Book Proofreader and Design Certifications

Become a professional book editor or book designer through our specialized certification programs that use an apprenticeship model for training.

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Learn More: Book Editing Certification | Learn More: Book Design Certification

Book Proofreader Certification

Benefits of Our Book Proofreader Certification

What you’ll gain from the certification:

  • In-depth training
  • Book editing tests
  • Access to our in-house training videos, content, and style guides
  • Personalized training by the YouPublish editorial team
  • Detailed feedback on your work as a proofreader
  • One-on-one, live video feedback from expert editors 
  • Growth input for you as an editor
  • A non-exclusive agreement for freelance work 
  • Your name in an exclusive pool of A-list editors for hire at YouPublish
  • Certification seal of approval to add to your email signature and résumé and public profiles
  • A digital certificate to add to your LinkedIn profile, increasing your credibility for prospective clients
  • 5% revenue share for project referrals
  • Training in proofreader core competencies
  • Our goal of providing you ongoing work
  • Backstage access to expert-level editors
  • Thorough editorial training so you can set yourself up for a career in book editing

The Certification Process

  1. Apply.
  2. Take your certification entry test.
  3. Complete the training course.
  4. Get feedback from your trainer as you proofread books.
  5. Take proofreader tests.
  6. Complete your certification.
  7. Get your official certification!

Core Competencies

  • Recognize the difference between proofreading and copyediting.
  • Identify basic grammar, punctuation, spelling, and citation errors.
  • Meet specific proofreading deadlines after being assigned projects and estimating one’s time based on word count.
  • Apply stylistic preferences in CMOS by utilizing the manual to correct basic style issues and citation information.
  • Apply stylistic preferences from our in-house style guide and client style guides, including the capitalization and variant spelling list, proper formatting of copyrights pages, and templates for copyrights pages.
  • Accurately proofread footnotes and endnotes by using the CMOS guide for different types of endnotes (e.g., books, journals, and websites).
  • Apply the our style guide to proofread Bible citations within a manuscript.
  • Use Word comments and Adobe tools to tracked changes properly as well as leave clear comments for authors, editors, and designers.
  • Spot formatting errors for both pre-design and post-design manuscripts (e.g., page number errors, errors in headings and subheadings, errors in running headers and footers, and bad line breaks).
  • Check for manuscript readiness by using the YouPublish manuscript readiness template to make sure the layout of the book is in correct order.

Types of Editors

Your investment into this certification depends on your level of education, training, and experience. When you apply above, please mark which kind of editor you are.

Which type of editor are you?

  • “Beginning editors” have English or editing education, but little or no professional book editing experience.
  • “Intermediate editors” have English or editing education, professional experience in a related field, but have little to no professional book editing experience.
  • “Advanced editors” have English or editing education and have substantial book editing experience. Note: Some editors who have substantial book editing experience but no professional education may fit better in the “intermediate editors” category.

Our Apprenticeship Model 

We have created a unique certification program that equips you with resources, digital training, but most importantly, personalized feedback from a senior-level book editor who apprentices you in book editing. 

Your Investment

We accept application requests from three types of editors:

  • Beginning Editors. Reading a short book, watching five videos, taking competency tests, and completing practice proofreading exercises. Note: The apprenticeship fee is waived during the introductory period of this certification (a value of $490).
  • Intermediate Editors. Reading a short book, watching five videos, taking competency tests, and completing practice proofreading exercises.
  • Advanced Editors. Reading a short book, watching five videos, and completing competency tests.
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Book Design Certification 

Benefits of Our Book Design Certification

  • In-depth training 
  • Book design tests
  • Access to our in-house training videos, content, and style guide
  • Personalized training by the YouPublish graphic design team
  • Detailed feedback on your work as a designer
  • One-on-one, live video feedback from expert design team
  • Growth input for you as a designer
  • A non-exclusive agreement for freelance work
  • Join our priority list of go-to designers for paid book design work
  • Certification seal of approval to add to your email signature and résumé and public profiles
  • A digital certificate to add to your LinkedIn profile, increasing your credibility for prospective clients
  • Proprietary settings with ready-made, proven templates for InDesign: character styles and paragraphs styles
  • 5% revenue share for project referrals
  • Training in typesetting designer core competencies
  • Backstage access to our expert design team
  • Thorough book design training so you can set yourself up for a career in book design

The Certification Process

  1. Apply.
  2. Submit a portfolio of work with InDesign files.
  3. Complete the training course.
  4. Get feedback from your trainer.
  5. Complete “test” designs.
  6. Get your official certification!

