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Copy Editing: One-Day Intensive

A full-day training session that will sharpen your copy editing skills

Course is closed.
Copy Editing: One-Day Intensive

WHEN Wednesday, December 3, 10 am-4 pm

WHERE New York (Midtown East)

Lunch will be provided at this event.

PRICE
$349 ($324 for )
more info

Course Details

Even working copy editors and writers don't always know or remember the "whys" behind their edits. This one-day class will take the guesswork out of copy editing. We'll review grammar and punctuation rules and show how they apply to the kind of copy you deal with every day.

We'll also discuss the best reference books and other resources, commonly misspelled words, creating and updating an in-house style guide, and the difference between copy editing and line editing.

This class is for editors, copy editors, and writers who want to brush up on their copy editing skills. We will use short-form and long-form exercises from magazines, books, press materials, and the web to illustrate rules and discuss considerations for each medium.

In this class we will discuss:

  • Top grammatical pitfalls: coordinate adjectives, misplaced modifiers, collective nouns, compound modifiers, possessives, and other tricky situations
  • How to use reference books and resources effectively
  • The difference between line editing and copy editing
  • Matters of style: the relative merits of the most-popular stylebooks; creating and updating your own in-house guide
  • Special considerations when copy editing press materials, magazine articles, books, and online copy

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Instructor Bio

Cheryl Della Pietra's Courses

Advanced Copy Editing – (Class starts January 8)
Copy Editing Essentials – New York (Seminar on January 12)
Intermediate Copy Editing – (Class starts January 20)

Cheryl Della Pietra
Cheryl Della Pietra is a freelance copy editor for Elle, Us Weekly, LIFE, and Fast Company, where she not-so-quietly obsesses over comma splices and misplaced modifiers. She has previously copyedited at SmartMoney.com and also supervised the copy department at P.O.V. magazine, where she was the research editor. Yearning to have her work copyedited for a change, she has written for Redbook and Marie Claire. Many moons ago, she was Hunter S. Thompson's editorial assistant, a job that honed her margarita-making skills.

Testimonials


Cheryl's class was chock full of valuable advice and information. Thanks for helping to lead me in a brand new direction. -- Bonni McCoy

"Cheryl made class fly by with tons of participation, fun anecdotes about her days as a professional copy editor, and a spelling bee. I learned so much, and I hope to take more of Cheryl's classes in the future." -- Claire Hoffman

"Cheryl was amazing. Her teaching skills are excellent and she clearly knows her stuff. Very impressive." -- Carol Wallace

"Cheryl is a phenomenal instructor. She shows that it is possible to be a wordsmith with a sense of humor!" -- Shannon Martin, editor & writer, New York Road Runners

"Cheryl's experience is a huge asset, providing us all with valuable practical advice. I would gladly take another course with her." -- Kelle Walsh

"Cheryl was great! She was very knowledgeable and helpful and always explained things in a way that was easy to understand." -- Kate Chandler

"Cheryl is patient and caring. Her great sense of humor lent to a lot of bantering back and forth. I will definitely take courses with her in the future." -- Michael Maynard

"This class was the shot in the arm that I needed as I tackle new freelance assignments. Cheryl brought real-world experience and answered our various questions with ease and a sharp sense of professionalism." -- Jay Franco

"Cheryl is wonderful! She was extremely thorough in going over our assignments, and very generous in sharing her insights into the publishing industry." -- Susan Case

"Cheryl is a wonderful instructor and made the class interesting, informative, and fun." -- Mary Moore

"Cheryl is a direct, witty, and brilliant instructor! Her seminars are overflowing with invaluable content for entry and seasoned editors." -- Phylencia Taylor

"As an instructor, Cheryl was warm, engaging, and funny. I would definitely take another class with her." -- Diana Tetterton

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