2021 Workshops

Editing Tips from the Coaching World—Amy Simpson

From the outside, editing may look like a solitary task. But professional editors know it’s relational, and our work involves constant (if often indirect) interaction—and frequent crisis management—with authors, readers, and in-house stakeholders. Today these relationships bear the strain of remote offices, personal stress, and economic pressure. In this session, Amy Simpson, an experienced editor and professional coach, will offer seven principles from the coaching world that can inform our approach to editing and the relationships involved.

Becoming a Better and Smarter Editor—Erin K. Brown

Freelance editors must stay up-to-date on industry trends and emerging technologies that support our work. By developing new skills and cultivating existing ones, we not only better serve our clients but also position ourselves and our businesses to gain a competitive edge in today’s market. In this workshop, Erin Brown will cover the many benefits of continuing education through The PEN Institute, including heightened self-confidence and self-marketability, greater job opportunities and career advancement, as well as increased income and networking.

Content Editing for Websites and Promotional Material—Karin Beery

Learn how editing website content is different from editing books and periodicals. There’s more to good website content than accurate information. If you want to edit websites and promotional content, you have to think like a marketer. In this class, Karin Beery will cover the fundamentals of successful website and promotional material content.

Copyediting Basics—Linda Gilden

Just getting started? In this workshop, Linda Gilden will equip you to edit both fiction and nonfiction manuscripts. Discussion topics will include common mistakes to look for, the ten most important editing rules, how to work with clients, and the best way to start your editing business. Take a look at editing tools, the difference in style guides, and how to edit efficiently and accurately. Other topics will include pricing and where to find clients to help build your business.

E-book Editing for Editors—Susan Stewart

E-publishing is no longer a revolution; it is common. Many clients are asking editors about e-books and the e-publishing process. Susan Stewart will cover the details of editing for e-publishing and how to establish an e-editing business.

Editing for Deep Point of View—Rachel Newman

Deep point of view creates an experience in which readers live the story as opposed to being told the story. It’s as if they are participating in the story world themselves, taking on the character’s many senses. The fiction techniques are simple, but they take a bit of practice to master. In this session, Rachel Newman will cover how to identify the portions of a manuscript that can be taken into deep point of view and how to revise the manuscript to achieve that effect. This session includes a short, hands-on exercise.

Editing God’s Word—How Not to Mess It Up—Sue Fairchild

Sue Fairchild will give you an overall look at how to look up Scripture (using BibleGateway.com), and the correct format structure for Scripture (including different Bible versions, which are most “acceptable,” and how to use more than one Bible version per MS). She will also include some discussion about which words should or should not be capitalized.

Editor in Crisis—Rachel Newman

In this session, Rachel Newman shares her experience of healing and restoration after walking through multiple crises, and she magnifies the Lord’s role in preserving her editing business. You will be encouraged to develop a greater sense of Holy Spirit’s presence in the everyday aspects of editing, challenged to operate your business on a new level of faith, and learn what it means to be a child of the King of Kings in the field of editing. If the Spirit has his way, you will leave this session more loved and less afraid than ever before.

How a Writer Edits a Scene—Aaron Gansky & Bethany Kaczmarek

In this workshop, award-winning author Aaron Gansky and his editor, Bethany Kaczmarek, talk about how they work together to edit a scene to highlight character, conflict, and dialog. Learn how to make writing stronger by making it leaner and more efficient. Find which words make a scene weak and ineffective. Learn how to show by eliminating telling language.

Hardcore Punctuation for Editors—Dori Harrell

Punctuation matters! Part of its job is to help convey intent, flow, and structure. And if you’re one of those editors (like me) who can dither for fifteen minutes or more about the placement of a comma (weighing intent, flow, and sentence structure), then this workshop is for you. Dori Harrell will cover ellipses, em dashes, semicolons, and more, but most of all . . . commas, with an emphasis on commas with restrictive and nonrestrictive elements, including multiple examples. She will introduce you to her personal comma philosophy, which she uses when editing for indie authors and for publishers, and you’ll be encouraged to develop your own philosophy. This workshop is meant to be interactive, so come prepared to participate.

