The best
Editing Writing Reference books:
Reddit reviews
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
The best of Editing Writing Reference books by number of unique Reddit comments:
![The Elements of Style [Illustrated]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41iY6fZT-DL._SL500_.jpg)
Top Reddit reviews mentioning Editing Writing Reference books:
> Is his source intentionally giving bad info to cause attrition backstage , to mess with him and hurt his cred ,
No high-quality professional journalist would have such low standards as to fall prey to a single bad source, because professional journalists do things like independently corroborate stories. If they're not able to corroborate a story, but think their source is reliable, they will note that in their report. Seriously,it's as though Meltzer doesn't even own a style guide.
Show, don't tell.
Francine Prose put it better than I can in her analysis of Dulse, by Alice Munro.
>Finally, the passage contradicts a form of bad advice often given young writers—namely, that the job of the author is to show, not tell. Needless to say, many great novelists combine "dramatic" showing with long sections of the flat-out authorial narration that is, I guess, what is meant by telling. And the warning against telling leads to a confusion that causes novice writers to think that everything should be acted out—don't tell us a character is happy, show us how she screams "yay" and jumps up and down for joy—when in fact the responsibility of showing should be assumed by the energetic and specific use of language. There are many occasions in literature in which telling is far more effective than showing.
Did you edit your own work for typos or did you do a full-scale developmental edit looking for challenges in plotting, pacing, characterization, etc?
If you want to go the traditional publishing route, a professional editor isn't required (or even encouraged). In fact, in some circles, it's actively discouraged.
What you probably need is a critique partner. You also should look into beta readers you don't know. Unless your friends are also writers or prolific readers, they're likely not giving you very useful feedback from an industry perspective.
You may also find this book to be helpful: https://www.amazon.com/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Yourself/dp/0060545690
Thank you so much for the kind words! If you're interested, I'm willing to read your revised beginning once you iron things out. I also write YA fantasy so this is my wheelhouse. Happy to leave notes in the text itself if that works better for you.
If I can make a self-editing suggestion... this is the best resource I've come across in a long time. It's not helpful from a dev editing perspective but it's fantastic for the mechanics that can take prose from acceptable to publishable. It focuses on the little things agents and editors will notice, the kinds of things that can help you strengthen scenes and improve voice. One of the reviews really nails it: "The authors are not trying to make you a better writer, they are trying to make you a saleable writer in today's climate."
Well, a degree in English means that you know how to read and write for the purposes of coherent communication. Which is great, and it likely puts you ahead of most people.
But to edit on a professional level level, is a whole 'nuther world where few people do well. Which is NO insult on you at all; just something you've never had to think about until now.
Seeing as your friend connected you with his editorial director, this sounds like the company is more than just a mom-and-pop joint out of his garage. Perhaps they have a clerical position, or something in the mailroom? Could be a place top start.
Whatever the case, if you think this is something you want to do, you could start by picking up one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Manual-Style-17th/dp/022628705X/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=chicago+manual&qid=1607626811&sr=8-2
It's going for about half-price today, so jump on it!
Reading Like A Writer is a good place to start. If your goal is to improve your academic writing and you're in the US, look at English 1302 textbooks. These focus on composition and argumentation, which will be important in college essay writing.
I think there is something to be said for reading a book as a reader before you pick it apart as a writer.
Read the book once and if you enjoy it and think there's something to be learned from it, read it again (or read sections) and take notes or pay attention to the things you can use.
I tend to take notes in books using pencil. I underline and write directly on the pages. I also use sticky notes to flag pages for reference or when I have a lot I need to write. If I want to do an in-depth analysis of a section, I might photocopy or print out the passage.
I also recommend Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose which I haven't actually read yet, but god damn it, I swear I am going to.
Regarding adverbs, the point is to choose stronger verbs rather than needing to modify them all the time. "Ran quickly" versus "sprinted," for example. There's a place for adverbs, but most new writers tend to drown prose in them because it's easier.
Regarding said, the words themselves and the dialogue beats should be able to articulate what overwritten dialogue tags are saying.
I highly suggest Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. It really breaks down a lot of the whys and hows behind common writing advice with examples.
Self-Editing takes some getting used to.
