6 ways to boost your editorial knowledge this spring

Whether you prefer to learn from a class or a book (or both!), we’ve got you covered.?

Whenever we spring forward, I get a burst of energy. Sure, we lose an hour of sleep. But that extra hour of sunshine makes me feel like I can take on the world. I’m suddenly open to new projects, new ideas. Open to learning.

With that in mind, I’m sharing a few new classes and resources that have me excited.

1) The AP Stylebook Workshop . Whether you use AP style or have always wanted to, taking this workshop is a great way to solidify your style expertise. AP’s newly revamped course includes five live webinars, access to recordings from 2023’s workshops, a full year of the AP Stylebook Online, plus AP Stylebook Study Guides to support your learning after the class ends.

2) AI for Editors course . This course, proctored by real-world editor Erin Servais, helps editors learn the tech skills they need to thrive in an increasingly AI-infused world. Erin’s seven-part, live, online course breaks down the basics of AI editing tools. Her goal is to help us automate the more tedious parts of our work so we can focus on creating amazing content.

3) The Conscious Style Guide . Since 2015, editor and writer Karen Yin has published the?Conscious Style Guide online , a hub for multiple style guides covering terminology for various communities and boatloads of articles debating usage. Now, Karen has created her own roadmap for writing and speaking with sensitivity and awareness. Her guide will be released at the end of May and is available for preorder now.

4) UX Writing: Study Guide . This collection is a primer on writing effective online copy. The guidelines, assembled by the Nielsen Norman Group, are based on years of evidence collected in NN/g’s eye-tracking and usability studies. Their findings? People behave differently when reading online versus in print. The articles and videos in this collection explain how much (and how little) people read online, common reading patterns, and implications for writing and content design.

5) ACES Guide for New Editors . This guide is the first stop for anyone interested in pursuing a career in editing, just starting out in the field, or transitioning from a previous career. Created by ACES, The Society for Editing, the guide introduces the various types of editing, suggests ways to begin your career, and discusses the role of the editor in the publications process. The guide can be partnered with?Resources for Editors: A Curated List , a collection of blog posts, ACES Twitter Chats, and select classes offered through the ACES Academy.

6) Dragonfly’s Field Guide to Interviewing Subject-Matter Experts. Our newest guide, crafted by Dragonfly writing manager Emily Primeaux, will help you elevate your interviewing skills and gather the best possible insights from your subject-matter experts. Follow this up with Emily’s blog describing?the lessons she learned interviewing everyone from Enron’s Andrew Fastow to the DEA agents who inspired the Netflix show “Narcos.”

I hope you enjoy these resources as much as I have. Happy learning!

—Sam, President, Dragonfly Editorial

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Meet us at ACES in San Diego! Six Dragonflies will be at the ACES National Conference — and four of us are speaking! We’ll be covering topics like plain language, AI for editing, networking, and more. Stop by, grab a sticker, and check out our new booth backdrop. Can’t wait to see you there April 4–6.