Customer Reviews

The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago (or, How to Negotiate Good Relationships with Your Writers, Your Colleagues, and Yourself) (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

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Reviewed by C.J.Singh

While teaching courses in editing at UC Berkeley extension, I always assigned The Chicago Manual of Style and Richard Lanham's Revising Prose (5th Edition) for the introductory course. For the advanced course, we studied Joseph Williams's Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (ninth edition) . As noted in my detailed reviews of the two latter books, most students found them excellent. I'm sure they'd be just as enthusiastic about "The Subversive Editor" by Carol Fisher Saller. In fact, I'd place this book near the top of the reading list for anyone interested in learning how to edit. Saller, a senior mansucript editor at the University of Chicago Press, also edits "The Chicago Manual of Style Online's Q&A." Written with charming wit, her brief book presents numerous tips. For several samples from the book, please read on.

Introducing her book, Saller writes: "Although people outside the Press address us `Dear style goddesses' and assume we are experts on everything in the `Manual,' most of the time I feel more like the pathetic little person behind the curtain in `The Wizard of Oz.' It's only because I'm surrounded and protected by knowledgeable and generous coworkers that I can assemble the authoritative front that appears in the Q&A" (p. xi).

From the Q&A: "Q/ Oh, English-language gurus, is it ever proper to put a question mark and an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence in formal writing?" (p. 31). "A/ In formal writing, we allow a question mark and an exclamation only in the event that the author was being physically assaulted while writing. Otherwise, no" (p. 43).

On serial commas: "A/ Well, if you don't allow the serial comma at all, you will be stuck with situations like the following hypothetical dedication page that our managing editor likes to cite: 'With gratitude to my parents, Mother Teresa and the pope'" (p. 70).

Know Thy Word Processor: "Q/ Is there an accepted practice for use of emoticons that include an opening or closing parenthesis as the final token within a set of parentheses?" (p. 71). "A/ Until academic standards decline enough to accommodate the use of emoticons. I'm afraid CMOS is unlikely to treat their styling . . . But I kind of like that double-chin effect" (p. 79). Included in the above chapter is a footnote: "Hilary Powers has written a gem of a guide, 'Making Word Work for You: An Editor's Intro to a Tool of the Trade.' You can download it inexpensively at...." (p. 72). I did. Thanks.

On Associated Press Stylebook: "Minimizing word count must be another goal for newspapers: have you noticed their avoidance of 'that' even when it's needed? 'They maintained the house for years was a haven for crackheads.' It drives me crazy" (p. 28).

Saller's use of "subversive" in the title is a bit of a teaser. "Editor's first loyalty is to the audience of the work you're editing: that is, the reader. . . . Common sense tells us that working on behalf of the reader is not really a terribly subversive move" (p. 4).

To learn the basics of the editing craft, I recommend: For a review of grammar, Constance Hale's "Sin and Syntax"; for an introduction to the Chicago manual, do the exercises in a self-teaching book such as Amy Einsohn's "The Copyeditor's Handbook"; and, for upgrading your skill in copyediting, peruse regularly "The Chicago Manual of Style Online's Q&A," edited by Saller. -- C J Singh

I'm a manuscript editor at a university press and I can't say enough good things about this book. I've long enjoyed Ms. Saller's clever answers in the Q&A section on the Chicago Manual of Style website, so I was predisposed to think well of her, but this book just cemented my respect and admiration. Her advice to editors (and to writers) ranges, for me, from the "I can't believe I never thought of that" variety to the "I have thought of that, but could never have said it so well" variety. This book should be required reading for anybody who is in the business of transforming unpolished words in a manuscript into type on a page.