Two things can help.
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is a good book to help you get started.
- Software like Grammarly or LanguageTool is great for editing.
Last but certainly not least, you must practice, practice, practice.
"Inside the quote," she said emphatically.
He paused. "Why?"
"Honestly? For appearances, but it does help to keep dialog thoughts delineated so you know where a thought ends or pauses." She tossed a book from her bookshelf at him.
"What is this?" he asked, flipping the book over.
"The Chicago Manual of Style," she replied. "It is the best resource for grammar questions while you write, aside from Grammarly or Pro Writing Aid."
​
😉 - Best of luck and remember, you can always go back and edit if you get it wrong. No shame.
My book is very dialogue heavy. I have been told that I write great dialogue. Why would I deliberately put in less of what I'm good at?
Yes, I do have a tendency towards writing talking heads, but I highly recommend this book for fixing that: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Browne/dp/0060545690
Hey, I had a similar problem and got the recommendation to get this resource. It's got great examples to support otherwise straightforward rules for editing for the current market. My editing has improved tenfold since I started working through the book, so I can't recommend it enough.
Good luck!
There's a difference between a blatant typo and you repeatedly failing to spell liar. Try to keep up.
Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary, Newest Edition, (Flexi Paperback) (Pocket Reference Library) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0877795304/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_9D59GVA4DJB72N6119JY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Merriam-Webster's Pocket Dictionary, Newest Edition, (Flexi Paperback) (Pocket Reference Library) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0877795304/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_9D59GVA4DJB72N6119JY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Here ya go. It's $5. I'm sure you can afford it if you have the internet to pretend to play victim 😉.
The Chicago Manual of Style is your friend.
I agree with the user who suggested it, as Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King is one of the best editing how to books out there. I have 3 copies of it, because I use it so much that it fell apart, so I bought 2 more copies, so I'd have a spare once the2nd one falls apart. It is 288 pages long, so considerable short considering most books are well over 400 pages.
Here's the page for it on Amazon so you can see what it is and read the reviews for it: https://www.amazon.com/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Yourself/dp/0060545690
Just know it's not straight up a book on "editing", but more of a book of teaching you how to write in a way that you don't need to edit because you mentally self edit before you actually write, if that makes sense. It's a really good book though, very helpful.
Excuse me, you actually said:
>There is no such things as NY Times style. The NY Times uses AP style
1) Is it OK when you say NY Times but not when other people do?
2) The New York Times issues their own style manual, which they publish for others to use. They do not use AP style. New York Times style is to use titles before last names after first mention, which you can see if you actually read the paper.
Elements of Style can be a nice way to get started with GMAT sentence correction.
It's not exhaustive but has a bunch of helpful things and is a good read. You can skip the writing points that are the second part of the book.
The other thing I'd do as a daily habit: read challenging articles and start a novel.
Happy studies,
A.
Actually more precisely demand and supply determine the price, but we weren’t mainly talking “price” and “value,” it was “transaction.”
The hypocrisy in your statement is absolutely astounding. I’ve made an argument that’s backed up sources, even the 1 source you’ve provided backs up my argument. While your argument solely makes use of baseless claims that you can’t even provide a source for. The only one ranting here is you. Buy this (https://www.amazon.com/Merriam-Websters-Pocket-Dictionary-Merriam-Webster/dp/0877795304/ref=zg_bs_11488_2/147-9383299-1330509?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SEWHVNA1ZF7XGQKG8Z36)A small investment of $6 will help you stop using words when you don’t have a clue what they mean. According to Amazon it’s one of the best.
100% do not query a MS that hasn't been through at least a handful of beta readers.
If you're not experienced enough to review the work of others, you may not be experienced enough to review your own with the right attention to detail. You may want to hang out on r/DestructiveReaders to learn a little bit more about how to critique. I also highly recommend the book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.
Try amazon smile to donate to a charity of your choice automatically at no cost to you!
https://smile.amazon.com/York-Times-Manual-Style-Usage/dp/1101905441/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YK1KBZKSSEY1TRCSFF3N
^^^I'm ^^^a ^^^bot ^^^and ^^^this ^^^action ^^^was ^^^performed ^^^automatically.
