Editing Fact and Fiction: A Concise Guide to Book Editing

by Leslie T. Sharpe and Irene Gunther

Book Overview

Editing Fact and Fiction is a concise, practical guide for people interested in book publishing or already working as editors who want to learn more about the opportunities in various kinds of book editing. Writing in a lively, informal style, two editors with extensive experience in a wide variety of fields--fiction and nonfiction, trade and reference, academic and commercial publishing--explain what editors in different jobs really do. The authors...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521456932
• ISBN13: 9780521456937
• Release Date: September 1994
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Editing Fact and Fiction

This was everything I was looking for for overall information and understanding of copy-editing and content editing. Very helpful.

Well Worth the Purchase

One Stop shopping for editing information. This is a great tool for beginning editors and writers. The book is concise, easily readable and contains a wealth of information about the editing role in publishing. There is also great insight and tips for freelance editing and excellent reference information in the back. This is the best book of its type that I've come across to date.

A Great Teaching Tool

As an editor, I'm always amazed at how few texts are out there to teach young editors how to edit. I discovered this book, when it was first published years ago, and gave it to my junior staff to read and, hopefully, teach them the basic principles of editing. Which it did, really well. I went back looking for it again, and I was amazed and delighted that it's still in print (though it could indeed us an update in the tech chapter especially). But the core chapters--on principles, senses, and sensibility--are still solid, fresh, and very, very useful. I'm going to recommend it to this new generation of editors. And I'm so pleased it's still around!

An Editing Classic

This is an editing book that practices what it preaches--it's well written as well as well edited. Most of all, it's the first book I've found that tells exactly what editors do--or, more to the point, exactly what editors should do and just don't these days. That, is, edit, and not write--that is, intervene, without changing the author's words or meaning. At a time when both editing and writing are on the decline, this book seems to me to be even more relevant thanwhen it was published, nearly ten years ago. No wonder that it's still in print, but I would advise the publisher (Cambridge University Press) to get the authors to do a new edition. The chapter on technology is out of date, and the freelance chapter needs to be updated too. But for the core chapters on editing principles and philosophy, this book is the best I've read!

I must add it to my library

Frustrated legal secretary looking for new career as a copyeditor, fact-checker, and proofreader researched the subject at the public library and found this the very best on the subject - a must-have. I must have my own copy. Great resource.