While proofreading is a critical step in the editing process, unfortunately it gets short shrift. Sometimes it is skipped entirely, resulting in unprofessional work, which can affect sales and credibility. In this book, Jennifer Karchmer, owner of Over The Shoulder Editorial, imparts personal stories, anecdotes, examples and practical advice to show how important proofreading is to any written product. This book serves as a companion piece for freelance proofreaders and editors alike who want to work more efficiently and effectively. Writers of all genres also will appreciate the self-editing tools presented here.
Expert advice to perfect your proofreading skills McGraw-Hill’s Proofreading Handbook helps ensure that your documents are letter-perfect, every time. Veteran editor and proofreader Laura Anderson arms you with all the tools of the proofreader’s trade and walks you step-by-step through the entire proofreading process.
Excel at editing! The editor's job encompasses much more than correcting commas and catching typos. Your chief mission is to help writers communicate effectively--which is no small feat. Whether you edit books, magazines, newspapers, or online publications, your ability to develop clear, concise, and focused writing is the key to your success. The Editor's Companion is an invaluable guide to honing your editing skills. You'll learn about editing for: • CONTENT: Analyze and develop writing that is appealing and appropriate for the intended audience. • FOCUS: Ensure strong beginnings and satisfying endings, and stick with one subject at a time. • PRECISE LANGUAGE: Choose the right words, the right voice, and the right tense for every piece. • GRAMMAR: Recognize common mistakes in punctuation, parts of speech, and sentence structure--and learn how to avoid them. You'll also find valuable editing resources and checklists, advice on editorial relationships and workflow, and real-life samples of editing with explanations of what was changed and why. The Editor's Companion provides the tools you need to pursue high quality in editing, writing, and publishing--every piece, every time.
This fiction-editing guide shows authors and editors how to recognize shown and told prose, and avoid unnecessary exposition. Louise Harnby, a fiction editor, writer and course developer, teaches you how to identify stylistic problems and craft solutions that weave showing and telling together, and understand why there's no place for 'don't tell' in strong writing. Topics include: Shown and told prose in different scenarios; the relevance of viewpoint; when exposition serves story and deepens character; and tools that help writers add texture.
As the knowledge economy takes shape, editors face many challenges. Technology is transforming publishing, text is losing out to graphics, and writing is distorted by cliché, hype and spin. More than ever, editors are needed to add value to information and to rescue readers from boredom and confusion. The Editor's Companion explains the traditional skills of editing for publication and how to adapt them for digital production. It describes the editorial tasks for print and screen publications, from fantasy novels and academic texts to web pages and government documents. It is an essential tool for professional editors, as well as media and publications officers, self-publishers and writers editing their own work. This revised edition features extended coverage of on-screen editing, single-source publishing and digital rights, a comprehensive glossary of editing terms and a companion website developed especially for students that includes editing exercises, expert 'tips' and essential weblinks.
Each year writers and editors submit over three thousand grammar and style questions to the Q&A page at The Chicago Manual of Style Online. Some are arcane, some simply hilarious—and one editor, Carol Fisher Saller, reads every single one of them. All too often she notes a classic author-editor standoff, wherein both parties refuse to compromise on the "rights" and "wrongs" of prose styling: "This author is giving me a fit." "I wish that I could just DEMAND the use of the serial comma at all times." "My author wants his preface to come at the end of the book. This just seems ridiculous to me. I mean, it’s not a post-face." In The Subversive Copy Editor, Saller casts aside this adversarial view and suggests new strategies for keeping the peace. Emphasizing habits of carefulness, transparency, and flexibility, she shows copy editors how to build an environment of trust and cooperation. One chapter takes on the difficult author; another speaks to writers themselves. Throughout, the focus is on serving the reader, even if it means breaking "rules" along the way. Saller’s own foibles and misadventures provide ample material: "I mess up all the time," she confesses. "It’s how I know things." Writers, Saller acknowledges, are only half the challenge, as copy editors can also make trouble for themselves. (Does any other book have an index entry that says "terrorists. See copy editors"?) The book includes helpful sections on e-mail etiquette, work-flow management, prioritizing, and organizing computer files. One chapter even addresses the special concerns of freelance editors. Saller’s emphasis on negotiation and flexibility will surprise many copy editors who have absorbed, along with the dos and don’ts of their stylebooks, an attitude that their way is the right way. In encouraging copy editors to banish their ignorance and disorganization, insecurities and compulsions, the Chicago Q&A presents itself as a kind of alter ego to the comparatively staid Manual of Style. In The Subversive Copy Editor, Saller continues her mission with audacity and good humor.
Webster’s New Essential Writer’s Companion is a helpful guide to the mechanics of good writing and effective research including the latest electronic resources. With sections on grammar, punctuation, style, usage, and proofreading, this easy-to-use reference offers invaluable guidance to writers looking to give every piece of writing that polished finish. Additional advice on constructing logical sentences and paragraphs shows how to build a convincing overall argument. Key sections on research explain how to take full advantage of the powerful search tools available over computer networks, both inside and outside a traditional library setting. Compact and to the point, this nifty handbook is an ideal resource for the home, office, or classroom.
"In this eBook, you'll learn the principles of grammar and how to manipulate your words until they're just right. Strengthen your revising and editing skills and become a clear and consistent writer." --
