Are you curious about what students will learn in our new Editing in Publishing Context course? What does the curriculum look like? What kind of assignments will students complete? Dr. Nick Carrington introduces this new course and explains why it is important for Professional Writing students to be able to edit in all sorts of contexts. 

1. How is editing a manuscript different from editing other documents?

Manuscripts are typically much longer than other types of documents. They require coherence, not just in scenes or chapters, but within those scenes and chapters. The whole manuscript must fit together and be cohesive and that creates different challenges for writers and editors.

2. What kind of projects will students complete in this course?

It’s always subject to change, but students will definitely edit the first chapter of both a nonfiction and fiction manuscript. They may write and edit query letters and a synopsis as they learn about the publishing process. We do a lot of editing exercises as well.

3. What skills will this course develop in students?

They will learn about the publishing process from the acquisition of manuscripts to the publishing of the book. Students will also learn how to frame their suggestions for authors, how to do deal with pushback, and how to edit big documents. We work on developing an editing process as well.

4. What will a typical day in class look like?

We will discuss readings, look at examples, and practice editing. Some days will be more focused on one of those things above the other two, but we want to understand the editing and publishing process, see the results, and practice our skills.

5. What kind of writers will enjoy this work?

Writers and editors who like engaging with arguments and immersing themselves in stories will like the class. If you’ve ever wanted to understand the publishing process, this is the class for you.