9 Writing Courses You Never New Existed on Amazon

Things are changing rapidly in the world we live in today, and how we learn is one of them.  For most students this means learning from home.  So it's no surprise that courses, such as writing have become so popular.

How effective is online learning?

There is strong evidence to suggest that learning online can be really effective in a number of ways.  Research has shown that students retain 25-60% more when learning online compared to about 8-10% learning in a classroom environment.  Partly due to the fact that students learn faster online.  E-learning warrants only 40-60% less time to learn than a classroom setting.  This is because students learn at their own pace, skipping, re-reading, or speeding through information as they choose.

There are lot's of well known companies such as Udemy, CreativeLive and Coursera who offer plenty of online courses for writers.  But have you ever thought about looking at what Amazon has to offer?

Let's face it you can purchase just about anything these days from Amazon, and courses are no exception.

How Editors Charge for Their Work

The cost of line editing, copyediting and proofreading can differ from editor to editor.  This can depend on:

• the person editing
• reports and surveys you read
• the required time frame for your book to be finished
• how complicated your book is

We're going to look at each of these points, then look at how we can reduce the financial cost of editing and proofreading.

Let's start by looking at why you should invest your money and time in a proofreader and copyeditor.

Should writer's hire professional editor's?

This choice lies in your hands.  When you self-publish you can make the decision to stay in charge of your own work or invest in someone who will take your work from a rough draft into a masterpiece.

Editing and Proofreading Checklist for Writers

To be a successful writer you need to be able to proofread and edit your own work.

So what do you look for? This list presents 100 editing and proofreading tips to whip your work into shape.

The expression editing encompasses a wide range of approaches, from refashioning whole documents to reworking sentences.  The final stage of the editing process is proofreading, all you need to do is watch for any final errors or inconsistencies.

The editing and proofreading tips are split into four relevant sections, which are:

Why Writers Should Use Style Sheets When They Edit

If you're new to writing, or maybe you've never heard of style sheets, then you'll definitely want to know how beneficial they are when you write or edit.

What is a Style Sheet

Writing style standards and practices used by publishers of newspapers, books or magazines use a style sheet, in order to keep language and layout consistent.

This may include notes on fonts used, how particular words are capitalised or hyphenated, whether the text is fully justified or left, how much your quotations are indented, or what to put in italics, etc.  

All of these recommendations, used in-house and not, comprise the publisher's style guide or style sheet.

Many writers choose to create their own style sheet for their manuscripts, not solely relying on the publisher's style guide.

Everything You Need to Know About Working With an Editor

If you feel the end is in sight, or maybe you think you need a developmental editor to help finish your book off properly, then you need to start asking yourself some important questions about how you want your book to be edited.  

If it's your first time publishing, finding the right editor can be a bit tricky.  So here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Knowing Your Audience is Key

Knowing which audience your book is aimed at will help your editor with language usage, structure and content.  

A prime example would be someone that has a passion for carpentry, or has a love of making things out of wood with their hands.  Your readers will be wood enthusiasts and carpenters, and you hope that your book will help you connect with other people, just like you, who have a passion for woodworking.