Copy-Editing Skills
Copy-Editing Skills focuses on key editorial activities, including a thorough explanation of how to use the BSI standard marks for copy preparation. You will be given the opportunity to practise using these symbols on a variety of texts, as well as a demonstration of on-screen editing. You will also receive detailed instruction on the correct use of frequently misunderstood features, such as italic text and quotation marks. Advice is also offered on tricky editorial problems, like notes, bibliographies and figures.
The majority of exercises focus on one particular skill, but incorporate other incidental errors, mimicking real life copy-editing work. The final day’s consolidation exercises bring together everything you have learnt.
There are no definitive answers in copy-editing, but you will come away with sample exercises marked-up by an experienced editor, a full set of the exercises used throughout the course, and handouts on key areas such as copyright, terminology, notes and references.
This course is a springboard onto many of the PTC’s more advanced editorial offerings, such as Editing Scientific, Technical and Medical Texts, Editing in Word and Advanced Copy-Editing.
If you do not work in a book or journal publishing company you might like to consider Editing for Business.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this course you should be able to:
- utilise the core skills of copy-editing on various different styles of text
- correctly apply the BSI copy-editing symbols on a variety of texts
- appreciate how the copy-editor’s role fits within the publishing process.
Who will benefit from this course?
Editorial assistants, copy-editors, assistant editors, desk editors and production editors working in book and journal publishing. If you are not working in these industries, please consider Editing for Business.
Programme
- Proofreading
- Ensure the difference between proofreading and copy-editing is fully understood
- Marking up copy for keyboarder or designer
- Using BSI international symbols correctly
- Mark up headings and code different types of material
- Checking contents
- Focus on consistency
- Other matter that might be expected in a particular book
- Editing prelims
- Editing tables
- Changing text to another format
- Changing text to a list, table or other alternatives
- Formatting and consistency
- Editing and keying in figures
- Importance of checking visual as well as verbal material for accuracy, consistency and clarity
- Using quotation marks
- Italics
- Different uses of italics: taxonomic classification, citation of legal cases and foreign words
- Importance of house style
- Numbers and numerals
- Conventions and house style
- Editing specialist texts
- Issues about editing poetry, drama, technical instructions and specialist areas
- Copyfitting
- Wider issues when cutting text: even workings, numbering prelims in Roman numerals, stages of production, balancing columns, overall appearance, positioning and size of illustrations, and costs and effects of different types of alteration
- Editing notes, references and bibliographies
- Editing indexes.
Online training
This course includes online training and support.
Note that most of our short courses can also be run as in-company events.
- Dates: 26 June 2013, 16 September 2013, 14 October 2013, 13 November 2013
- Duration: A three-day course
- Price: £795+VAT
- A number of discounts are available
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