Humble Yourself? Client-Editor Conflict Resolution—Susan Stewart

Our mothers taught us “it takes two to tango.” Too often we editors forget we are part of that duo. By looking at God’s Word, Susan Stewart explores how ending client conflict may begin with us, and peace may also begin with us. We can follow the model God gave us in James 4 to begin the resolution process. By humbling ourselves before our God and others, we can learn to resolve conflicts in our business, our homes, and our communities.

Less Is More: Website Makeover—Laura Christianson

Clutter. The enemy of your website. Yet many editor websites are plagued with lengthy blocks of text, postage-stamp-sized images, and a confusing array of widgets. Laura Christianson will show you how to perform a header-to-footer self-audit of your website so you can identify problem areas and bust that clutter. The result? A website that powerfully promotes your editing business.

Show, Don’t Tell—Linda Gilden

“Show, Don’t Tell” is one of the most common pieces of writing advice new writers hear. It is also a technique many writers struggle to master and editors often teach their clients. Publishers shudder when a manuscript that “tells” comes across their desks. But showing instead of telling is much easier to use once you understand some basic principles. Linda Gilden will discuss the whys and hows of showing instead of telling, and you’ll walk away with a valuable addition to your editing toolbox.

Style Sheets—Cristel Phelps

Whether you are a freelance editor or working with a publishing house, the style sheet is your friend. There is so much to keep track of when editing a manuscript. When working with publishing houses, know the guidelines they follow so that all their books are consistently edited. Most use The Chicago Manual of Style as a foundation, but you need to know where a house deviates in certain areas. This, too, is a style sheet. In this session, Cristel Phelps will cover both kinds of style sheets so your expertise can shine through in all your finalized projects.

Substantive Fiction Editing—Karin Beery

Substantive editing can be brutal. Most manuscripts need a lot of work. Substantive fiction editing requires a special blend of honesty, encouragement, and instruction that not only helps clean up authors’ manuscripts but also encourages them to keep writing while providing them the tools they need to write well. In this class, Karin Beery will define substantive editing, look at what it includes (and what it doesn’t include), and give examples of how to provide a quality substantive edit. You will gain the tools you need to provide better substantive edits.

Team Building: How to Win the Trust and Loyalty of Your Clients—Bethany Kaczmarek & Aaron Gansky

Do you want to be a writer’s first choice every time he or she needs an editor? In this session, editor Bethany Kaczmarek and author Aaron Gansky will talk about habits that can shift your clients’ attitude from the “this is the person I hired” to “this is my editor”—the companion they wouldn’t want to be without on their writing journey. What does it take to develop a client’s trust and hold on to it for the next book, and the next, and the next?

Using Track Changes with Clients—Julie Williams

TrackChanges is a powerful Microsoft Word tool that allows you to collaborate with your client throughout the editing process. It allows you to make real-time changes that your client can accept or delete at a later time. Adding comments gives you the ability to single out sections of text to praise, suggest changes, or explain writing rules and techniques. Julie Williams will show you how TrackChanges gives you the perfect blend of instruction and professionalism.

Using Styles to Organize and Polish Manuscripts—Julie Williams

Outline, organize, and unify your document using Microsoft Word Styles. Julie Williams will show you how Styles is a powerful Microsoft Word tool that allows you to keep a consistent appearance throughout your manuscript. It allows you to organize your document for easy reference and utilize the Navigation Pane as an outline of your book—great for checking the flow or moving sections of text. Properly set, Styles lets you create your Table of Contents with a click of a button. Understanding and using styles correctly can make formatting e-books a less daunting task.

What Writers Expect of Their Editor—Bob Hudson

The boundary between a writer’s responsibility and an editor’s often gets fuzzy. In this session, Bob Hudson explores the realistic expectations that a writer can have when handing his or her manuscript off to an editor, whether a freelance editor or a publisher’s. Some common sense guidelines are offered and a discussion will follow.

Workshops are subject to change.