BECOME A BOOK EDITOR

Get oriented with the course structure, meet your instructor, and receive the glossary and publishing timeline that will guide you through the weeks ahead.

• Course structure and topics
• General housekeeping
• Assignment overview
• Pre-reading: glossary and publishing timeline

Gain insight into how UK publishing fits into the global market, from the Big Five to independent houses, explore the many genres and career paths available and discover what it really takes to be an editor.

• The current publishing landscape
• Publishers, divisions and imprints
• Genres from literary to commercial, fiction vs non-fiction and subcategories
• The editor's role and responsibilities
• Cross-departmental collaboration
• Author and agent relationships

Assignment A: Reading Mind Map
Map the books you love, explore bookshops and charts, and identify the kinds of books you'd be proud to publish.

Follow a book from idea to printed copy, learning each stage of the production schedule, the editing specialties involved, and how in-house and freelance editorial roles differ.

• The key stages of a book’s journey
• Case study: How schedules shift by author and book type
• Book-editing specialties and project editing
• Working with the Production team
• Book budgets and freelancer costs
• Workshop: Reflect on your reading mind maps to explore potential career directions

Learn how editors judge a submission's commercial potential, write a persuasive acquisition note, and pitch it at an acquisition meeting with evidence ready for every question.

• Routes to acquiring a book
• Assessing audiences, trends and comps
• Writing an acquisition note
• Case study: Pitching a real acquisition note
• Case study: P&L, advances and royalties
• Workshop: Assessing three book submissions

Assignment #1: Acquisition Note
Write a one-page acquisition note for your fictitious book and prepare to pitch it in the next lesson.

Discover the editing stages that bring out a promising idea or book’s full potential, from shaping a premise before acquisition to feeding back on plot, pacing, structure and voice across a full manuscript.

• Concept development before acquisition
• Chapter breakdowns and sample chapters
• Structural edits and chapter notes
• Analysing themes and plot points
• Workshop: Cross-departmental pitch and Q&A

Master sentence-level editing while protecting the author's voice, and learn how to deliver feedback that balances praise and critique so authors stay supported and motivated.

• Assessing the level of editing needed
• Cutting text without losing voice
• Improve word choice, syntax, tone and effectiveness
• Author care throughout the publishing process
• Pacing feedback across each stage
• Example author feedback email

Assignment #2: Editorial Feedback Letter
Assess a provided short piece of writing and write a one-page editorial letter of feedback to its author.

Get to grips with the detail behind a professional copy-edit; how to perform one to and how to resolve queries, as well as getting practical guidance on building a freelance copy-editing career of your own.

• Hiring and briefing a copy-editor
• The four C's of copy-editing
• Queries and style sheets
• Demo: Live editorial walkthrough of a pre-typeset text
• Case study: Tackling queries in a real copy-edit
• Building a freelance copy-editing career

Assignment #3: Copy-edit
Copy-edit a page of text, adding to the style sheet and raising queries where needed.

Understand the legal and ethical questions that shape what gets published, from copyright and clearances to defamation and privacy, and learn to resolve issues while keeping the story intact.

• Pre-acquisition legal sense checks
• Copyright in unofficial IP projects
• Clearances and originality checks
• Legal reads on defamation and privacy
• Case study: Resolving a legal read query
• Breakout room: Weighing a hypothetical legal and ethical scenario

Assignment B: Cover Pick
Choose a book cover you love, compare it with others in its genre, and be ready to discuss it in the book cover lesson the following week.

Discover how retailers choose their books and how editors help Sales win them over, then learn to write cover copy that hooks readers in seconds.

• The UK retailer landscape
• How to assess which retailer is right for your book
• Selling-in to retailers
• Writing genre-specific effective cover copy
• Finding your book's hook
• Title information sheets
• Workshop: Comparing three versions of cover copy

Assignment #4: Cover Copy and Title Information Sheet
Write around 200 words of cover copy for your book and complete a title information sheet for your portfolio.

Learn how to translate a book’s identity into a cover that stands out from the rest and makes readers pick it up, from writing the brief and pitching at the Jackets meeting to guiding designers from first visuals to final art.

• Workshop: Presenting your chosen front cover
• The cover design process
• Writing a cover brief using comps and audience insight
• Pitching at the Jackets meeting
• Briefing designers and giving feedback
• When to follow or avoid trends in cover design
• Case study: A cover brief from first visuals to final design

Assignment #5: Front Cover Brief
Write a front cover brief setting out your creative vision and comps, with one page of writing and one page of mood board references.

Bring the full book package to life, from back covers, finishes and plate sections to internal design, then oversee the proof stage and sign the book off for print.

• Back cover design and formats
• Finishes and special effects
• Endpapers and boards
• Plate sections and captions
• Internal design and typesetting
• Proofreading and final sign-off

Plan a campaign that moves the dial, learning how to brief the comms team, choose the right publicity and marketing activity, and build a strong digital presence for your book.

• The three stages of a campaign
• Briefing the comms team
• Publicity and media outreach
• Marketing and author social media
• Digital presence and discoverability
• Case study: A campaign that moved the dial

Assignment #6: Campaign Plan
Choose your book's campaign style and build a one-page campaign plan covering activity like signings, events and social media.

Prepare to break into publishing with practical strategies for researching publishers, tracking the market, networking, and tailoring your CV and interview answers.

• Researching publishers and imprints
• Tracking market trends and charts
• Internships and graduate schemes
• Building professional connections
• Tailoring your CV and cover letter
• Job interview preparation