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Developmental Editing: A Handbook For Freelancers, Authors, And Publishers (2009)

by Scott Norton(Favorite Author)

4.04 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0226595145 (ISBN13: 9780226595146)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

University Of Chicago Press

review 1: While this book makes some helpful points about developmental editing practices, it’s rather poorly copy-edited and misses the mark in tone and scope.Throughout each chapter, the writing switches abruptly from Norton’s advice to strangely written “case studies” of fictional developmental editors that seem straight out of a children’s textbook. The overall tone seems to miss the mark, as Norton uses clunky abbreviations and a third-person voice even though the book would be much clearer and more personal if it would just assume it’s addressing actual and prospective developmental editors and write to them directly. While this book could offer an engaging, candid account of Norton’s professional experiences, it’s instead strangely detached and passive, someti... moremes clumsily dropping a few tangential traces of individuality but completely avoiding relevant anecdotes. Why would Norton spend so much time composing the strange “case studies” of fictional editors rather than just frankly sharing his own experiences? That would certainly have been more helpful. Instead he comes off as dispassionate and aloof.Moreover, despite occasionally alluding to the importance of compassionate, polite exchanges with publishers and authors, Norton’s example queries are quite blunt, and I got the impression that he’s rather contemptuous of other editorial roles. He often insinuates that copy editors, proofreaders, and typesetters are less skilled and less important than developmental editors. This is particularly off-putting given the overall shortcomings of the book that could have been remedied through better copy editing.Norton’s guide unfortunately focuses too much on the overall layout of the book and too little on the actual details of refining the writing. Though it does make some helpful points about considerations and approaches for developmental editing and is easy to navigate, it isn’t at all inspiring. Its premise is good, and the book has few competitors, but it’s still poorly executed.
review 2: Finally, a method for my madness! It is enormously interesting to read of someone else's editing process -- especially someone with so much experience -- and see how it matches and where it diverges from one's own. This book offers me a more complete and precise vocabulary for what I have done intuitively. I’ve learned a lot from it. This book is great for anyone who has ever been asked -- or wondered -- what the difference is between copyediting and substantive / developmental editing, as well as for practicing editors. less

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