- Paperback: 156 pages
- Publisher: Macmillan Collier Macmillan (1984)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0020474105
- ISBN-13: 978-0020474104
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.7 x 1.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,543,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Much of the information in Arthur Plotnik's book has failed the test of time. It's not any fault of his that technology has advanced, writing and editing practices have changed, or useful references have been supplanted by more current useful references. It is unfortunate that this book was marketed as a parallel to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, which has passed time's test.
Read this book anyway for the things which have not changed since 1982. Plotnick's first chapter on the Editorial Personality is candid and well-targeted. He distinguishes the "bad compulsiveness" of fussing over minor grammar and formatting rules from the "good compulsiveness" of following up with writers, re-reading new drafts completely, and keeping projects on schedule. Plotnik's insights about the uneasy alliance between editors and authors are concentrated in Chapter 3, but available throughout the book. He offers good advice for producing quality writing while balancing delicate issues of psychological ownership and voice. "Ideally, the war between editors and authors should be won by neither belligerent, but by the readers." (p. 31).
This book's observations on the social dynamics of editing are recommended to both editors and authors. Just read around the other parts. It's worth the effort. Readers looking for more useful guidance about editing for writers may want to read Susan Bell's The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself.
Read this book anyway for the things which have not changed since 1982. Plotnick's first chapter on the Editorial Personality is candid and well-targeted. He distinguishes the "bad compulsiveness" of fussing over minor grammar and formatting rules from the "good compulsiveness" of following up with writers, re-reading new drafts completely, and keeping projects on schedule. Plotnik's insights about the uneasy alliance between editors and authors are concentrated in Chapter 3, but available throughout the book. He offers good advice for producing quality writing while balancing delicate issues of psychological ownership and voice. "Ideally, the war between editors and authors should be won by neither belligerent, but by the readers." (p. 31).
This book's observations on the social dynamics of editing are recommended to both editors and authors. Just read around the other parts. It's worth the effort. Readers looking for more useful guidance about editing for writers may want to read Susan Bell's The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Great tool for smart editor
4 Sep 1999
Format:Paperback
Plotnick's book may be a tad dated, but his insight into the process of editing and the relationships formed about editors and the rest of the publishing crew are insightful and sound. The book doesn't pretend to be an exhaustive look at the minutiae of editing, but rather to set the stage for the intelligent person to gain context on what goes into making a good editor, along with some of the frustrations along the way. Good primer for the editor's shelf. I've been in the business about 20 years and wish I'd had something like this when I started out.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Not Bad But Still Disappointing
5 Jan 2000
Format:Paperback
As someone who has edited newspapers at the college level, I thought I was getting something that would give me a great reference point for a future in journalism. Plotnik's book assumes that the reader has experience with journalism but is new to editing. It is not intended to be a primer showing the would-be editor how to edit; rather, it is designed to be a guide into avoiding pratfalls that can befall a novice (or even a veteran) editor.
While I am fairly pleased with the extent of his advice that can be translated from the time he wrote the edition I am reading - 1982 - into modern times, I am dismayed that the technology he refers to is so outdated. The modern editor does not have to spend 10 minutes staring at a proof page to look at how to set type any longer thanks to technology desktop publishers have at their fingertips.
Plotnik would have been much better served if he had someone well-versed in modern publishing technology update his technical knowledge base.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Mild, but not THAT bad
7 April 2001
Format:Paperback
Whilst the other reviewers loved to thrash a decent book, I for one would like to throw in my two pennies in defense of this fine book. It's not as useful or insightful as I thought it would be, but for a beginner it contains a lot of interesting anecdotes for those who haven't really stepped into the publishing world. The section on printing and photography is very good for giving a general idea which is exactly what I needed. Not the Bible it could've been, but still worth its existence. Want something better, just buy the Chicago Manual of Style.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Reference > Writing > Journalism
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
