-paced class digs deeper into how to identify developmental problems as they show up in nonfiction. It is the second class in the beginning series. Please take Basics of Developmental Editing for Nonfiction before you begin this class. This class focuses on book-length nonfiction and covers: Differences in working with indie author clients,…
A query letter is a sales tool used to interest a literary agent in representing your manuscript, or, more rarely, an acquisitions editor for a publishing company that accepts unsolicited manuscripts. Query letters are typically one page and focus on what the manuscript is about with a sentence or two devoted to the author’s background….
$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…
A novel synopsis is typically a three- or four-page summary outlining who the main characters in your novel are and what happens over the course of the story arc. (If you’re writing a nonfiction book, see the Nonfiction Book Proposal Critique option.) Literary agents usually request these, along with a query letter, as a preliminary…
$79. How to write mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. This four lesson, self-paced class walks you through writing the related genres of mystery, suspense, and thriller. It covers: Understanding genre conventions Creating a strong central conflict Keys to building tension and suspense Common problems in crime fiction Character development in crime fiction Basics of perspective…
$79. How to write romance novels. In this self-paced, four-lesson class, you’ll learn the basics of the writing romance. Each lesson includes an assignment for you to do to practice your skills. The class covers: basic conventions of the genre (reader expectations) and why they’re important differences among various subgenres (paranormal, suspense, contemporary, etc.) bringing…
$79. How to write science fiction and fantasy. In this self-paced four-lesson class, you’ll learn the basics of writing science fiction and fantasy novels. The class covers: conventions of the genres and subgenres (reader expectations)—and why they’re important why the “what if?” matters what we mean by “speculative fiction”’; differences among various subgenres (contemporary fantasy,…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$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…
$99. How to copyedit and line edit fiction. This six-lesson, self-paced online class is designed for newer freelance editors who edit or hope to edit indie novelists. While there is no instructor feedback, the class offers six different assignments with informative answer keys so students can track their progress. Most information about copyediting/line editing is…
$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…
$79. How to write a novel. This four-lesson, self-paced class, written by a developmental editor, shows authors how to apply developmental editing principles to their own work. You’ll learn what concerns like “lack of a clear central conflict” and “poor character development” mean, how to find out if your novel has such story problems, and,…
$30 (each month). How-to for developmental editors. Now enrolling for January, 2023. In this ongoing class, we’ll use published novels to talk about story development/developmental editing. Each month we’ll read and discuss a new novel from a developmental perspective: What (if anything) is going wrong developmentally? What might we suggest the author do to fix…
$275. How to become a developmental editor. Four weeks, instructor-led. This highly popular class is meant for anyone interested in working with novelists to develop their work. The instructor strongly recommends taking the Beginning Developmental Editing for Fiction class before attempting this one, even if you have some developmental editing experience. The two classes are meant to…
$275. How to edit for character development. Four weeks, instructor-led, intermediate level. In a well-written novel, the characters – especially the main character – will seem like real people who engage the reader’s attention if not the reader’s empathy. Authors often need our help in figuring out what to do about flat characters or unengaging…
$275. How to edit novels written as part of a series. Instructor-led, three months. 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…
$275. How to edit for plot and story structure. Four weeks, instructor-led, intermediate level. Plot and story structure (also called narrative structure) are the big-picture elements of storytelling that we might call “what happens” and “the framework within which the plot (what happens) is shown.” Authors (and editors!) sometimes think there is only one type…
$275. In this four-week, instructor-led class, students will learn the developmental editing of short fiction and novellas. We’ll discuss: Basic expectations for the various types of short fiction, ranging from flash fiction up through novellas. How DE differs when it is applied to short fiction and novellas as opposed to full-length novels. Strategies for editing…
This package enrolls you in the self-paced Editing for Point-of-View and Perspective and the instructor-led Advanced Practice: Point-of-View and Perspective (March 20 – April 2, 2023). The self-paced class is normally $79 and the instructor-led class is $150 but by purchasing this package you can get both for $200.
