Rewriting and Substantive Editing (Non-Fiction)

How the course is delivered

The course consists of four sessions, each a mixture of delivery and interaction using Zoom breakout rooms and other online tools. There will be 15-minute breaks between sessions with the opportunity to do exercises and take a break. The course will run on the same day across two weeks, split into two half-day sessions in the morning from 9am to 12.30pm.

You will need to activate a free Zoom account to join the course. This takes two minutes and does not require any payment. It is purely for administrative purposes.

Any information to be completed beforehand will be sent via email.

Accessibility

Please contact us at with any accessibility or special requirements, for example having in-session captions or the learning materials sent to you in advance.

If you have any concerns about technical requirements or access please contact us on or telephone (+44) 020 8874 2718.

In-house training

This course is also available for in-company training, either virtually or in person at your office. Course content is tailored to suit your requirements. Group sizes range from five to twelve attendees. To find out more, email or telephone +44 (0)20 8874 2718.

Delegate feedback

“The content struck a good balance between being accessible and challenging while Andrew's delivery was engaging and empathetic. I gained a lot of insight into how editing in the publishing industry differs from that in the media industry (and where there is overlap). The advice was very practical and I have come away with a clear list of things to look out for, considerations to make and techniques to employ when editing and rewriting copy.” Freelance journalist

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course and teaching style. It gave me a wealth of guidance to consider when addressing large-scale issues in a piece of writing, such as relevancy, structure, and style. Each exercise concentrated on a different element of substantive editing, and the facilitator was motivating and engaging. I'd recommend this course to any editor who works with macro revisions and wants a refresh or confidence boost, and to any copy-editor who wants to learn more about big-picture editing.” Jasmine, Information and Publications Editor, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England

“I’ve gained an understanding of how to approach difficult text evaluations/rewrites, and confidence in my ability to do so.” Osprey Publishing delegate

“I really enjoyed the course. There was a good balance of breakout rooms and individual tasks, and Andrew was good at drawing everyone into discussion on Zoom. There were also a variety of good example texts to work with. It has made me think about texts from different angles, and reignited my interest in editing long-form text.” Imagine Learning Studios delegate

“There was a good balance of delivery and activities. I have a greater understanding of rewriting and substantive editing, brilliant resources to refer to, and useful tips to apply when developing copy.” Assistant Editor, Royal Society of Chemistry

“I really enjoyed the course and am keen to do another with a focus on fiction. I have a greater understanding of how to approach non-fiction texts and the key things to look out for when assessing different types of non-fiction texts.” Audible UK delegate

“The course was excellent. I’ve learned how to edit texts and remove unnecessary words to make it more interesting for the reader.” Curriculum Coordinator, Tanzania Institute of Education

“Andrew was excellent and his teaching style engaging. An immediate take-out is learning to be cut-throat sometimes.” Assistant Editor, Jessica Kingsley Publishers

“An excellent course. It covered a lot and I have a better understanding of what is involved in developmental editing. I wouldn't change anything.” Freelance Copyeditor, Maggie Reid Editing

About the tutor

After an early career in teaching, educational research and educational publishing, Andrew Steeds went freelance, setting up Simply Put, a company focused on making unnecessarily complicated documents clearer and more accessible, in terms of both how they are written and how they are designed. For Simply Put, he works on his own, with designers and with others to support clients to communicate more clearly and more efficiently with their readers.

Andrew has been running courses for the Publishing Training Centre (PTC) for 25 years. His main focus is on editorial activity, but he has an equal interest in the process of writing and the presentation skills of grammar and punctuation, and he runs courses in these areas, too. The PTC’s Essential Grammar, an e-learning resource which he wrote in 2017, has so far had just under 2,000 student enrolments on the course.

He divides his training time equally between in-company work and open courses.

Related courses

The PTC offers virtual classroom courses, self-study distance-learning courses, and a range of e-learning modules. See below for those that complement or build on this course.  

Virtual classroom courses

• Advanced Copy-Editing
• Copyright - the basics
• Editorial Project Management
• Grammar and punctuation - the basics
• How to mark up PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
• Line-editing workshop
• Progress in Editorial Skills
• Working with Authors

Distance-learning courses

• Essential Grammar
• Successful Editorial Freelancing

e-Learning modules

• A commissioning editor’s guide to working with authors
• An editor's guide to editing illustrations
• An editor's guide to editing references
• An editor's guide to editorial style
• An editor's guide to author queries
• A copy-editor’s guide to working with authors
• A copy-editor’s guide to working with typesetters
• Essential copyright for publishers
• Proofreading PDFs: A complete guide for editors