Which Class Should I Take?
As Club Ed adds new classes, I’m frequently asked, “What class should I take?” or “What class should I take next?” so I wanted to provide some answers. These are my recommendations for the new instructor-led classes (self-paced classes are organized by skill level on the Club Ed site):
For Anyone
For anyone interested in the process of dev editing, new or experienced, whatever your skill level, try the self-paced Naked Editing. If you’ve never taken a class from Club Ed before, this is a low-cost way to get to know me (the Resort Director, Jennifer Lawler) and how I tackle the developmental process.
For Those Just Starting Out
If you’re just starting out, and are interested in getting instructor feedback on your work, begin with the instructor-led Beginning and Intermediate Developmental Editing for Fiction classes. These classes cover the basic principles of developmental editing.
If your schedule doesn’t match up, try the self-paced DE 1 – 6 program, which you can begin at any time. This series of six classes offers the same basic information as the Beginning and Intermediate DE classes with answer keys in place of instructor feedback.
For Those Who’ve Taken Previous Club Ed Classes
For people who have taken the Beginning-Intermediate series of developmental editing for fiction classes from me or the DE 1 – 6 program from Club Ed, you might try these intermediate-level instructor-led classes:
- Editing for World-building and Setting
- Editing for Character Development
- Editing for Plot and Story Structure
These three intermediate/advanced classes are scheduled so they can be taken in a series. Each is four weeks long.
For More Experienced Editors
For more experienced editors who have completed full manuscript edits or critiques for clients, the Developmental Editing Practicum has several options for editors who are looking for feedback on their editing.
For Building an Editing Business
For business-related classes, check out the instructor-led Starting and Building Your Developmental Editing Business, Editorial Toolkit: Coaching Writers, Getting Editorial Work from Book Packagers and Publishers, and Finding (and Landing!) Authors Clients. All of these can be found here.For the whole catalog, click here.
Instructor-led classes are held within a specified time period. They feature weekly assignments to practice your skills and individual instructor feedback on your work. All course materials are accessed from the online classroom. Online discussions allow you and your fellow students to ask the instructor questions and to toss around ideas. These discussions are held asynchronously (read and post as you have availability); you do not need to be anywhere at any particular time in order to participate, although assignments will need to be submitted by the deadlines provided in the course materials.