$150. How to edit fiction for point-of-view and perspective. Two weeks, instructor-led. 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! We’re going to take a deeper dive into…
$275. Four weeks, instructor-led, intermediate level. Though writers and editors have borrowed the term “world-building” from the science fiction and fantasy genres, creating a believable story world is important for any author writing fiction in any genre. This class shows how developmental editors can help authors create story worlds the reader will happily enter into—not…
$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 (reader expectations)—what to do when authors violate these and how to tell when they have why the “what if?” matters…
$275. How to coach writers. This is a four-week, instructor-led course designed to help you get started in offering coaching as a service to writers. Coaching can be a lucrative addition to your menu of services and can be a great way to help writers who are not ready for a developmental edit, who are…
$275. How to write and edit nonfiction book proposals. Four weeks, instructor-led. Nonfiction book authors need to write a book proposal if they’re seeking traditional publication. Authors who are independently publishing are also well-advised to go through the proposal process as it will help them refine their idea, make it stand out from the competition,…
$450. Eight weeks, instructor-led, intermediate/advanced level. You’ll perform a complete, actual edit of a full-length fiction manuscript. The instructor will provide a class manuscript for you to work on or you may use a manuscript of your own (for example, a client’s project or a friend’s work) instead. Please do just get the author’s permission…
$275. How to get work from publisher clients. Four weeks, instructor-led. This highly popular class is meant for editors with some experience who would like to branch out from working primarily with indie authors. The information and assignments are meant for both copy editors and developmental editors. Face it, much as we love working with indie…
$275. How to edit how-to and self-help books. Four weeks, instructor led. This class introduces you to the methods of editing book-length prescriptive nonfiction, whether you’re editing for indie authors or book publisher clients. We’ll cover a variety of book types, including skills guides, self-improvement, cookbooks, and guided journals. We’ll talk about dealing with structural…
$275. How to perform book doctoring and ghostwriting. This four-week, instructor-led class shows you the basics of book doctoring, coauthoring, and ghostwriting, which go beyond editing to actually writing and/or rewriting an author’s work. Though much of the available work is in nonfiction, there are opportunities for fiction editors/writers as well. We’ll talk about: how book…
$275. How to edit for character development. Four weeks, instructor-led, intermediate level. In a well-written novel, the characters – especially the main character – will seem like real people who engage the reader’s attention if not the reader’s empathy. Authors often need our help in figuring out what to do about flat characters or unengaging…
$275. How to become a developmental editor. Four weeks, instructor-led. This highly popular class is meant for anyone interested in working with novelists to help them tell better stories. We’ll discuss the basics of developmental editing (what it is and isn’t), the specifics of developmental editing in fiction (for example, the types of problems and…
$275. How to edit for plot and story structure. Four weeks, instructor-led, intermediate level. Plot and story structure (also called narrative structure) are the big-picture elements of storytelling that we might call “what happens” and “the framework within which the plot (what happens) is shown.” Authors (and editors!) sometimes think there is only one type…
$275. How to become a developmental editor. Four weeks, instructor-led. This highly popular class is meant for anyone interested in working with novelists to develop their work. The instructor strongly recommends taking the Beginning Developmental Editing for Fiction class before attempting this one, even if you have some developmental editing experience. The two classes are meant to…
$275. Four weeks, instructor-led, intermediate level. Though writers and editors have borrowed the term “world-building” from the science fiction and fantasy genres, creating a believable story world is important for any author writing fiction in any genre. This class shows how developmental editors can help authors create story worlds the reader will happily enter into—not…
$450. Eight weeks, instructor-led, intermediate/advanced level. You’ll perform a complete, actual edit of a full-length nonfiction book manuscript. The instructor will provide a class manuscript for you to work on or you may use a manuscript of your own (for example, a client’s project or a friend’s work) instead. Please do just get the author’s…
$175. Coaching for Editors and Writers. Both new and experienced editors sometimes need professional guidance in the craft of editing or in growing their editing business. Jennifer Lawler, an experienced editor, offers personal coaching to help. Coaching typically takes place via phone conversations (Zoom if you prefer) or through email. Types of coaching Jennifer offers…
$350. Both new and experienced editors sometimes need professional guidance in the craft of editing or in growing their editing business. Jennifer Lawler, an experienced editor, offers personal coaching to help. Coaching typically takes place via phone conversations (Zoom if you prefer) or through email. Types of coaching Jennifer offers include: Developing your skills through…
$15. If you’ve taken an instructor-led class from Club Ed but life got in the way and you didn’t turn in an assignment before it ended, now’s your chance to get feedback on that assignment. Once you’ve purchased the Missed Homework Makeup product, send along your assignment to ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com and I’ll return feedback within two…