The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, Second Edition, With Exercises and Answer Keys [Paperback]

Amy Einsohn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520246888 | ISBN-13: 978-0520246881 | Publication Date: December 7, 2005 | Edition: 2

The Copyeditor's Handbook is a lively, practical manual for newcomers to publishing and for experienced editors who want to fine-tune their skills or broaden their understanding of the craft. Addressed to copyeditors in book publishing and corporate communications, this thoughtful handbook explains what copyeditors do, what they look for when they edit a manuscript, and how they develop the editorial judgment needed to make sound decisions.
This revised edition reflects the most recent editions of The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.), and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.).

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The first three chapters alone are worth the cover price. It's a book that acknowledges an assortment of vexing copyediting questions and offers multiple answers to most of them."

Product Details

• Paperback: 574 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 2 edition (December 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520246888
• ISBN-13: 978-0520246881
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #313,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Must read" for Tech. Writers/Tech. Translators too, December 20, 2005

By 

Kiwi (Atsugi-city, JAPAN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, Second Edition, With Exercises and Answer Keys (Paperback)

When I compared the Table of Contents with that of the 2000 edition, I could not find any changes in section titles of page numbering.
Whereas most Style Guides are written for reference, rather than for reading from cover to cover, this Handbook is an extremely readable tutorial for "new and aspiring copyeditors who will be working on nonfiction books, journal articles ... and corporate publications" -- and it comes complete with exercises and answers. There's also a side-by-side comparison of light, medium and heavy copyediting of a sample text.
In addition to useful practical guidelines for paper-based editing, there are also useful guidelines for using word processor redlining to highlight changes in computer-based edits.
It covers practical, perennial questions like "How can you reliably estimate completion dates, i.e. what's a reasonable workload in terms of pages per hour?" "When should you query the writer, and how can you write more effective queries?"
I have two main criticisms about this book. One is that the type is small and rather faint -- maybe it is the poor quality of the paper? The other is that the title of the book is inappropriate -- this is not just a book for copyeditors; it is also a "must read" for technical writers and technical translators. But that is not so much a criticism as a compliment.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Every Penny, July 22, 2010

By 

L. Alexander "luluchadora" (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, Second Edition, With Exercises and Answer Keys (Paperback)

This book has been useful on so many fronts. The tone is much more conversational than the Chicago Manual, material is easier to find and explained at greater length (especially the incredibly helpful discussion of comma usage), and the exercises it contains are invaluable for beginning copyeditors and proofreaders. As an editorial professional, this book has been a welcome companion to my work.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Copyediting Book, April 11, 2010

By 

Kim Schulman "copywriter" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, Second Edition, With Exercises and Answer Keys (Paperback)

The "Copyeditor's Handbook" is a must-read for the editorial professional. It is an essential guide to grammar, various styles, mechanics, and copyediting and proofreading functions--for which it includes numerous examples, charts, and a glossary of terms. It also provides samples of different copyediting levels with suggestions for estimating fees for light, medium, and heavy editing. Beyond Grammar, a lengthy, but important chapter toward the end of the book, focuses on four broad areas that copyeditors normally face: organization, expository style, bias-free language, and publishing law. As an editor and copyeditor, I use numerous reference books, including "Chicago," "Words into Type," AP, and whatever other style manuals a house publisher dictates. "Copyeditor's Handbook" isn't this type of a style manual, but a handbook that will not only guide newer copyeditors through the editorial process, but will also be an appropriate read for many writers and communication professionals.

This is my second time purchasing this book, because I highlighted my first copy too much and wanted to start fresh. I tend to do that with reference books that are extremely helpful, which is why I know that this one is a good one.