Description

Expand your services by editing books for the best readers in the world: children! This class is designed for editors who are interested in working on children’s books but aren’t sure how to get started.

Week 1: Introduction to Children’s Books

• Becoming a children’s book editor
• The editor’s job
• What makes children’s books different from adult books?
• A quick look at age ranges and genres
• An introduction to kidlit publishers

Week 2: Developmental Editing

• Character
• Plot
• Theme
• Respecting the reader
• Trends and marketablity

Week 3: Line Editing

• Voice
• Dialogue
• POV
• Readability and leveling

Week 4: Understanding Genres

• Board books
• Picture books
• Chapter books
• Middle grade
• YA
• Poetry
• Nonfiction

Week 5: Working with Authors and Publishers

• Author mindset
• Self publishing
• Submitting to agents and publishers
• Marketing your services

The class will include personalized feedback on assignments, a lively Q&A message board, and a chance to connect with other editors who love to talk shop and trade ideas. Expect to spend lots of time reading children’s books and thinking about what makes a book special. If you’re not already, you’ll also get the chance to become passionate about children’s literature.

It’s not possible to teach everything editors need to know about children’s books in five weeks, but this class will provide lots of opportunities to work with manuscripts for young readers, clarify the difference between editing children’s books and adult books, and help you decide if it might be a good fit for you.

(Please note while we will touch on all age ranges, lessons will focus on board books, picture books, and chapter books, partly because shorter page counts will ease analysis and discussion, but also because many of the same techniques that are used to edit adult books can be applied to middle grade and YA, while the younger titles require a distinctly different approach.)

Writer and editor Heidi Fiedler has worked on more than 300 books for clients ranging from Target to Barnes & Noble. She does the deep thinking that’s needed to turn an idea into a book that has the power to spark our curiosity and make us all feel a little less alone. The books she creates are quirky, playful, highly visual, and often philosophical. After working in publishing for over ten years, she’s excited to see her own picture books and chapter books making their way into the world. Learn more about Heidi and the work she does at helloheidifiedler.com.