 Subbing
One day in-company training course  "I feel I've definitely made advances in all the areas that I wanted to since I completed the course. Putting more emphasis on leads and coming up with good titles was a particularly important area when it came to our magazine, and I have already seen a great improvement in the last couple of mags. I've also found that cutting copy in the right areas has speeded up the whole subbing process, which can only be a good thing!"
Good subs are the lynchpin of many publications. In this session delegates get the chance to think about the roles, responsibilities and aims of the sub, as well as gaining practical experience of cutting, rewriting and fine-tuning copy.
Outline Why we sub - Discussion of the aims of sub-editing
- Problems regularly faced
- Subbing process
Knowing your readers - The importance of reader profiles
- What we need to know
- How to find out more about your readers
Doing it: Exercise in finding out about readers
Style guides and their significance - How to put together a useful style guide
Doing it: Improving delegates’ style guides
Where to start - Reading for structure
- Opening and closing paragraphs
- Flow and transitions
Doing it: Reworking delegates’ copy, identifying where and how to improve it
Going further - Rewriting. When and how much?
- Using quotes
- Difficult cuts
- Boxes and sidebars
Doing it: Exercises in rewriting copy
Looking for an e-learning course? Subbing – print and onlineOne day in-company training course Outline Subbing text for print and the web - Handling the pressure
- Making sure text conforms to style, standards of accuracy, readability and clarity
- Cutting, writing off
Making copy tighter, and giving it more impact - The importance of house style/improving style sheets
- Writing styles (grammar and punctuation)
- Keeping the right lead/intro
Giving headlines more impact - Matching the tone and style to the story
- Selling the story
What happens online? - Using key words and phrases
Page devices - Bringing pace and variety to standfirsts
- Sharpening other page devices (captions, pull quotes, crossheads)
- Making them fit
Doing it: Delegates will sub the text of a variety of articles for print and online
Doing it: Delegates will practise writing headlines and standfirsts for print and the web Advanced subbing
One day in-company training course This highly practical session for experienced subs, will raise the standard of sub-editing and creative rewriting.
Outline Brand quality - The importance of the magazine brand
- The role of the sub-editor as guardian of the brand
Style guides and their significance .
Doing it: Workshop session identifying strengths and weaknesses of sample magazines and ways to improve delegates’ own style guides.
Copy clinic - What makes strong news and features copy?
- Focus on leads, structures, balance and pace
Doing it: Examination of copy brought by delegates and problems regularly faced. Deconstructing a piece of poor copy and identifying where and how to improve it.
Doing it: Rewriting a piece of difficult copy
Leading in and rounding off - What makes a good lead/intro?
- Adding variety to news and feature pages with different styles of leads
- Delayed or slow burning leads; straight facts; quote-led
Finishing off with impact
Doing it: Rewriting opening and closing paragraphs in different styles
Boxouts and sidebars
Doing it: Expanding copy into a sidebar or boxout from bullet point information
Page furniture - Writing stronger standfirsts
- How to grab the reader’s attention and vary the style
Doing it: Exercise in improving standfirsts and writing different styles
Headlines with impact - How to pack more punch and vary the pace
- Headlines in different media
Doing it: Exercise in writing stronger headlines
Crafting captions - Making the most of pictures through informative and interesting captions
Doing it: Exercise in writing extended picture captions For more information on how we can help you organise your course, please contact us.
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