The University of Chicago Press Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction

"Although The Chicago Manual of Style is widely used by writers and editors of all stripes, it is primarily geared toward nonfiction. In this book, Amy J. Schneider--who has copyedited fiction in all genres, from mystery and romance to literary fiction, including many bestsellers--provides a companion to the Manual for those working on fiction. Hers is the first guide designed specifically for this major segment of the editorial community. Schneider highlights and offers advice on issues unique to fiction, such as how to deal with various types of dialogue and when incomplete and ungrammatical sentences are acceptable. She discusses best practices for conscious language issues that are increasingly important to authors, publishers, and readers. She also explains the larger purpose and vastly expanded scope of style sheets in editing fiction, illustrating how to track the details of fictional characters, places, and events to ensure continuity across a work or a series. And she covers workflow and administrative practices that work well for the fiction editing process, based on her own 25 years of experience as a freelancer working for publishers large and small"-- A book-world veteran offers the first copyediting guide focused exclusively on fiction. Although The Chicago Manual of Style is widely used by writers and editors of all stripes, it is primarily concerned with nonfiction, a fact long lamented by the fiction community. In this long-awaited book from the publisher of the Manual, Amy J. Schneider, a veteran copyeditor who’s worked on bestsellers across a wide swath of genres, delivers a companionable editing guide geared specifically toward fiction copyeditors—the first book of its type. In a series of approachable thematic chapters, Schneider offers cogent advice on how to deal with dialogue, voice, grammar, conscious language, and other significant issues in fiction. She focuses on the copyediting tasks specific to fiction—such as tracking the details of fictional characters, places, and events to ensure continuity across the work—and provides a slew of sharp, practicable solutions drawn from her twenty-five years of experience working for publishers both large and small. The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is sure to prove an indispensable companion to The Chicago Manual of Style and a versatile tool for copyeditors working in the multifaceted landscape of contemporary fiction. Autorid: Amy J. Schneider