Write great reports. Demonstrate excellence. Make authors happy.

Listen to a free chapter from the course!

Validate your work and deepen your author's craft

This course teaches you how to create compelling editorial reports that are:
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>  COMPREHENSIVE: Rich in detail – additional value
that will knock your author's socks off.

>  CRITICAL: Packed with honest, professional analyses of the problems you've found and clear explanations of the solutions you've offered.
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​>  CONSTRUCTIVE: Mindful of the author's emotional, financial and physical investment in their writing.

I'll show you what to include in your reports, how to structure the information, and how to frame it so that it validates your work and deepens the author's craft.
PAYMENT PLAN AVAILABLE

Show your authors the why of your edits

Fiction editing isn't just about amending a book file or suggesting changes in comments boxes. It's also about communicating the why of our editing practice.

When authors understand why we've made the changes we have, we demonstrate our skills, increase their trust in us, and help them become better writers.

Effective report-writing is therefore essential. ​

Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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Thank you so much. I've never had any training so your report is invaluable.

Jonathan P / Thriller Author (sample report included in course)

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New resource added: How to create an amazing editorial pack!

This booklet offers some guidance on creating a post-project editorial pack that will wow your clients and add value to the project without costing you a penny.

​That means you’re more likely to be re-hired and recommended.

Check out the syllabus!

MODULE 1:  The 7 goals of a standout editorial report
  • Goals that benefit the editor
  • Goals that benefit the client
  • Goal 1: Save time
  • Goal 2: Demonstrate editorial excellence
  • Goal 3: Build trust
  • Goal 4: Compel future commissions and recommendations
  • Goal 5: Offer a comprehensive learning tool
  • Goal 6: Take a mindful approach
  • Goal 7: Provide a solution-based critical review
  • Linking to other editors’ content
  • For you to do
MODULE 2:  Report structure
  • The broad structure
  • Introduction
  • Bigger-picture observations
  • Narrative analysis
  • Dialogue (and thoughts) analysis
  • General punctuation, spelling and grammar evaluation
  • Layout review
  • Any outstanding issues
  • Summary
  • The substructure
  • The editorial report template
  • Knowledge gaps?
  • For you to do
MODULE 3:  On-brand design
  • The client’s state of mind
  • No design skills needed!
  • Cover page
  • How to upload a custom cover page
  • Styles
  • Using more than one brand colour
  • Logo
  • Contact information
  • Fonts – consider size and readability
  • Spacing
  • Clear headings
  • Contents list
  • Save as a PDF
  • For you to do
MODULE 4:  Populating the report
  • The overviews
  • The evaluations
  • The problem examples and solutions
  • The example(s) of good practice
  • Further reading
  • Saving time with the content checklist
  • Fearing repetition when reporting for repeat authors
  • For you to do
MODULE 5:  Repurposing for added value
  • Link to your existing blog content
  • Create booklets
  • Create a video tutorial
  • Create a quick-and-dirty ebook
  • Present your knowledge
  • Social snippet shares
  • Write a blog
  • Scour your previous reports and edited files
  • Record audio content
  • Is repurposing worth the bother?
  • For you to do
MODULE 6:  Case studies
  • Client 1: David U
  • Outcome: How I failed
  • Client 2: Ram D
  • Outcome: How I achieved a win
  • Client 3: David C
  • Outcome: How I persuaded (tacitly)
  • Do no harm

Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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Louise's How to Write the Perfect Fiction Editorial Report is a fantastically clear and comprehensive guide to the process, which comes with very well designed and useful resources. Highly recommended.

Tracey McEvoy / Editor and Writing Mentor 

Sophie Playle
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Fiction Editor

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Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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I've always written reports for clients but this course showed me how to do it in a professional, clear and comprehensive way, while saving me valuable time. I had fantastic feedback from a client after using the report template and I'm thrilled with how it's upgraded my offering.

Penny Carroll / Fiction Editor 

Sophie Playle
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Fiction Editor

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Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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I love Louise’s editorial-report template. It’s one of the best things I’ve purchased from her since starting my business.

Lakeisha Bell Cadogan / Fiction Editor and Book Coach

Sophie Playle
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Fiction Editor

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Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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This course was an excellent investment and a joy to work through thanks to the beautifully presented material and Louise's lovely, upbeat delivery style. The report template is a fabulous resource that will save me time with every job and delight my future clients. Win–win!

Angela Bissell / Fiction Editor

Sophie Playle
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Fiction Editor

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Love the reports you write!

The creation of a detailed report can feel like a burden that cuts into the fee you've quoted. But the process can be enjoyable. Organization is key.

You'll learn how to write amazing reports efficiently – without compromising on quality or detail – using the following:
  
>  a branded editorial-report template
>  a content checklist
>  efficiency tools 

SUITABLE FOR: Any sentence-level fiction editor

Learn at your own pace

This course is self-directed. You get lifetime access, which means you can learn when you want.

