Editing: An Annotated Bibliography

(Hardback)

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Description

This bibliography lists most of the literature on editing written from 1960 through 1988, with particular focus on those works pertaining to the acquisiton and preparation of texts for publication. Recognizing the wide range of functions performed by an editor, Bruce W. Speck accesses information about the editor's involvement in all aspects of the publishing process from initiating contacts with authors and marking manuscripts to discussing production specifications with the printer and creating advertising copy. The entries are arranged alphabetically by author and fall under the headings of general editing, technical editing, and the presented in standard bibliographic form, and the contents of each work summarized briefly using quotations and examples to highlight each book's most salient points. In order to facilitate identification of entries, the list is numbered consecutively with the subject index keyed to the numbered entry instead of the page number. Thoughtful organization and thorough documentation make this manual a handy reference volume for libraries, professional editors and teachers of editing.

Reviews

This (fittingly) well-edited bibliography lists 637 annotated references to books and articles published between 1959 and 1989 on "the process of acquiring and preparing texts for publication." It does not deal with textual editing. Professional and part-time editors of books, journals, and other publications will find that the extensiveness of the annotations--on subjects ranging from proofreading to freelancing to fraud--makes this not only a gateway to the literature on editing, but a useful handbook to a wide variety of issues related to the practice of editing. A detailed index compensates for the overly broad scope of the first major section of the book (on "general editing"). The second section is on technical editing, and the third is divided into references on specific types of publications (e.g., abstracts, manuals, newsletters). Recommended for libraries used by faculty editors or supporting journalism, publishing, or professional writing programs.-Choice
"This (fittingly) well-edited bibliography lists 637 annotated references to books and articles published between 1959 and 1989 on "the process of acquiring and preparing texts for publication." It does not deal with textual editing. Professional and part-time editors of books, journals, and other publications will find that the extensiveness of the annotations--on subjects ranging from proofreading to freelancing to fraud--makes this not only a gateway to the literature on editing, but a useful handbook to a wide variety of issues related to the practice of editing. A detailed index compensates for the overly broad scope of the first major section of the book (on "general editing"). The second section is on technical editing, and the third is divided into references on specific types of publications (e.g., abstracts, manuals, newsletters). Recommended for libraries used by faculty editors or supporting journalism, publishing, or professional writing programs."-Choice

Author Bio

BRUCE W. SPECK is Assistant Professor at Memphis State University where he teaches the Professional Writing Program. He is now working on future books about editing and has contributed articles to Training and Development Journal, Illinois English Bulletin, and The Bulletin of the Association for Business Communication.