Customer Reviews

The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, With Exercises and Answer Keys

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm an English teacher who does occasional freelance copyediting, and I found this book to be not simply a fine guide to copyediting but an excellent run-down of grammar and sentence structure, including the various 'debates' about split infinitives, email or e-mail, like or as, and so on. It is a clear and readable book (just as it ought to be!), useful and informative, but also enjoyable for its own sake.

The Copyeditor's Handbook is a manual for learning copyediting skills. Copyeditors, a style manual and a dictionary are not enough. With this book, Amy Einsohn will teach you how to use these references.
She starts with a perspective on the task of copyediting: How heavy a hand should you wield? How long should it take you? How should you structure and pace your work?
Next she tackles the rules of English under the various headings of punctuation, spelling, grammar, style, etc. But she does more than just give you rules. She explains the rationale for the rules, gives you the range of opinions about those rules, and helps you choose which rules to keep and which to ignore. You can't just use a style manual and expect to be a good writer or copyeditor.
My advice if you're a writer, a copyeditor, or a person who works with copyeditors: get this book, read it twice, and keep it handy on your shelf as a reference. The Copyeditor's Handbook is weighty reading because it provides serious learning.

This book is a wealth of clearly presented information. People considering copyediting as a career should certainly invest in a copy. I heartily disagree with the reviewer who gave it one star; rather than being too liberal, Einsohn succinctly presents the reader with a broad spectrum of opinions on common disputes about grammar and punctuation, allowing readers to make their own decisions. The book contains an excellent explanation of what copyediting is, how to copyedit your first manuscript, how to typecode manuscripts, what to expect from authors, etc. I found Einsohn's exercises and detailed answer key extremely useful.

Sure, The Copyeditor's Handbook is full of information and advice for copyeditors, but I read it as a writer trying to learn more about the process and procedures of editing my own work. And for that I am grateful to Ms. Einsohn. In the process of writing, revising, writing some more and revising again, the editing procedures and formalities I garnered has help me become a better writer. I review my drafts in a different light, understanding now the editor's decision to move a sentence or a paragraph to make my writing clearer.

This book sits between my Chicago Manual of Style and Elements of Style, each complementing the other. The author's style is lively and won't bore you, while the excercises are great because the answers are in the book. Try it, you'll like it.

As a copy editor (and grammar nut), every day I rely on style guides, dictionaries, and other resources. This handbook is one of my favorite reference books. It's a great resource when you forget certain basic rules or when you come across an obscure grammar problem. It explains rules in simple English and provides plenty of good examples. It also includes several grammar practice tests. The index is very helpful and almost always leads you where you need to go. For those reviews that complained that it's not an engaging read, well, of course not. It's really more of a reference manual, not something you're going to curl up with in bed.

While it's probably especially useful for younger editors, I think it's still a helpful reference for old pros, too. I know that I'll keep it with me as my career continues.

If you studying to be an editor, or are simply honing our skills, I would highly recommend Einsohn's book. The book covers the basics of copyediting, editing for style, and editing language. Each chapter is explained well, and most chapters include exercises (with the answers in the back). This book covers hard-copy editing as well as electronic editing.

This is a must-have for your personal reference library.

I'm a bit of of a writer's book junkie. Certain rules of grammar never seem to stick and other rules are quickly forgotten if I don't keep up. "The Copyeditor's Handbook" is the most comprehensive and useful book of its kind that I have found. The writing is engaging, the excercises helpful, and the range of information covered is impressive. This belongs on every copywriter and copyeditors reference shelf.

I'm a professional copyeditor and consider Einsohn's book to be an essential reference.

I'm a bit of of a writer's book junkie. Certain rules of grammar never seem to stick and other rules are quickly forgotten if I don't keep up. "The Copyeditor's Handbook" is the most comprehensive and useful book of its kind that I have found. The writing is engaging, the excercises helpful, and the range of information covered is impressive. This belongs on every copywriter and copyeditor's reference shelf.

A rather toothless attempt at rewriting Strunk and White, or Chicago into "fun." Reference books shouldn't waste this much space on casual conversation. Get to the point--get Elements of Style, Elements of Grammar, and Chicago rather than this handbook.