FREELANCE SUBBING COURSE

Only a fool or a knave would offer to write a report on a subbing course but here goes. – Vivienne DuBourdieu

The Freelance Subbing Course was for the benefit of journalists who might be considering the options of editing as a career, and was run by veteran editor and NCTJ tutor, Charlie Harris at The New Cavendish Club, London, on 4th November.

After Charlie’s coup in tackling the basics of subbing in just one day, I found myself contemplating ‘both ends of the stick’.

By saying ‘fool’, I imply a beginner whilst ‘knave’ can stand as a journeyman who has completed his apprenticeship. That the two are contradictory is precisely the point.

The course gave me the impetus to reconsider my approach to journalism. I was not alone in this.

Freelance Committee Chairman, Martin Posner said, "Charlie Harris gave a superb presentation on the skills a journalist needs to gain their readers immediate attention.

"He highlighted how every word needs to fight for the right for a place on the page. After attending this, my first ever subbing course, the intro for my next article was far snappier.

"Even my emails have improved, thanks to Charlie."

Freelance Committee member, Patrick Emek said, "The Subbing Course was very detailed in content and highly professional in its presentation. I was very impressed with the immense detail that Charlie managed to pack into the confines of six hours.

"I know that Charlie could have gone on much longer-but I don't think I could have. There was so much for the novice to absorb that six hours was, in my opinion,
pitched at just about the right level and time frame for all present."

Businesswoman, Liza Jones, thought the course "was very useful", and she found it an "excellent refresher course".

Liza, Director of Abucon Ltd, international management, marketing and PR consultants - also teaches. She says her "delegates have to work very hard" when they go to her workshops. "If they go away with a dozen good ideas, they’re doing well."

Using the same yardstick, Liza was pleased she had attended the day. "With Charlie’s book list in hand, I will be spending money on Amazon as a result of this course. The pace was good. I think you can get through a lot in a day."

Liza added, "I wasn’t desperately keen to give up a Sunday but it worked out very well. It was a chance to meet a few people, too."

She suggested the CIoJ hold another, complementary course on ‘social media’ (blogs, Facebook, etc.). "We need to know how to work with the internet to our advantage. That means finding out what we can do and what’s a complete waste of time."

Liza said she would be "happy to give up another Sunday" for a course on social media.

Freelance journalist Wendy Rix would also give up another Sunday and has a course on ‘Headline Writing for Dummies’ in mind.

"I thought [the subbing course] was brilliant, from the introductory
law guide to the Good Sub's Bookshelf," Wendy said. This last was also pleasing because I found I had most of the books suggested.

"It was a good day; very thorough, never boring, full of interesting sidelights, and the exercises we took home (happily with corrected copy to check against) were fairly challenging."

My own opportunity to test out Charlie’s training came swiftly. The next day, I had to initiate the editorial approach to a new online magazine.

Talking about the need to create a distinct ‘house style’ put all the remaining production items into perspective.

Gems that came out of the subbing course include the following:

"It is very rare that a story cannot be improved. But a good sub will only make changes if they’re needed."

Charlie was particularly stringent about looking at the copy from the reader’s point of view, and checking for "buried treasures" or twists to change the angle of the story.

Some people chose not to attend because they felt it was a waste of time - as "experienced journalists (they) required no further skills".

It is often forgotten that most journalists have to report quickly on their findings, and have little time to "check, tighten and cut their copy". As Charlie said, "This is where the sub comes in".

Likewise, grammar, punctuation, and house style might be forgotten in meeting publishing deadlines, especially for the fast turnaround required within today’s electronic media.

One of the things Charlie warned against was automated spell checks. "Spell checks miss errors," he said. "They make a good start but often Americanisms creep in. Never set a spell check on ‘auto’ or you will get ‘testicles tickled’ for ‘taste-buds tickled’ and ‘friends’ will become ‘fiends’."

Whether writing for the web or orthodox publishing, technical skills and a thorough knowledge of software is imperative. So is knowledge of geography and pronunciation.

Consider whether you need to use Burma or Myanmar, Bombay or Mumbai, and remember that Paris (PAR-ISS) is an English idiosyncrasy. The French pronounce it differently (PAR-EE).

Charlie provided an excellent booklist with his course notes. And the latter includes a number of test pieces, which will give any budding sub the chance to check out his or her skills in private.