The Editor's Companion: An Indispensable Guide to Editing Books, Magazines, Online Publications, and Mor e

by Steve Dunham

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599639024
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2015
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,092,940
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Steve Dunham has been writing and editing professionally for more than three decades. He has written for newspapers and magazines, and he has edited journals, books, newsletters, and other media. He has taught short classes in copyediting, publications quality control, and other topics.

Table of Contents

Preface 1

Introduction 4

Chapter 1 Marks of Good Writing 8

Good Content 11

Focus 11

Precise Language 13

Good Grammar 17

Chapter 2 Editing for Content 22

Writing for the Reader 23

Plain Language 33

Marketability 35

The Right Structure and Length for Your Market 36

The Right Level of Detail for Your Market 37

The Right Material for Your Market 38

Chapter 3 Editing for Focus 40

Beginning With a Strong Opening 40

Sticking to One Subject 43

Closing the Circle 45

Chapter 4 Editing for Precise Language 46

The Right Words 47

The Right Voice 54

The Right Tense 56

Accuracy 58

Chapter 5 Editing for Grammar 82

Parts of Speech 82

Parts of Sentences 89

Punctuation 94

Style 106

Chapter 6 Typography 109

Breaking Words 109

Keeping Certain Words Together 110

Type and Layout 111

Chapter 7 A Few Tips 114

Misused Words 114

Homophones and Other Words That Get Mixed Up 117

Acronym Soup 120

Initially Redundant 124

More Steps to Better Writing 125

Chapter 8 Editorial Relationships 129

Working With Authors 130

Working With Publishers 132

Working With Artists 134

Working With Readers 134

Managing Expectations 135

Chapter 9 The Editor's Tools 137

Tools 137

Procedures 143

Resources 152

Chapter 10 Samples of Editing 157

Chapter 11 Ones That Got Away 176

Appendix: Questions and Answers 200

Oh, How We Trip Over Our Own English Language 211

Notes 213

Index 227