Editors break rules. How liberating! Carol Fisher Saller's "Subversive Copy Editor" confirms what I learned as a scientist: The more you know about a subject, the less dogmatic your opinions. Rules can be broken; editors do make stupid mistakes. Saller brings great common sense and, yes, sharp business acumen to her profession. The book reminds you that if an author--consistently--has styled his 985 references in a totally nonstandard, but logical style, what's the point in undoing all the painstaking work? Having enjoyed this "Chicago Manual of Style" editor's online Q&A page for years, I loved reading more about the crazy questions she gets about editing (and sometimes other topics, like fashion, when someone mistook "The Chicago Manual of Style" for a fashion advice book) and the clearheaded, sometimes funny answer she gives. But beyond her approach to editing and her invaluable hints on how to stay organized as an editor, the book includes invaluable lessons in modern business etiquette: ways to work with difficult co-workers and authors, the importance of answering e-mail promptly, even if you don't know the answer; how to defer a decision; the importance of keeping the big picture (in this field, the big picture is the reader and book sales); rules of etiquette not only in your own e-mails but especially with how you handle others' messages; and so on. The book can be read from front to back, almost like a novel (well, I am an editor, so perhaps I found it especially compelling), and Saller's self-deprecatory humor had me laughing out loud. Editors, writers, students, and businesspeople who handle any sort of communications will enjoy this book.

I've read and taught from most of the editing advice books out there and met many of their authors. With due respect to all the heavyweights, if my office caught fire, once I'd pulled CMS and MW11 from the flames, this is the one I'd save. I'll be taking it out often for advice, entertainment, and consolation.

If you're an experienced editor or a halfway smart inexperienced one, you'll already be following most of the suggestions here about organising and logging your work and correspondence, but it's nice to have those practices validated. More valuable to those of us who work in relative isolation are the suggestions on coping with impossible expectations, fixing your mistakes and living with your fallibility, and rubbing along with special-needs authors and colleagues.

Many editors seem to think that only rigid formality and abject deference are appropriate for communicating with authors in queries and letters; Saller's friendly, informal, and straightforward tone in her examples is a pleasant corrective. And some of her stories had me laughing out loud.

Like Dr. Spock and Miss Manners, Saller urges you to trust yourself and consider other people, advice that seems elementary but is often hard to heed. This is a great little book.

While written for the narrow orbit of copy editors and those who might desire such a career, this book deserves a wider readership.

Authors, language mavens, newsletter writers, corporate communicators, to those who simply want general good advice on handling co-worker business interactions at any type of office--all these and more would profit from Carol Fisher Saller's advice.

Practical, good humored, well written, and nicely proofed. (The jacket design by Isaac Tobin is nicely done, as well.)

Carol's book is an essential read for anyone who, like me, has the daily task of massaging copy AND egos. With keen insights and sharp wit, The Subversive Copy Editor is a small but valuable addition to my editing library.

You can become a great copy editor by toiling away for years as a publishing underling, making some horrible errors along the way.

Or you can just read this book and save yourself some embarrassment by learning from the author's and her colleagues' mistakes.

The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago is a 2009 book on editing by Carol Fisher Saller, a senior manuscript editor at the University of Chicago Press. The book's subtitle is "How to Negotiate Good Relationships with Your Writers, Your Colleagues, and Yourself," and this is Saller's primary focus.

The Subversive Copy Editor is divided into two sections: one on dealing with the writer and working on behalf of the reader, and the other on working with colleagues. Saller's advice, generally, is to take a common-sense and courteous approach to dealing with anyone and everyone. Her insight into the dynamics of the copy editor's working relationships is probably the most valuable part of the book.

Much of the book seems geared toward new editors, and there's a lot of basic, getting-started information here. On the whole, though, it isn't very subversive - unless remaining calm and not killing yourself stressing out over minutiae is subversive.

Saller's writing style is light and clever, and it makes this book generally enjoyable to read. Saller is also quick to discuss her own mistakes, which certainly helps the reader relate. Even if much of what she has to say isn't profound, it's nice to hear it from somebody who's experienced and credible.

This is quite a short book, but the pace feels a little too leisurely at times, particularly as Saller seems to try to hit a number of disparate targets. Not everything in the book is for every copy editor, and few if any editors will find every chapter relevant or helpful. That said, though, most any editor can get something out of this book.

There's nothing particularly groundbreaking here, but if you're looking for an easy, common-sense book on copy editing, The Subversive Copy Editor is a winner.

Great book for experienced or inexperienced editor types -- really about creating a good mindset for editing. A unique & clever book.

This book was such fun to read that I couldn't put it down. I love reading about language and words, and I also love reading people's questions about usage, which made this book doubly enjoyable to me. The author writes well, in a smooth, easy-to-read style, and packs her paragraphs with important information about style -- very useful to writers, editors, and in fact anybody who has to deal with the written word. Highly recommended.