Handling Large Editorial Projects
Specialist training for editors and proofreaders
Stay calm editing or managing large or complex editorial projects. Avoid overwhelm and handle their unique challenges with methodical assurance.
‘A roadmap that shows you all of the shortcuts’
‘Handling Large Editorial Projects is the course I wish I had when I started as a freelancer. Sure, I had my editing skills in place… but my project management skills were another story. I routinely scheduled myself into corners and had to pull marathon editing sessions to finish manuscripts. My project rates were typically a combination of guesswork and mysticism. I had to learn from a lot of mistakes before I figured my business out. Handling Large Editorial Projects is a roadmap that shows you all of the shortcuts to make your transition to freelancing an easy path.’
Birds' eye view
For experienced editors (freelance and in-house)
For copyeditors, proofreaders, developmental editors and editorial project managers
Five modules
Twelve additional downloadable resources
Immediate, full access with no time limit
Self-paced
Discounts on other editorial providers’ resources
Completion of this course contributes 8 hours towards the formal CPD requirement of a CIEP membership upgrade
What is the course about?
This course teaches you techniques and ways of thinking that are particularly relevant to handling large editorial projects (whatever ‘large’ means to you). It is based around the Large Project Mindset, which I’ve developed over 15+ years of copyediting, proofreading and managing projects of up to 4.4 million words.
By the end of the course, you will:
- Understand the major advantages and challenges of working on large editorial projects as an editor, proofreader or manager, so you feel fully prepared for what you’re about to take on
- Know why planning is particularly important for large editorial projects and how to do it, so you can avoid scheduling stress
- Know how to charge appropriately for large and complex projects
- Understand different ways of organizing and tracking your project’s content and information, so you can keep every aspect under tight control
- Be able to anticipate communication challenges, so you can easily keep everyone on the project in sync (regardless of whether you’re an editor, proofreader or manager)
- Know about 20+ useful tools (both editorial and non-editorial) that you can use for accuracy and efficiency when faced with large word counts or quantities of information
- Be familiar with an arsenal of mindset tools that can help you to avoid burnout, and feel confident tackling large editorial projects with joy and enthusiasm
Through multiple examples and scenarios, you will learn approaches you can adapt to the large editorial projects you work on (or want to work on).
‘Packed with thoughtful and helpful principles and tools’
‘This course is useful and practical for editors starting out on working on large projects. It’s packed with thoughtful and helpful principles and tools, guidance on everything from estimating the time and cost to making communications work well, via managing your materials to make sure you keep things running along smoothly and under control. Safeguarding the project and your well-being are also featured. As I well know, large projects come with novel problems and opportunities, and this course will prepare you to handle both.’
Sue Littleford
Copyeditor in humanities & social sciences
‘This course fills a much-needed gap in the training market’
‘This course fills a much-needed gap in the training market: it’s easy to find beginner-level courses, but harder to get a course that’s really informative for mid-career editors. I’m impressed that the advice could be adapted for different levels of authority in a project. I’m often “just” a subcontracted copyeditor or proofreader, but I found plenty of tips and ideas that I could use. I can also see how I could grow into the concepts if I’m ever working further up the hierarchy (e.g. project management).’
Clare Robinson
Copyeditor and proofreader
How does the course work?
- Work through the course in your own time, at a pace that suits you
- Get access to the whole course immediately
- Download and keep a full set of course notes and resources
- Complete a quiz or extended exercise at the end of each lesson to test your understanding and explore the content of the lesson in relation to your own work
- Reflect on your learning at the end of each module
- Receive a certificate of completion
What does the course cover?
Module 1: Understanding large editorial projects
- Lesson 1.1: What makes an editorial project large (or complex)?
- Lesson 1.2: The advantages and challenges of large editorial projects
- Lesson 1.3: The four principles of the Large Project Mindset
Module 2: Planning the work
- Lesson 2.1: Time – how many hours or days will the project take?
- Lesson 2.2: Cost – how much do you need to charge or budget?
- Lesson 2.3: Schedule – when will the work be done?
Module 3: File and information management
- Lesson 3.1: Tracking the content
- Lesson 3.2: Organizing your project folder
- Lesson 3.3: Version control
- Lesson 3.4: Project log
Module 4: Communication and tools
- Lesson 4.1: Communication
- Lesson 4.2: Safeguards – protecting your project from mistakes
- Lesson 4.3: Efficiency and accuracy tools
Module 5: Motivation and mindset
- Lesson 5.1: Productivity and motivation tips for large editorial projects
- Lesson 5.2: Recap of the Large Project Mindset
What resources come with the course?
You’ll get to download and keep 12 substantial resources:
- Full set of course notes for all five modules
- Large editorial project set-up checklist
- Editorial Project Information Checklist (EPIC)
- Summary of 20+ efficiency tools suitable for large editorial projects, plus two quick-start guides for specific tools
- Project log template
- Tracking repository/spreadsheet template
- Asset log template
- Guide to quoting approaches for large editorial projects
- Two bonus resources on time management and record-keeping
You’ll also be able to access discounts on other editorial courses and tools.
'These expertly crafted lessons will save you a lot of time and guesswork’
‘This course is well-structured and easy to navigate, all while being packed with a wealth of knowledge and expertise. What makes this course stand out is that Hazel provides an inside look at the workflow of a professional editor experienced in handling complex projects. The modules walk you through the key aspects of managing large editorial projects, from developing an effective mindset and planning your approach to applying best practices and using time-saving tools and resources. Plus, you’ll gain access to valuable resources like handy templates and checklists. These expertly crafted lessons will save you a lot of time and guesswork – and, most likely, quite a few headaches!’
Lily Omidi
Editor and proofreader
Who is the course for?
