Course Description
Students will learn about the publishing industry--including its structure and economics--and will practice some of the varied tasks performed by editors, from copy-editing and critique to thinking about larger issues such as audiences, markets, formats, and media.
Athena Title
Editing and Publishing
Prerequisite
Two 2000-level ENGL courses or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 3000-level ENGL course) or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 2000-level CMLT course)
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Students will learn about the history, structure, and economics of publishing, including its relationships to technology as well as the challenges and opportunities of publishing in the twenty-first century. 2. Students will gain an understanding of the roles of different participants in the publishing industry, especially the types of work done by various kinds of editors. 3. Students will sharpen their practical skills at copyediting and proofreading as well as learning the basics of other production-related tasks such as layout or markup. 4. Students will develop their abilities to think critically, argue persuasively, write incisively, and respond cogently to the ideas and the writing of others.
Topical Outline
Many students of English are interested in careers in editing, publishing, and writing. This course is meant to introduce them to publishing and to the work of editors, while offering a structural and practical approach to the work of writing and the production of books, textual content, and literature. Assignments and course structure will vary according to the instructor, but a typical version of the course might include the following units: --The history of publishing in America --Presses large and small; commercial and noncommercial; corporate, independent, and academic --What is an editor? Tasks that editors perform --Copyediting and proofreading: problems, practices, conventions --Editing old texts and new ones --Authorship and copyright --Words and images --Formats, genres, platforms --Markets and audiences: more books, fewer readers? --Technology, e-books, e-publishing, self-publishing, subscription models --Books and publishing in the twenty-first century --Where do we go from here? Career pathways in editing and publishing