Copyeditor's Handbook
By Amy Einsohn
University of California Press, 2000
560 pages
$19.95
By Katherine Schlegel
Amy Einsohn's "Copyeditor's Handbook" may be designed for use, as it says, by editors in book publishing and corporate communications, but this book speaks to editors of all levels and degrees. The beauty in the book is that it offers not only problems and suggested corrections but also the quoted reasoning behind the answers.
The book is divided into chapters running from "What Copyeditors Do" to "Beyond Grammar," with sections in between on grammar, punctuation, numbers, charts and tables, capitalization, and many other subjects dear to editors' hearts. Einsohn's goal is simple: To tell editors how to deal with what writers give them, if forced to stick to the script, and to offer ways to rewrite the piece to make it better, if given free rein.
The center chapters are among the meatiest for fact-hungry, newspaper-oriented readers, and in them Einsohn dissects the rules and perceived rules of English language and punctuation, comparing generally accepted usage with the restrictions and directives found in a variety of style guides (including the Associated Press, Chicago Manual of Style and Wired Style). As a good editor should, she refrains from committing herself to advising from only one style, acknowledging that some are better than others on different topics. Instead, she offers sound comparisons and, when available, explains the reasoning behind the choices.
This thoughtful approach is even more evident in the grammar sections, where she not only explains what is correct or preferred but also details why some choices are wrong and others only partly right, enabling editors to have educational and productive conversations among themselves and with writers and reporters about how to fix sticky sentences. In one case, she offers a bit of historical perspective into why upperclass Britons started railing against split infinitives in the mid-16th century and then explains why we need not always restrict ourselves to the rule.
Most chapters end in editing exercises planned to test what was just taught. Answer keys are tucked away in the back, with detailed answers and line-by-line explanations of what may or may not be changed. They must be taken with a grain of salt; I found myself editing to my newspaper's own style on several occasions, rather than to Einsohn's suggested ideal. I was also hungry for more of these tests. It would have been great to have the chance to practice all of my acquired knowledge at the end of the book, rather than just specific areas at the end of the specific sections.
Einsohn knows her subject matter, and even more important, she knows her audience. "Kindly construe all errors in the text," she advises in the introduction, "as opportunities for you to exercise your editorial acumen." Later, after listing four major so-called taboos of English grammar (among them never ending a sentence in a preposition), she proceeds to write a paragraph flouting every one of them.
Writers of language handbooks must face the fact that the subject matter can get dry at times, and so Einsohn sprinkles her text with delightful and sometimes lengthy footnotes, including quotes from people as varied as noted linguist Steven Pinker, William Safire and Adam Gopnik, as well as her own personal advice on a variety of matters, recommended outside reading and further examples.
Even with these allowances, the book can be overwhelming for all but the most determined readers. It's best taken in pieces, and would make a great supplemental text in an editing course.
For budding book editors, Einsohn offers solid advice on dealing with editorial coordinators and writers, setting up pay scales and home style guides, and editing book specific copy, such as tables, charts, and back and front matter.
The "Handbook's" detailed analysis of grammar and punctuation rules makes it a solid read for beginning editors in any genre as well as a useful desk reference for even the most experienced wordsmiths.
Kate Schlegel is a news reader focusing on technology news for The Wall Street Journal's online edition, WSJ.com.
