murve's review against another edition
1.0
"A DE may point out ways an author's tone alienates certain readers..." - Scott Norton
While this book seemed promising as a technical reference, it has certainly missed the mark. The "case studies" that Norton has written seem to be his way of inserting his own personal views into what should be an otherwise unbiased title. Norton's excessively specific case studies about theoretical novels could have been about meerkats or knitting rather than religion and transphobic narratives. A single pass by any sensitivity reader would have prevented this title's shortcomings.
While this book seemed promising as a technical reference, it has certainly missed the mark. The "case studies" that Norton has written seem to be his way of inserting his own personal views into what should be an otherwise unbiased title. Norton's excessively specific case studies about theoretical novels could have been about meerkats or knitting rather than religion and transphobic narratives. A single pass by any sensitivity reader would have prevented this title's shortcomings.
rleigh7x's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars. This book is really informative if you’re working with non-fiction. I can translate some things over to fiction, but most of it won’t. I enjoyed how Norton presented all of the information though. Well thought out and formatted. Easy read if you skip past all of the examples that weren’t super helpful.
brewed_books's review against another edition
4.0
One reason I love my job is that I get to read books like this one when there's nothing to proofread :)
kevinhendricks's review against another edition
3.0
The text is a bit dry and slow to get through, but it's packed with processes, templates, suggestions and so much more.
christineparkerco's review against another edition
3.0
Read for my certificate class on developmental editing. The text is very informative but somewhat dry, and I was disappointed that “the first work devoted entirely to developmental editing” focused largely on nonfiction. I would have liked to see many more how-to’s and examples for dev editing fiction manuscripts.
jessicaaaaaaa's review against another edition
5.0
Read for my Chicago course. Focuses on nonfiction, but nonetheless a fabulous resource that I will definitely be returning to again and again.
savvyj655's review against another edition
I am not going to rate this book just due to the fact that there are many different aspects that have two very opposing ratings. If I were to rate it, the prose and advice sections were wonderfully written, and incredibly helpful. Chapter 10 dragged a bit and should have been placed earlier in the sequence, but other than that I really enjoyed the process of reading it.
However, I agree with another reviewer that there is some highly questionable and problematic aspects to this book. Being published in 2009 does not excuse it, but it does explain it. I would very much appreciate an updated version with a revision made to the case study sections. The stories themselves were good, but the writing itself featured unnecessary and harmful descriptions and phrases.
However, I agree with another reviewer that there is some highly questionable and problematic aspects to this book. Being published in 2009 does not excuse it, but it does explain it. I would very much appreciate an updated version with a revision made to the case study sections. The stories themselves were good, but the writing itself featured unnecessary and harmful descriptions and phrases.
xalrynne's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book for my editing class, but it would be good for any kind of editor, or for anyone who does prepublication work on a manuscript.
Overall, this book gives good tips and step-by-step guidelines for developmental editors working on different kinds of manuscripts. Although it focuses on nonfiction publications, this book also includes segues about what to do if you're editing fiction pieces. The book takes you through the entire editing process from accepting a publishable proposal to drafting a blueprint to adding the finishing designs.
Each chapter features one kind of author, one kind of client, and one kind of assignment, which I will list below. The chapters detail how an editor should deal with each kind of author, client, and assignment, incorporating short anecdotes throughout the book as real-life examples of what it might be like as the editor in certain situations. Along with the anecdotes, there are sidebars that feature examples of what text should look like in a table of contents, how to categorize notes on a manuscript, how to organize possible thesis statements, how to create effective titles, and other useful ways to organize and maximize your editing.
Featured authors:
The Veteran
The First-Timer
The Coauthors
The Historian
The Theorist
The Sole Authority
The Dead Author
The Journalist
The Author-for-Hire
Featured clients:
The Agent
The Big Trade House
The Small Trade House
The Copublisher
The University Press
The Regional House
The Self-Publisher
The Book Packager
The Trade Reference House
Featured assignments:
The Proposal with Too Many Concepts
The Tome with Too Many Subjects
The Study with Too Many Theses
The Sprawling Saga
The Theory with Too Many Tangents
The Local History Turned Personal
The Memoir with Lapses
The Story with Too Many Voices
The Guidebook with Poor Signage
Overall, this book gives good tips and step-by-step guidelines for developmental editors working on different kinds of manuscripts. Although it focuses on nonfiction publications, this book also includes segues about what to do if you're editing fiction pieces. The book takes you through the entire editing process from accepting a publishable proposal to drafting a blueprint to adding the finishing designs.
Each chapter features one kind of author, one kind of client, and one kind of assignment, which I will list below. The chapters detail how an editor should deal with each kind of author, client, and assignment, incorporating short anecdotes throughout the book as real-life examples of what it might be like as the editor in certain situations. Along with the anecdotes, there are sidebars that feature examples of what text should look like in a table of contents, how to categorize notes on a manuscript, how to organize possible thesis statements, how to create effective titles, and other useful ways to organize and maximize your editing.
Featured authors:
The Veteran
The First-Timer
The Coauthors
The Historian
The Theorist
The Sole Authority
The Dead Author
The Journalist
The Author-for-Hire
Featured clients:
The Agent
The Big Trade House
The Small Trade House
The Copublisher
The University Press
The Regional House
The Self-Publisher
The Book Packager
The Trade Reference House
Featured assignments:
The Proposal with Too Many Concepts
The Tome with Too Many Subjects
The Study with Too Many Theses
The Sprawling Saga
The Theory with Too Many Tangents
The Local History Turned Personal
The Memoir with Lapses
The Story with Too Many Voices
The Guidebook with Poor Signage
alexkhlopenko's review against another edition
A wonderfully practical handbook for DEing non-fiction and even in some parts applicable to fiction. The one book to be found on my desk at all times.