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sab754's review
4.0
Really interesting glimpses into the world of editing and publishing. Very well edited too, as you'd hope.
hopeykatt's review
5.0
I highly recommended this book to anyone interested in learning more about the publishing industry. It gives an up close and personal look at the many jobs that are possible in the publishing industry. It's written for publishing professionals, and not really an informational book about the process for authors, so bear this in mind.
neilrcoulter's review
5.0
What Editors Do is a collection of 26 chapters by 27 authors about all aspects of professional editing. Often multi-author volumes such as this have a lot of ups and downs: some chapters are excellent, other chapters less so. But this entire book is a fascinating read. I enjoyed every chapter and wouldn't single out any of them as "skippable."
As a freelance copyeditor and proofreader myself, it was enormous fun to read other people who understand that way of seeing the world. As Carol Fisher Saller (the Chicago Manual of Style's own "Subversive Copy Editor") writes, "It's important to examine your temperament and leanings when considering a copyediting career; if it strikes you as an exciting alternative to the monastery or tuna factory, you're on the right track" (113). Somewhat more wistfully, Erika Goldman says that "Being an editor is a lifelong apprenticeship: the books you read, the jobs you have, influence your approach to any given text. Yet in a sense I'm the same editor I was at the beginning of my career, an idealistic former literature student who took pleasure in books whose form and content I understood to be symbiotic, indivisible" (151). I understand all of that, and it's why I dream of being a full-time editor.
What Editors Do is an excellent way to get an overview of how many kinds of jobs editors may be responsible for. A lot of people might equate "editor" to "grammar police," a person who corrects all of the spellings, apostrophes, commas, and so forth. In fact, that seems to be the kind of work that many professional editors long to do but have little time for. More of their day-to-day work is the hectic social networking of building relationships with authors, agents, and the rest of their colleagues at the publisher. Actual line-by-line editing is, for many editors, the smallest part of their daily work, and a luxury they crave.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves books—it's a beautiful glimpse into how the books we love get to us. I especially recommend this to any writer, including self-publishing authors. Understanding the publication process is invaluable. Kudos to editor Peter Ginna for collecting these chapters and ensuring such high quality throughout. I'm also grateful for the long list of "Further Resources" in the back of the book—so many good books to check out!
As a freelance copyeditor and proofreader myself, it was enormous fun to read other people who understand that way of seeing the world. As Carol Fisher Saller (the Chicago Manual of Style's own "Subversive Copy Editor") writes, "It's important to examine your temperament and leanings when considering a copyediting career; if it strikes you as an exciting alternative to the monastery or tuna factory, you're on the right track" (113). Somewhat more wistfully, Erika Goldman says that "Being an editor is a lifelong apprenticeship: the books you read, the jobs you have, influence your approach to any given text. Yet in a sense I'm the same editor I was at the beginning of my career, an idealistic former literature student who took pleasure in books whose form and content I understood to be symbiotic, indivisible" (151). I understand all of that, and it's why I dream of being a full-time editor.
What Editors Do is an excellent way to get an overview of how many kinds of jobs editors may be responsible for. A lot of people might equate "editor" to "grammar police," a person who corrects all of the spellings, apostrophes, commas, and so forth. In fact, that seems to be the kind of work that many professional editors long to do but have little time for. More of their day-to-day work is the hectic social networking of building relationships with authors, agents, and the rest of their colleagues at the publisher. Actual line-by-line editing is, for many editors, the smallest part of their daily work, and a luxury they crave.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves books—it's a beautiful glimpse into how the books we love get to us. I especially recommend this to any writer, including self-publishing authors. Understanding the publication process is invaluable. Kudos to editor Peter Ginna for collecting these chapters and ensuring such high quality throughout. I'm also grateful for the long list of "Further Resources" in the back of the book—so many good books to check out!
jelundberg's review
4.0
Never before have I read a text that so perfectly encapsulates my day job; I found myself nodding along to so much of this. If you’ve ever wondered what editors do and why they’re so vitally important in the publication process, pick up this book.
girlnouns's review against another edition
4.0
I'm applying to a bootcamp on being a podcast editor and tried to find the closest book that would help me learn more about the position.
The book was super informative and the chapters "On Editing General Nonfiction" and "Widening the Gates - Why Publishing Needs Diversity" were my favorites.
The book was super informative and the chapters "On Editing General Nonfiction" and "Widening the Gates - Why Publishing Needs Diversity" were my favorites.
mcscaries's review against another edition
4.0
Really useful, interesting stuff. I wish someone would publish a similar collection relating to the British publishing industry
imrogers's review against another edition
5.0
An incredibly comprehensive guide to the different types of editing jobs and the tasks required for each, What Editors Do will prove useful to young people considering whether to make editing their careers, those just getting their feet wet with the craft, and seasoned professionals looking to learn about other types of editing jobs. The middle sections on the editing process itself (developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, etc.) are incredibly useful and detailed, while later chapters on editing literary fiction, editing genre fiction, freelance editing, etc. provide strong overviews of each. The list of resources at the end was quite welcome as well.
My qualms with this book were very few, namely that in being so comprehensive, certain chapters will no doubt come across as unnecessary to many readers on a cover-to-cover read (I'm looking at you, chapter on acquiring college textbooks). Aside from that, though, I recommend reading this book all the way through, if for no other reason than to discover new aspects of the craft and profession that you'd never considered.
My qualms with this book were very few, namely that in being so comprehensive, certain chapters will no doubt come across as unnecessary to many readers on a cover-to-cover read (I'm looking at you, chapter on acquiring college textbooks). Aside from that, though, I recommend reading this book all the way through, if for no other reason than to discover new aspects of the craft and profession that you'd never considered.
carm_furio's review
4.0
What Editors Do is an essential for anyone interested in the publishing industry. With a variety of positions, genres, and audiences included, this book provides one of the most comprehensive and helpful overviews on the market.