Develop your magazine and web publishing skills with this Winter's Ryerson courses

[PROMOTIONAL] You'll understand that as the coordinator of the Ryerson Magazine and Web Publishing program in Toronto I have a clear interest in seeing people take one of these professional development courses. We've got a couple of new or renovated courses that may interest people already in the business or hoping to be. And we've got a diverse and inspiring lineup of other courses. Register now so we know you're coming (few things dismay us more than having to cancel a course only to have people say "But I was going to take that!") 

There are a couple of new or revised courses well worth considering:

• The Online Publishing Toolkit (CDJN207) -- a brand new 7-week evening course which starts January 15. The instructor Graham F. Scott has created a specific little website for the course that best sets out why it will be both interesting and fun: http://t.co/oqWCVVB9
• Advanced Magazine Editing (CDJN122) -- Instructor Kathy Ulyott has renovated and updated  this 7-week evening course to focus on effective editing of individual magazine articles, helping to grab readers' attention at the start and keep them reading to the end.  The course starts January 17 and is a must for anyone planning to edit longer manuscripts - and a very useful course for anyone planning to write them.
• Ad Sales on the Web (CDJN208) -- a new course.  It starts January 17 and instructor Martin White teaches over 7 weeks how to blend traditional persuasive ad sales skills with the realities of selling in the digital age. Become familiar with the ways online advertising is priced, pitched, measured, designed, and packaged.

Plus the rest of our skill-building lineup, which starts the week of January 14:
39-hour, 13-week courses

• Magazine and Website Publishing (CDJN112) -- a 13-week overview of the business challenges and opportunities confronting magazine publishers today. All aspects of managing magazines, print or web-based, are touched upon: editorial, marketing, management, integration of web and print, advertising, production, and distribution; plus the challenges in starting a new publication. (This is one of the courses required for the magazine and web publishing certificate.)
• Magazine and Website Editing (CDJN113) -- A practical, step-by-step introduction to print and online magazine editing. The emphasis is on learning job skills in a workshop environment. Instructor Rebecca Caldwell, managing editor of Cottage Life, explores such topics as planning and coordinating print and web content, developing strong story ideas, working with contributors, handling manuscripts, writing display copy, budgets, the ethics of editing, and libel law. Working in small groups, class members produce their own prototype magazines.(This is the other course required for the magazine and web publishing certificate.)
• Introduction to Magazine Design (CDJN116) -- Art director Jayne Finn shows how and why magazines look the way they do and helps participants develop professional visual awareness. It compares traditional print publications with new online applications, with a focus on typography, grids, and formats; the anatomy and overall design direction of a magazine; assigning; developing design concepts; the cover; working out a book map; the aesthetics of magazine design; and technical considerations.
•  Writing for Magazines and the Web (CDJN117) -- A course for those with a serious interest in writing and selling non-fiction articles to print or online magazines; an introduction to the basics of conceiving, focusing, pitching, researching, structuring, writing and revising a full-length feature magazine story. Under the direction of instructor and author Margaret Webb, students will complete (for grading) two shorter writing assignments, and a major (1,000-1,500 word) feature story on a topic of their choice, targeted to a specific North American consumer or trade publication. 
•  Advanced Feature Writing (CDJN118) -- David Hayes, one of the most experienced freelance magazine writers in Canada leads this project-intensive advanced course is designed for serious students of magazine feature writing to further develop their reporting and narrative skills. There will be short writing assignments as well as one longer feature, which must contain some or all of the elements of the course: evidence of on-the-scene reporting, a narrative arc consisting of a well-crafted beginning-middle-end, character development, the use of dialogue instead of (or in addition to) traditional quotation, the use of symbol to support theme, etc. Students are expected to come to the first class prepared to discuss story ideas and move on quickly to writing a query letter. (Most students will take CDJN117 first; but may be given permission to enroll in CDJN118 by producing a portfolio of published magazine feature work.)
• Magazine Production (CDJN205) -- In addition to the fundamentals of print production, this course helps today's magazine production professional acquire the skills to publish on multiple platforms, provides an overview of current magazine production practices, including how magazines are printed and bound,  scheduling and budgeting. Instructor Kim Latreille teaches students about magazine formats, advertising delivery through ad portals, premedia, printing processes and quality control across all platforms.

 19.5-hour, 7-week course

• Magazine Fact-Checking and Research (CDJN120) -- Skills taught in this course by instructor Bernadette Kuncevicius, senior editor of CA Magazine, can be used in any medium; in the magazine business, fact-checking is a key entry-level job, a way for aspiring writers or editors to learn how a magazine works and how professional writers put together a story, and to develop relationships with editors that can lead to assignments or jobs.