I have done multiple professional book editing courses, from basic to advanced, mainly in developmental editing. These are offered mainly by international indie book editors and institutes or organisations, including the largest and oldest national professional organisation of independent editorial service providers in the US, called the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA). 1. Introduction to Developmental Editing: Book Length Fiction and Creative Non-fiction by the Author Editor Clinic (currenty unavailable) This is one of the most comprehensive courses in developmental editing and the editor, ever so kind but always objective, makes you think about what’s really on the page and figure out how you can help the author best. By the way, Barbara Sjoholom’s book, An Editor’s Guide to Working with Authors is a great entry point for anyone learning book editing. Author of several books, Barbara runs Seal Press for over 25 years. 2. Advanced Editorial Workshop in Substantive Editing by UC Berkeley Extension (currently unavailable) I pursued my interest in big picture work right after Barbara’s course. We worked on a manuscript that was pretty raw but had immense potential. It was about a woman who led the shaping of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park into the institution it is today. By the way, this manuscript is the reason I wish to visit San Francisco. 3. Advanced Fiction Editing by Editorial Freelancers Association (price: USD 400) Although I had learnt developmental editing and writing editorial letters fairly well, I just wanted to experience the thrill again! 🙂 By the way, Jennifer Lawler, the course instructor and book editor for more than 20 years is one of the best teachers out there. 4. Editing Memoir by Editorial Freelancers Association (price: 200 USD) This was the first genre specific course I did and I pursued my interests in memoir with another course in 2022. The course teacher and editor, Christina Frey shows you how to identify the unique challenges involved in editing not just a story, but someone’s life. 5. Explorations: Editing Memoir by Club Ed Freelancers (currently unavailable) Memoir editing is not easy or glamorous, just like writing a story about your life, not merely about your life is the hardest job ever! This is a course by Club Director, Jennifer Lawler and one of the best courses I have done. Click here to learn how I helped several authors develop their ideas into credible memoirs. 6. Copyediting Fiction 101 by The Penn Institute (price: 160 USD) This course is useful to editors as well as authors who are new to self editing. While there is no substitute for a professional book editor, new authors can gain from knowing common errors and how to avoid them. By the way, the Penn Institute is one of the largest independent organizations for Christian authors. 7. Line editing (intermediate) by EFA (price: USD 300) This is the third course I did from EFA and highly recommended, even if you are a writer. What I appreciate the most was how the instructor and editor, Christina Frey showed us how to listen to the words on the page and gain the author’s trust. WRITING COURSES 1. Weekend Writing Workshop by Aditi Rao (varaints of the course on her website) This has to be the best writing workshops for Delhi-NCR based writers, especially if you want to improve your skills using constructive feedback in a group setting. 2. Writing the Personal Essay Fundamentals 101 by Writer's Digest University (price: 329 USD) This is my absolute favourite genre, after memoirs and one I hope to write in, if I face my writerly fears. Yikes! 3. Writing Fearlessly by William Kenower (245 USD on his website) I recommend this course to all writers at any stage. William will gain your trust and make you feel validated, irrespective of your identity and accomplishments. I will say this at my own risk: leave everything and read his blogs. 😀 4. Writing a Personal Essay by Amy Bloom on Coursera (free) My least favorite course, probably because it was free and did not offer personalised feedback but neverthless, it is Amy Bloom, so you will learn enough. Besides, I am yet to fill the blank canvas, so who am I to say? No? 5. The Foundations of Writing Fiction by Jessica Brody on Udemy (price: INR 499 after discount) While I don't find value in courses that are either free or heavily discounted, I will tell you that this course was the most fun! I had Jessica at Save the Cat Writes a Novel (what a title!), a nonfiction how to book that is just kickass! You can't be serious about writing fiction and not have read this. Sorry I don't indulge in absolutes but I do! Haha. Jokes apart, this is the course fo absolute beginners because the duo Brody and Joanne Rendell make writing fun, when it is THE hardest job on the planet! Isn't it? 6. Pain point SEO by Grow and Convert Agency (699 USD) I never thought I will say this but I have enjoyed learning about the pain points of a SaaS company as much as learning how to assess a manuscript to help the author develop their idea to its fullest. This is the second best professional course I have done after the big picture editing courses! The aim is to help service businesses, B2B Saas and B2C companies bring quality traffic and generate leads and/or conversions, ideally better and/or fatser than the current status quo. This is great for long form writers especially if you know how to interview people! *The commercial value of these courses is calculated as per the costs in 2024 from their websites. I have added approximately 70k INR and 25k INR for the course by Berkeley and Sjoholm but they are no longer available. If you want to learn book editing, you can get in touch or consider the online session to explore the profession. Alternatively, I can teach you 1-0-1 case by case basis. Email me to learn more! EDUCATION - B A English (Hons), Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi Diploma -Journalism, Express Institute of Media Studies, ITO, New Delhi