Developmental Editing

by Norton, Scott

• ISBN13: 9780226595153
• ISBN10: 0226595153
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-10-30
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Editing is a tricky business. It requires analytical flair and creative panache, the patience of a saint and the vision of a writer. Transforming a manuscript into a book that edifies, inspires, and sells? That's the job of the developmental editor, whose desk is the first stop for many manuscripts on the road to bookdoma route ably mapped out in the pages of Developmental Editing. Author Scott Norton has worked with a diverse range of authors, editors, and publishers, and his handbook provides an approach to developmental editing that is logical, collaborative, humorous, and realistic. He starts with the core tasks of shaping the proposal, finding the hook, and building the narrative or argument, and then turns to the hard work of executing the plan and establishing a style. Developmental Editingincludes detailed case studies featuring a variety of nonfiction bookselection-year polemic, popular science, memoir, travel guideand authors ranging from first-timer to veteran, journalist to scholar. Handy sidebars offer advice on how to become a developmental editor, create effective illustration programs, and adapt sophisticated fiction techniques (such as point of view, suspense, plotting, character, and setting) to nonfiction writing. Norton's book also provides freelance copyeditors with a way to earn higher fees while introducing more creativity into their work lives. It gives acquisitions, marketing, and production staff a vocabulary for diagnosing a manuscript's flaws and techniques for transforming it into a bestseller. And perhaps most importantly, Developmental Editingequips authors with the concrete tools they need to reach their audiences.

Author Biography

Scott Norton is director of editing, design, and production at the University of California Press.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
What Developmental Editing Is	p. 1
Whom This Book Is For	p. 2
What This Book Covers	p. 3
Some Ground Rules	p. 5
Concept: Shaping the Proposal	p. 9
Author Profile: The Veteran	p. 10
Client Profile: The Agent	p. 11
Assignment: The Proposal with Too Many Concepts	p. 12
Locate the Concept	p. 14
Profile the Audience	p. 18
Evaluate Market Potential	p. 20
Bring the Vision into Focus	p. 22
Content: Assessing Potential	p. 27
Author Profile: The First-Timer	p. 28
Client Profile: The Big Trade House	p. 29
Assignment: The Tome with Too Many Subjects	p. 30
Size Up the Author	p. 31
Size Up the Publisher	p. 33
Size Up the DE	p. 35
Create a Content Summary	p. 39
Find the Main Subject	p. 42
Thesis: Finding the Hook	p. 48
Author Profile: The Coauthors	p. 48
Client Profile: The Small Trade House	p. 50
Assignment: The Study with Too Many Theses	p. 51
Cull Theses from Topics	p. 52
Beware of the Rehash	p. 55
Choose the Main Thesis	p. 58
Create a Working Title	p. 62
Narrative: Tailoring the Timeline	p. 68
Author Profile: The Historian	p. 68
Client Profile: The Copublisher	p. 70
Assignment: The Sprawling Saga	p. 71
Untangle Timelines from Arguments	p. 72
Find the Main Timelines	p. 74
Brainstorm Timeline Strategies	p. 76
Compose the New Timeline	p. 80
Finetune the Timeline	p. 81
Restore Bits of Argument	p. 85
Exposition: Deploying the Argument	p. 91
Author Profile: The Theorist	p. 92
Client Profile: The University Press	p. 93
Assignment: The Theory with Too Many Tangents	p. 94
Untangle Arguments from Timelines	p. 95
Find the Main Arguments	p. 98
Brainstorm Argument Strategies	p. 101
Compose the New Argument	p. 103
Finetune the Argument	p. 105
Restore Bits of Timeline	p. 107
Plan: Drafting a Blueprint	p. 112
Write Up the Plan	p. 113
Compose Chapter Theses	p. 119
Intervene Strategically	p. 122
Rhythm: Setting the Pace	p. 123
Author Profile: The Sole Authority	p. 123
Client Profile: The Regional House	p. 125
Assignment: The Local History Turned Personal	p. 126
Rearrange the Furniture	p. 127
Draft New Passages	p. 130
Balance Chapter Weights	p. 132
Edit for Pace	p. 135
Transitions: Filling in the Blanks	p. 142
AuthorProfile: The Dead Author	p. 142
Client Profile: The Self-Publisher	p. 144
Assignment: The Memoir with Lapses	p. 145
Create Opening Transitions	p. 146
Create Closing Transitions	p. 149
Draw Conclusions	p. 151
Place Those Conclusions	p. 154
Style: Training the Voice	p. 158
Author Profile: The Journalist	p. 159
Client Profile: The Book Packager	p. 160
Assignment: The Story with Too Many Voices	p. 162
Set the Tone	p. 164
Parse the Rhetoric	p. 167
Master Abstraction	p. 175
Gauge the Ironies	p. 178
Harmonize the Voices	p. 182
Display: Dressing Up the Text	p. 187
Author Profile: The Author-for-Hire	p. 188
Client Profile: The Trade Reference House	p. 189
Assignment: The Guidebook with Poor Signage	p. 191
Consider Subheads	p. 192
Consider Epigraphs	p. 197
Draft an Art Plan	p. 201
Illustrate Concepts	p. 204
Visualize Data	p. 207
Test-Drive Maps	p. 212
Add Lagniappe	p. 215
Afterword	p. 221
Further Reading	p. 223
Acknowledgments	p. 229
Index	p. 231
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