I want to preface this by saying that I don't want to come off as mean at all. I want every writer to succeed, no matter their road to publication. Writing is amazing and hard and fun and everything else in between... except easy. But you asked what's going wrong here, and I think your cover and your blurb (as other people have cited) aren't the biggest issues.
I read your Look Inside and I think the writing itself may be part of your problem with conversions. Did you work with a pro editor? If so, I would find someone different for your next book. For example, the first sentence has a really unnecessary adverb. The second paragraph starts with a very problematic sentence structure (and one you seem to favor a lot). There are noun/verb errors, way too many non-said dialogue tags, and awkward sentences in the first few pages I skimmed.
The "-ing verb, other action" construction is really common among amateur writers, but it usually doesn't work. For example, "Heaving myself up to the next branch, I rested a bit" is not a good sentence. It essentially says that your MC heaved themselves up to another branch while simultaneously resting. "Heaving myself up to the next branch, I surveyed my surroundings" works, despite being clumsy, because these two actions can happen in tandem. But heaving and resting are at complete odds so that sentence reads poorly. Same with "grabbing my cane, I turned to leave." Is your MC grabbing their cane or turning to leave? These two things can't generally happen at once.
I know not all readers will care about this kind of thing, but when the issues I noted are so prevalent in your first few pages, it will definitely turn some people off.
If you haven't read Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, I can't recommend it enough.
There's no real way to know for sure. All you can do is read as much as you can, edit based on conventional writing advice, get feedback from beta readers and critique partners, and keep practicing. In terms of self-editing, I highly suggest this book. It's great. I read it around the very start of my current WIP and it really made me more aware of common mistakes and pitfalls that I've tried to stay away from as I work through my current draft. I also highly recommend ProWritingAid.
I'm feeling a little charitable today so if you'd like, I'm happy to take a look at your first chapter or two and point out anything I see as strengths or weaknesses. I also write YA fantasy, so I have a pretty good frame of reference for the genre, and I have a BA in creative writing, so I'm pretty experienced with workshopping. Feel free to go through my comment history to see some of my other critiques.
Yes, you used commas correctly. They are separaters for clauses or introductory words and phrases. So, as in, English speakers find reading easier when it is "paused" by commas, like this.
For a terrific guide to English grammar, check out this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-William-Strunk-Jr/dp/194564401X
I’m not seeing the textbook they made me buy but this style guide would likely have all of that.
It’s going to be some form of textbook, one way or another.
I recommend the Chicago Manual of Style.
There's a lot of debate about panting vs planning and writing. Not outlining and going full pants is perfectly fine. There's always editing later. Self-Editing For Fiction Writers is a great book on how to edit your own work. Structuring Your Novel is also a good book on writing-craft. You can use the techniques in SYN before or after you actually have a rough draft. If getting a first draft done and out of the way is how you write, it's how you write. You can go back in later and tease out arcs and develop plots. I know one writer who writes out her first draft with no planning, prints it out, reads it, takes copious hand written notes in a notebook, then deletes the file on her computer and burns the MS she printed out. Then she writes her second draft using only the notes she took in her notebook. Whatever works for you, so long as you finish it. If you want to publish it, you will want outside eyes on it first. But to get started, you can definitely get out a few drafts on your own first without needing to write outlines or have character page.
In terms of self editing, I found this book incredibly helpful. It comes up a lot in discussions about self editing on various forums, so I finally bit the bullet and bought a copy, and it's really helped me step my editing game up.
First thought leadership shameless blog promo on this sub I don't hate. I agree with the sentiment wholeheartedly. Skipping this step is why most start-ups fail, they've never made a buck before. Cashflow isn't an abstract concept you need to understand, it's an experience you need to fully immerse yourself in.
Legit tho. And I don't mean to be insulting. If you want to be the blogger dude to generate traffic for yourself, you MUST begin to work on your writing. It is unprofessional; it is not concise. It has sentiment going for it, that's all. It's written like a post going to an echo chamber, it doesn't convince anyone. For your sake, read this short book 25 times. Make it your bible. Understand the effect of your syntax and diction: https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-William-Strunk-Jr/dp/194564401X