The course kit

Your course kit includes:
  • a webinar 
  • a PDF ebook version of the content
  • case studies that illustrate why a great report makes a difference
  • ​​an editable editorial report template
  • a clickable checklist to keep navigation simple
  • sample editorial reports shared with the kind permission of two of my indie authors
  • video tutorials on how to create beautiful cover pages and use styles
  • a list of suggested line-craft resources

20% discount on all online courses for CIEP members

Log in to Promoted courses · Louise Harnby’s online courses. Then enter the coupon code at my checkout.

Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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Holy moly, Louise! I’ve just finished working through the course, and what you’ve provided is so very generous – and all presented clearly and beautifully. This will undoubtedly help any sentence-level editor save HOURS of thinking and writing time.

Sophie Playle / Fiction Editor

Sophie Playle
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Fiction Editor

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Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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This course is incredible; it's bursting with ideas, and packed with nuggets of invaluable wisdom that just keep on coming. It's beautifully presented, comprehensive and, best of all, offers oodles of actionable advice and guidance to get you started in creating stellar editorial reports for your clients.

​Just working through the course has already saved me masses of time and mental gymnastics, and given me a template that I'm proud of and can't wait to use for my future clients. Thanks so much, Louise!

Cally Worden / Fiction Editor

Sophie Playle
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Fiction Editor

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Course access and CIEP upgrade points

How do I pay?
Just click on one of the green buttons. That'll take you to the order form on my training site hosted by Teachable. From there you can make your payment and enrol immediately.
​
​​​CIEP members can get a 20% discount. Log in to Promoted courses · Louise Harnby’s online courses. Then enter the coupon code at my checkout.
What support do you give me?
I'm always happy to help. You can email me for support whenever you need to.
How long does my course access last for?
For as long as you want! All my courses come with lifetime access so you can learn when it suits you, not me.
How do I access the course?
As soon as you've purchased the course, you'll get immediate and continuing access to the course materials 24/7 via Teachable.
Does the course come with CIEP membership upgrade points?
If you're ready to upgrade your CIEP membership, the following courses count towards total training/CPD upgrade points.
  • Style Sheets for Fiction Editing: 3 non-core skills points
  • Switching to Fiction: 2 non-core skills points
  • How to Line Edit for Suspense: 2 non-core skills points
  • How to Write the Perfect Fiction Editorial Report: 2 non-core skills points
  • Narrative Distance: 1 non-core skills point
  • Branding for Business Growth: 1 non-core skills point
  • ​Blogging for Business Growth: 1 non-core skills point
  • Social Media for Business Growth: 1 non-core skills point

Why learn about editorial report-writing with me?

My authors consistently rave about my reports ... tell me how grateful they are, that they're superb tools full of honest but mindful guidance that help them understand my edits and develop their line craft with confidence.

My approach to teaching

My teaching approach is problem/solution based. Yes, fiction editing is subjective and nuanced, but there’s still room for practical analysis that unpicks a novel’s vulnerabilities and considers the range of literary tools available to improve what’s on the page. 

Communicating that message in accessible reports is as important as the book edit itself. Join me to find out how.

Course reviews

Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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WILL SAVE SO MUCH TIME IN THE FUTURE
I learned a huge amount from this course. Not only does it provide a template for structuring your own reports, but it also gives valuable examples of what to write in each section. I did fall down a Canva rabbit hole and spent far too long designing a cover sheet! But now I have a template and notes with a beautiful cover for writing my own editorial reports, which will save so much time in the future.

Course: How to Write the Perfect Fiction Editorial Report

Rachael Mortimer​
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Copyeditor and Proofreader​

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Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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This report-writing course is wonderful. I found it useful not just for line-editing reports but for my manuscript assessments too, as a lot of what’s discussed can be applied there. I’ve wanted to overhaul my reports for a while; this course was perfect and has given me a lot to think about. And my cover page looks extra lovely!

Rachel Rowlands / Editor & Writer

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Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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I've been writing editorial reports for years, so I didn't expect to learn too much from this course. I'm pleased to say I was totally wrong! This course has revolutionised the way I offer feedback to clients. It has dramatically reduced the time I spend on writing reports but has also increased the quality and usefulness of the feedback I give. Louise is immensely generous with her expertise and resources and already I've had a great response from clients who have been so impressed with the scope and depth of feedback offered. It's the best value-for-money course I've ever done.

Katherine Trail / Fiction Editor

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Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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Your online course, How to Write the Perfect Fiction Editorial Report, contains all the excellent qualities and reflects the generosity of spirit I’m now familiar with from your website, podcasts, and other materials. But I wasn’t prepared for the clarity of explanations, many and representative examples, the generous amount of material, and the inclusion of those just-so-perfect extra resources. Thank you, Louise; it was both a pleasurable and enormously educational experience!​

Deborah A Cecere / Copyeditor

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Andy Maslen, bestselling crime author

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I've always written reports for clients but this course showed me how to do it in a professional, clear and comprehensive way, while saving me valuable time. I had fantastic feedback from a client after using the report template and I'm thrilled with how it's upgraded my offering​.

Penny Carroll / Freelance Fiction Editor

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