This course is for experienced editors. It is for you if:
- You are a developmental editor, a line editor, a copyeditor or a proofreader and
- You already work on large editorial projects and want to improve your processes or
- You already have a solid understanding of basic editorial workflows and are interested in learning new techniques and expanding your editing horizons
Editorial project managers (both aspiring and practising) may also appreciate the focus on:
- Organizing, controlling and optimizing how editorial projects are planned and carried out
- How best to communicate with clients and other stakeholders
If you are commissioning a large project, this course will help you:
- Understand what’s involved in handling a large editorial project
- Brief your editor or editorial project manager effectively
- Budget realistically and cost-effectively
- Keep track of the different stages and processes, and understand what can and can’t be done
The ideas and techniques are equally applicable to freelancers and in-house staff.
The course is designed primarily for non-fiction editors. All the examples are of non-fiction projects, and some of the examples mention referencing systems (although you won’t do any reference editing as part of the course). However, if you work on especially large or complex fiction projects, you will probably find some of the principles helpful.
Where relevant, the course considers the differences between Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Where specific software steps are provided, it gives equivalents for PC and Mac users.
What is a ‘large’ editorial project?
No two editors will have the same definition of a ‘large’ editorial project. Most people will consider a project of a million words or more to be ‘large’. However, sometimes a project of 50,000 words can be so complex that it requires many of the same techniques as a large project.
This course considers a large editorial project to be one where organizing the work and information is a significant aspect of the project in its own right.
Another way of expressing this is that a large editorial project is one that you consider to be a large undertaking, regardless of its actual size.
Therefore, while the techniques in this course are primarily geared towards projects with large word counts, you will also be able to apply them to smaller but complex projects.
How long will it take to complete the course?
The estimated time for completion is 10–15 hours, but really it’s up to you. In my courses I aim to provide you with tools and ideas that can genuinely make a difference to your editing practice long into the future. So, you may wish to pause between lessons or modules to explore techniques and try out ideas in your own work before moving on.
There’s no pressure to work quickly, as there is no time limit on completing the course. You’ll get access to the whole course immediately and can work through it at a pace that suits you.
Does this course award CIEP upgrade points?
Yes! Completion of this course contributes 8 hours towards the formal continuing professional development (CPD) requirement of a CIEP membership upgrade. Please make sure you keep evidence of your course completion to support your upgrade application. For more information about the other upgrade criteria, please visit the CIEP Membership Upgrade Hub (via the CIEP website).
‘I’ve come away with … a massive list of ideas and practical tools to explore’
‘I love the Large Project Mindset (especially the proportionate part). [The] EPIC [tool] is, well, epic! I’m already using it for an upcoming small but complex project. The list of efficiency and accuracy tools is extremely comprehensive, including some I downloaded and played with straight away because I could see their use for more than just editing projects. I consider myself to be both an experienced and a well-organized editor, and I’ve handled a few tricky projects in my time, but I still found this course to be hugely valuable. I’ve come away with some ideas that I’ve already implemented and a massive list of ideas and practical tools to explore.’
Sue Browning
Copyeditor and proofreader
Who teaches the course?
My name is Hazel Bird and I’ve been copyediting and project managing large, complex editorial projects since 2007, originally in-house with Elsevier and freelance since 2009. I’ve completed over 130 projects with more than 100,000 words, and my largest project to date had 4.4 million words and 2,148 contributors. Many of these projects had complex workflows with stringent requirements to be met.
I’m proud to have built a reputation among clients such as Wiley Blackwell and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art for handling these projects with calm precision. The approach I want to share with you centres on tight control of the known aspects of a project so you can face the unknowns and the unexpected with confidence and flexibility.
I’ve been an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (previously the Society for Editing and Proofreading) since 2011. In 2021 I became a certified PRINCE2® Practitioner to cement my project management skills.
You can find out more about me here.
My promise to you
In my courses, I’m aiming to provide you with three things: uniqueness, longevity and quality.
Uniqueness
My courses build on my personal insights over 15 years as a freelancer who sees the editorial industry from both sides: as both a client and a supplier of services.
Longevity
I don’t want these to be courses you do to tick a professional development box and then forget all about. I want to give you ideas, techniques and resources that will support your editing into the future.
Quality
All of my courses go through rigorous peer review with top-level editorial professionals. Then they undergo user testing. This process lasts as long as necessary to ensure the content provides you with real benefits.
‘Valuable information and templates, as well as links to useful tools and perspectives’
‘How difficult can it be to work on large editorial projects? The answer depends on the level of thought and preparation undertaken to anticipate potential twists, turns and unexpected pitfalls.
‘The Handling Large Editorial Projects course applies four Large Project Mindset principles to every aspect of an editorial project – planning and costing, information management, communication and mindset. Hazel has obviously faced, considered and overcome the challenges of large projects and her experience is apparent in every sentence.
‘The course provides valuable information and templates, as well as links to useful tools and perspectives. It takes what could be seen as complex problems and breaks them down into component parts and encourages students to apply this approach to their own work.
‘With the knowledge, tips and tools provided by this course, students will have a greater understanding of how to handle large editorial projects and be better prepared to work on them.’
Tim Hammerton
Experienced project manager and editor
Handling large editorial projects
Specialist training for editors and proofreaders
One-time payment
No access limits
£215 (inc. tax)
You can get 20% off your first purchase of a course by signing up to the email version of The Edit Better Letter. After signing up, check your email to find your discount code. Then input the code during the checkout process. (Please note that you must be signed up to the email version – not the LinkedIn version – to get the discount.)
Members of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) and the San Diego Professional Editors Network (SD/PEN) get 15% off any course. Visit the benefits page of your organisation to find the discount code. Then input the code during the checkout process.
Discount codes cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, discount or promotion.