Think Like an Editor: Revising Essays for Publication

Sundays: May 31 - June 21
12 - 2:30 p.m. EST

Led by MATT ORTILE
with guest editors Tajja Isen (Orion), Adrian Rivera (New York Times), Lauren Puckett-Pope (Elle), and Daniel Gross (The New Yorker)

$420 ($370 until April 14)

Thou shalt read thine own work aloud. Thou shalt write only what the reader needs to know. Thou shalt not use three words when one will suffice. These editing lessons and more are rarely studied in classical workshop settings, and perhaps learned only when one walks through the fire of being edited for a real-life publication. But how does a personal essay become publishable? What happens after the draft is done—and how do you learn to see your own work the way an editor does?

This Masters’ Series course, led by Condé Nast Traveller editor Matt Ortile, is devoted entirely to the art and practice of editing personal essays for publication. Designed for writers who already have drafts in progress, this course offers rare insight into how top magazine editors shape stories from rough cuts to finished pieces, providing the conversations, community, craft, and professional fluency writers need to move their work forward.

In this four-week, discussion-based course, students will hear directly from working editors about what they look for on the page, how they approach structural revision, and how essays evolve through multiple rounds of edits. Together, we’ll focus on macro and micro craft: refining narrative arcs, clarifying stakes, strengthening voice, tightening language, and making strategic choices about what stays—and what goes. Writers will learn how to receive feedback without losing their vision, when to push back on edits, and how to collaborate productively through revision.

Through close readings of edited essays, guided revision exercises, and candid conversations about pitching, timing, and professional etiquette (including the underrated power of stepping away from a draft), students will develop practical editorial skills they can apply to every piece they write.

By the end of the course, participants will leave with a stronger, more polished essay, a refined pitch, and a clear understanding of how editorial relationships work—equipped not just to submit their work, but to revise with rigor, confidence, and intention.

Each session features a different guest editor—Tajja Isen (Orion), Lauren Puckett-Pope (Elle), Daniel Gross (The New Yorker), and Adrian Rivera (The New York Times - Op-Ed Section)—whose work illuminates important approaches to the process of editing and working with an editor in a professional capacity. Students will have the opportunity to pose questions directly to these editors and to experiment with editing prompts inspired by their work. 

In this course, students can expect to:

• Acquire a set of self-editing rules and best practices (“The Ten Commandments of Editing”) they can apply to their work

• Learn how to professionally and politely pitch and collaborate with magazine editors

• Understand how an essay goes from pitch to publication

• Gain insight into the inner workings and editorial considerations of real-life publications operating in different genres

About the Instructors

Details

This course will take place on Zoom. Participants will receive a Zoom link prior to the course as well as a recording of the course afterward.

After you take a course with Off Assignment, you’ll be invited into our private writing community for alumni on Slack. It includes channels for publication opportunities, reading recommendations, meet-ups, and more—not to mention literary companionship that outlasts the course itself.

There is a 10% cancellation fee if you cancel your enrollment more than 1 week before the start of the course. No refund will be given if cancelling within less than a week of the course start date (or after the course has begun).

Please email courses@offassignment.com with any questions.

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Financial Aid

The full price for this course is $420, with early bird pricing at $370 available until April 14. Payment plans are available at checkout via ShopPay.

A limited number of scholarships for this course are available. Please fill out this form by April 21, and we’ll get back to you within a week after the deadline. (Please hold off on registering until you have received a scholarship decision.)

Off Assignment’s Masters’ Series courses are unique four-session courses that delve deep into a specific writing topic by harnessing the expertise and craft tactics of a renowned writer in a particular niche, plus four celebrated authors. Participating writers gain a wealth of advanced techniques while benefiting from a cohesive community of disciplined writers.