English 515: Editing & Publishing

Heavilon 227, TR 10:30 to 11:45

This section of ENGL 515, Advanced Professional Writing, will focus on professional editing and publishing. We'll consider the practice and theory which guides professional editors as they help writers move their work from draft to publication. Students will learn common best practices for editing, including strategies for managing the editing process, and common approaches to writing style.

Methods: classroom discussions; in-class editing demonstrations and reviews; collaborative group projects; editing peer workshops.

The core assignment will be an experiential editing project. Graduate students will have the option to substitute the practitioner-oriented final project with an academic project which calls on relevant scholarship.

News

• 12/04: Remember the photo contest flyer we looked at? Now there's another version which includes a photograph.
• 10/11: I added lots of help for editing plans — see below.
• 9/13: I've added some help for making style sheets: the style sheet for my book, so you have a Real World Example™, and a style sheet formation handout which shows a process for making a combination query page and style sheet for a short document.
• 9/13: Two short clips we need for today: how+yes, and how-not+no.
• 9/11: I moved the vulture portfolio library index to Google Docs so you all can contribute. I've also added two pieces. Please let me know if you have questions.
• 09/01: I've posted the vulture portfolio assignment.
• 8/30: We started work on this Exponent letter today and will finish it Thursday. Please read and edit.
• 8/23: Please complete this student survey ASAP.
• 8/23: Here's a editing exercise for today (Rybarski, "Grammar."). See your email for links to some readings.

Core texts

See the syllabus for specific requirements.

1. The Chicago Manual of Style
2. Carole Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor (2/e)
3. Joe Williams and Joe Bizup (or Greg Colomb), Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (any edition of full version acceptable)
4. Selections from Amy Einsohn, The Copyeditor’s Handbook
5. Selections from Carolyn Rude & Angela Eaton, Technical Editing
6. Selected essays and webtexts

Handouts & materials: general

• Original course syllabus
• Detailed class schedule
• Assignments
  • Vulture portfolio
  • Reading responses
  • Participation
  • Semester project
• Example reading responses Google Doc

Editing plan handouts

Here are some sample editing plans and materials designed to help you build an effective proposal.

Editing plans

Describes the contents of editing plans

Sample editing plan

A short editing plan written for the example discussed in Rude ch. 14

Good editing plan

An editing plan, written by a student, which covers most of the bases laid out on the handout and by Carol, and uses a good proposal form

Bad editing plan

An editing plan, also written by a student, which lacks detail in its first part, a lot of padding, and an over-detailed schedule

Please contact me if you have questions.
Bradley Dilger ~ dilger@purdue.edu ~ 309.259.0328