Wednesday 17th February 2021 – Proofreading & Editing Course

Hello everybody. I hope you're well and keeping yourselves busy as much as possible. Make sure you all rest lots and look after yourselves too!

Today, I am going to be telling you about an online course I did in proofreading and editing. 

I graduated with my master's degree from Kingston University in September 2020 and knew I had to start looking for jobs. I started looking for jobs in publishing in the UK, though I wasn't really sure what I was searching for. I knew I wanted to do editorial, but I didn't realise I'd have to start as an editorial assistant. You must always have experience in the job world. 

Anyway, one of my mum's friends kept mentioning this college that was offering lessons in editorial, and since I was struggling to find a job, and hopeful that this would maybe improve the skills that I had learned at university, I signed up to do a course. 

There are many online courses that the College of Media and Publishing offer. There's a course in proofreading and editing, which is what I did. There are courses in marketing and PR, law courses, shorthand courses, and many more. 

I don't know what the other courses have to offer, but I'm sure they're along the same lines. They have a set amount of lessons that you can work through in your own time, and there are assignments that you must complete and then send in for feedback from your personal tutor. It's all very stress-free and there's no pressure or any expectations. 

I absolutely adored my personal tutor; she was so lovely! She gave me a lot of detailed feedback and really helped me to learn from the mistakes that I made. 

Throughout my course, I learned about spelling and grammar, proofreading online and on paper, academic editing, the laws that come with copyediting... The lesson all about the laws and copyright rules really scared me. There's a lot that can go wrong if you're not careful!

The College of Media and Publishing also gives you job advice. They're happy to look through your CV and cover letter, give some feedback, and then point you towards some places where you can look for work. I'm currently making my way through their Career Coaching Scheme, which will hopefully help me with my job-hunting. 

All in all, if you're looking to develop new skills, or improve old ones, the College of Media and Publishing is definitely worth looking into! Everyone's very friendly and they all want to help you achieve whatever it is you want to do.