Become A Copy Editor & Proofreader: Complete Course

Get the core skills and technical knowledge to work as a copy editor or proofreader

What you'll learn

Edit in Microsoft Word using internationally accepted standard processes

Mark up PDFs with proofreading instructions

Identify and correct common errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation

Perform a full copy edit on documents of any size - from articles to books

Price your services and work out your rate per hour

Define a value proposition for your website and marketing material

Requirements

Fluency in written English

No previous editing experience required

No extensive grammar knowledge required

Recommended: Microsoft Word (you can do this course without Word but you will need Word when you get paying clients)

Description

You can be a great editor – even if you're not a grammar guru!It's true – you can earn money as an editor or proofreader even if you’re not an expert at grammar. How can I say this? Well, because there’s me – I was truly lousy at formal grammar at school and yet here I am, having worked as a professional editor for 25 years.There’s a secret that I want to share with you and it’s this: If you love reading and writing and can take a dull sentence and make it shine, you can edit. And yes, you do need some technical knowledge but it’s not the whole darn grammar book. All you need to get started is a basic fluency with the written word plus the core knowledge and skills I’m going to share with you on this course. Once you’ve gone through all the lessons you’ll know more than enough to go out and land your first editing jobs and start earning money.Contents and overviewWe’ll begin by looking at how to edit. This involves onscreen tutorials going through the editing process in Microsoft Word and PDF documents. In the second part, I’ll go through what to edit. This is where we look at problem areas in grammar, spelling, punctuation and consistency.In the third part, I’ll give you some pointers on how to set up your editing business and price your services. Is this about editing or proofreading (and what's the difference anyway)?Copy editing is about changing text to correct mistakes and clarify expression, whereas proofreading is merely a final check of text that has already been edited.  This course prepares you to work as both an editor and a proofreader. Is this course right for you?This course is for you:If you’re wondering whether you might enjoy editing and proofreading and want to test the waters without investing in a full editing qualification (while still getting the core content) If you feel unqualified and a bit intimidated by copy editing and need to boost your skills and your confidence.If you’ve already been editing for a while and want to sharpen your skills and fill in any gaps in your knowledge.If you want to transition to a new role in a company (e.g., moving from copywriting to editing).What is NOT coveredProofreading symbols (hardly anyone uses them anymore as everything is done on computers).Abstract or substantive levels of editing involving the restructuring of content.Academic references/citations. How this course is differentMost short courses on editing and proofreading tend to assume a lot of knowledge – for instance, that you already have a good grasp of grammar and punctuation and just need to know the editing processes or how to set up your business.And the longer courses that offer qualifications tend to be time-consuming, pricey and somewhat intimidating. This course aims at the middle ground by providing you with the nitty-gritty technical, procedural and marketing information without overwhelming you with too much detail. Ideal work-from-home jobCopy editing is not just for full-time employment – it's the ideal work-from-home opportunity or side hustle for stay-at-home parents, writers, retired teachers and anyone with language skills who is looking for extra income or a new career. Course deliveryThis course includes 3.5 hours of video learning plus a comprehensive Course Notes PDF with added details and bonus material. By the end of the course, you will know more than enough to be able to offer editing and proofreading services to authors, businesses and anyone who needs help preparing a document for publication.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Is editing the right work for you?

Lecture 2 Download the course notes

Lecture 3 The levels of editing and proofreading

Lecture 4 Should you become a proofreader before becoming an editor?

Section 2: How to edit

Lecture 5 Introduction to editing electronic documents

Lecture 6 Editing in Microsoft Word: Tracking changes

Lecture 7 Editing in Microsoft Word: Reviewing the author's responses

Lecture 8 Editing in Microsoft Word: Accepting changes

Lecture 9 Editing in Microsoft Word: Running automated proofreading checks

Lecture 10 File management: Keeping track of multiple document versions

Lecture 11 Introduction to editing PDFs

Lecture 12 Proofreading a PDF: Applying markup

Lecture 13 Proofreading a PDF: Doing a big-picture edit

Section 3: Spelling

Lecture 14 Introduction to spelling

Lecture 15 Style guides

Lecture 16 Compound words

Lecture 17 Regional differences

Section 4: Grammar essentials

Lecture 18 Introduction to this grammar section

Lecture 19 Basic sentence structure

Lecture 20 Nouns

Lecture 21 Adjectives

Lecture 22 Pronouns

Lecture 23 Verbs

Lecture 24 Adverbs

Lecture 25 Prepositions

Lecture 26 Conjunctions

Section 5: Punctuation

Lecture 27 Introduction to punctuation

Lecture 28 Full stops (periods)

Lecture 29 Ellipses

Lecture 30 Colons

Lecture 31 Semicolons

Lecture 32 Hyphens and dashes

Lecture 33 Quotation marks

Lecture 34 Commas

Section 6: Other editing issues

Lecture 35 Bullet lists

Lecture 36 Numbers

Section 7: Your editing business

Lecture 37 Introduction to promoting your business

Lecture 38 Pricing your services

Lecture 39 Planning your website and content

Lecture 40 Choosing your website design platform

Lecture 41 Editing directories and further learning

Lecture 42 Course conclusion

Lecture 43 Bonus lecture

Beginner editors and proofreaders looking for an affordable entry point into the profession,Anyone with English fluency and good writing skills looking for an extra income stream or work-from-home opportunity,Writers, creatives or managers wanting to transition to an editing role in their company,Language professionals who want to explore the world of editing and see if is something they might enjoy