Core Competencies

  • Designs book interior layouts that are easy to read by using the core design principles: emphasis, balance and alignment, contrast, repetition, proportion, movement, and whitespace.
  • Designs interiors that are cohesive with the book cover and branding by using colors and fonts that match the cover for headers, subheaders, and decorative elements.
  • Implements reflowable book design techniques with the use of a primary text frame, parent pages, and character/paragraph/object styles.
  • Sets up new files correctly for different trim sizes and book lengths, using the correct margins and bleed appropriate for the project.
  • Imports manuscripts from Word with author-intended preferences and emphases and with live footnotes and endnotes.
  • Knows basic editing rules and how they integrate with design rules (e.g., widows, orphans, and runts, rivers, ellipses, verse references, indents, and spacing).
  • Learns to use advanced InDesign features such as Find/Change, GREP, Cross-References, Text Variables, and Endnotes/Footnotes.
  • Designs running headers, callouts, and in-text special formatting: bullets, number lists, and indented block quotes and paragraphs with borders and shading.
  • Format and create images of optimal and sufficient quality for use in print with correct linking process.
  • Applies proofreading and editing changes from the proofreading team carefully and correctly, while maintaining the design layout (making sure elements do not shift out of place and the pages remain in order).
  • Prepares files correctly for print according to the requirements for KDP.
  • Submits proofs and final files to the project manager in a clear and concise way and communicates necessary details for optimum print output.

Our Apprenticeship Model 

We have created a unique certification program that equips you with resources, digital training, but most importantly, personalized feedback from a senior-level book designer who apprentices you in book design. 

Your Investment

We accept application requests from two types of designers:

  • Graphic Designer. Watching 42 training videos, completing “practice books,” and taking competency tests to show proficiency in our style guide. Note: The normal apprenticeship fee is waived during the introductory period of this certification (a value of $490).
  • Graphic Designer with Typesetting Experience. Watching 42 training videos and completing a competency test to show proficiency in our style guide.
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Satisfaction Guarantee

After certification candidates complete the training according to our guidance, we guarantee that certification candidates will be equipped to design books professionally. We literally put our metaphorical stamp of approval on each certified designers!

FAQ

Our design and editing teams have created high-value and unique certification programs. We are not aware of another book design or editing certification that offers an apprenticeship model like ours. Your cost helps offset the costs of providing training for designers and editors.

In addition to providing our certification candidates with time-saving style guides, training curriculum, and other program benefits, every trainee receives feedback on their work. Our trainers review your work in detail and provide personalized and specific feedback to help you grow.

Yes, it is totally possible to earn back your investment into this program! While we don’t guarantee one-time or ongoing work for our contract designers, our goal is to help you receive the necessary training to be a professional book designer who is capable of earning a reasonable wage for your hard-won skills. It’s possible after just a few projects to recoup your investment in this training opportunity.

Three to six months (as long as twelve months), depending on your experience and project availability.

While we offer no guarantee of projects or ongoing work, we add you to our short list of trusted workers, which puts your name among those who receive the first right of refusal for projects.

Yes! While we certify you with the hope that you’ll work with us on forthcoming book projects, you may use your skills as a freelancer for your own clientele.

While we specialize in Christian nonfiction, our certification equips workers to edit and design all sorts of nonfiction or fiction books.

Most books we do for clients fall within the 30–50,000-word range (100–300 pages), but we have done manuscripts around 10,000 words and as many as 120,000 words (60–600 pages).

A perk of completing our certification is that you will be qualified to receive a revenue share on book projects you send our way. That is, when you connect us with an author who uses our book publishing services, you will receive a share of our revenue! We are currently offering a 5% revenue share to certified designers. Since we offer book editing, design, and print services, you can refer any author to our company for book-publishing services to receive a share of our revenue.

Yes! Typically, the person who referred an author to us will receive the first right of refusal for that project. This is decided, however, on a case-by-case basis. 

Anywhere you wish! We’ll provide you a certification badge for your email signature, LinkedIn profile, and résumé—among other places you wish to list your certification badge.

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