Workshop: The Editor’s Role – From Draft to Distribution

Description

This training will explore the editor’s role in shaping clear, compelling and publication-ready work for digital audiences. We will look at editing as a process of deciding how to make a story readable, engaging, and, ultimately, how to make it travel. This includes decisions about structure, language, voice, accuracy, audience, and presentation.

The training will conclude with participants developing their individual editorial checklist that reflects the full scope of an online editor’s work.

Outline:

Session 1: Thinking Like an Editor

• What Are We Doing When We Edit?
• Key Questions Before You Edit
• Working with Writers

Session 2: The Editorial Process

• Editing a Story from First Read to Final Copy
• Accuracy and Fact-Checking
• Headlines and the Presentation of a Story
• The Final Edit

Session 3: The Role of the Editor Beyond Editing

• Managing a Story from Commission to Publication
• Thinking Beyond Publication: How Will the Story Travel?

Expected Outcomes

By the end of the training, participants should be better able to:

• Distinguish between different levels of editing and know when each is needed
• Exercise editorial judgement and make deliberate editing decisions
• Assess a piece structurally before beginning sentence-level edits
• Edit for clarity, accuracy, consistency and flow
• Strengthen writing without erasing the writer’s voice
• Identify claims and details that require verification
• Give useful editorial feedback and queries
• Apply consistent editorial standards and house style
• Edit and package stories effectively for digital publication
• Manage the lifecycle of a story from draft to publication
• Think strategically about how stories are distributed, resurfaced and connected to a publication’s wider body of work
• Develop a repeatable editorial process from first read to post-publication

To facilitate the growth of those who take this training, participants will be added to our Editorial Network and offered internship opportunities at Saraba Magazine or Lolwe.