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Book Editing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Print. Thrown in

The document is an annotated bibliography created by Max Quayle for a class on editing in the professions. It lists 10 sections of resources that will help Quayle overcome obstacles to becoming a literary journalist, including style guides, language guides, dictionaries, online resources, and books on editing. The resources listed provide guidance on topics like editing, writing, journalism, and inspiration.

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142 views4 pages

Book Editing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Print. Thrown in

The document is an annotated bibliography created by Max Quayle for a class on editing in the professions. It lists 10 sections of resources that will help Quayle overcome obstacles to becoming a literary journalist, including style guides, language guides, dictionaries, online resources, and books on editing. The resources listed provide guidance on topics like editing, writing, journalism, and inspiration.

Uploaded by

max
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Max Quayle

Martha Carlson-Bradley
PW 5020: Editing in the Professions
Final Draft: Annotated Bibliography
March 10, 2010

A World of Intention Does Not Discipline Make

1. Introduction

My list of resources is geared purposefully toward helping me, on a case by case


basis, overcome the obstacles that are currently in the way of my becoming a literary
journalist. There are dusty, leaden tomes side by side with reading that uplifts by
virtue of its own light; my belief is that possessing and using these extremes will
discover to me the balance that I will use to walk the “successfully-published”
tightrope.

2. Style Guidance

Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of


California Press, 2006. Print. My most dog-eared college text yet, I am sure that it
will be with me for the duration. With easy indexing and enough obscurity to
cover the “musts”, Einsohn has made this style guide a pleasure to dip into.

Schwartz, Marilyn. Guidelines for Bias-Free Writing. Bloomington: Indiana


University Press, 1995. Print. Writing persuasively is my natural style, and I am
often the voice of bias. I appreciate the value of neutral assessment and non-
speculative prose. What I do not have is much experience writing such. I
anticipate career writing on contract for specific niches, many of which will
require neither grandiloquence nor verbosity. I have often struck gold when
searching the offerings of university press releases.

Sharp, Leslie T., and Irene Gunther. Editing Fact and Fiction: A Concise Guide to
Book Editing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Print. Thrown in
for good measure, I am sure this manual will only confirm my suspicion that
Einsohn is a great style guide. However, an alternate view dispels much
speculation. Perhaps two editor-authors are better than one.

Smith, Sarah Harrison. The Fact Checker's Bible: A Guide to Getting It Right. New
York: Anchor, 2004. Print. I own a series of fiction writer’s guidebooks on
everything from crime scene operating procedure to poisonings to explosives and
their effectiveness, this manual may shed some light on common misconceptions
and myths in editing and writing these genres, and even in the purveyance of
fiction’s stranger friend, truth.

3. Language: The Delivery System


Quayle Annotated Bibliography

Blake, Gary, and Robert W. Bly. The Elements of Business Writing: A Guide to
Writing Clear, Concise Letters, Memos, Reports, Proposals, and Other Business
Documents. 1st ed. New York: Longman, 1992. Print. In my experience thus far, I
have found that my general communications are too formal—just look at that
“thus”—with this book I hope to broaden, and modernize my approach to
business writing. I specifically wish to master the query letter and streamline my
article submissions for a broader appeal.

Blake, Gary, and Robert W. Bly. The Elements of Technical Writing: The Essential
Guide to Writing Clear, Concise Proposals, Reports, Manuals, Letters, Memos,
and Other Documents in Every Technical Field. New York: MacMillan, 1993.
Print. Along with the preceding entry, I expect to find in Bly and Blake, a voice
for my informal communications; even the simple e-mail has far reaching impact.
I also need more insight into the technical writing world to see if my style and
technique are appropriate when covering technical topics like mathematics.

Provost, Gary. 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing. New York: Mentor, 1985. Print.
Like a daily shot of cocoa, this slim book has palatable advice from one whose
work has spoken for itself. Provost is on my side.

4. Lexiconography

Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, 2010. Web. 25 Jan. 2010.


< http://www.merriam-webster.com/ >. I admit that the interface is poor, but the
connections and speed provided by this evolving website are the source of calm in
a world of word misusage and grammar defiance. A reachable standard at a
suitable price: Free.

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. 1990. Print. Well thumbed and broadly
splayed, my copy of MW has solved many a scrabble debate, debunked poor
usage, and, on countless occasions, has confirmed my literary instinct. I exist
vicariously in the realm of the second and third definition. I will always reach for
this book.

The Writer’s Dictionary. c.1940. Print. I have a coverless, “un-citable” lexicon upon
my desk that has provided me with years of pointed comments. I often pore over
this relic for capturing the essence of the language. It lists only one definition, no
etymology—no distractions. Sample definition: “burke (burk), v.t. to murder by
suffocating. Burked, burking.” What can I say more?

5. Online Resources

Associated Press Stylebook. Associated Press, 2010. Web. 5 Mar. 2010.


< http://www.apstylebook.com/online/? > Any career in or around periodicals will
be held to basic journalistic guidelines. The men and women at APA (for good or
Quayle Annotated Bibliography

ill) have established the newsprint code—any submitter must browse this website
for standards.

The Chicago Manual of Style Online. University of Chicago Press, 2006, 2007. Web.
25 Jan. 2010. <http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html>. CMOS has
the content necessary to transform any praiseworthy topic into a praise receiving
publication. Though it cannot write for me, it is a comfort to know when I get
stuck, that it has almost all been done before.

OWL: Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue University, 1995-2010. Web. 25 Jan.
2010. < http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/ >. This online resource
covers everything from MLA style to Chicago style and covers a gambit of
resources for different styles of writing. This is where my bibliography gets its
final touches.

6. Organizations

“Imaxstone.” Scribd.com. Scribd, 2007. Web. 29 Jul. 2009.


< http://www.scribd.com/documents >. Currently my little piece of cyberspace, I
am very satisfied to display my works on this free site. They are easy to access
through a Google search and a quick way to send interested persons to my work.

7. Tools for Electronic Editing

“Copy Editing.” DMOZ Open Directory Project. Netscape, 2009. Web. 27 Feb.
2010. < http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Writers_Resources/Copy_Editing/ > This
website is the “mall” of editing, from boutique niche archive pages to bedrock
columns of sage advice. It is a central web location for blazing topically sensitive
trails through the forest of editing styles.

8. The Queen’s Own Desk Reference

The New Encyclopædia Britannica. 15th ed. 1977. Print. The benchmark of deep
understanding; my family has lugged these thirty leather-bounds for nearly a
decade. We call them our “stone-age internet”; after all, electricity does fail—at
our home, knowledge is ever at the ready.

9. Books on the Editor’s View

Gross, Gerald. 3rd ed. Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know About What
Editors Do. New York: Grove, 1993. Print. An indulgent pleasure-read: “Cliff
notes” for editing…In this, a view from the other side of the fence, I expect to
come away with some sense of the editor’s persona. By realizing what makes an
editors day run smoothly I am sure to hone my submissions and inquiries toward
successful acceptance.
Quayle Annotated Bibliography

Rabiner, Susan, and Alfred Fortunato. Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write
Great Serious Nonfiction--and Get It Published. New York: Norton, 2002. Print.
I have a shelf full of motivational writers “go get ‘em” books—all of which bear
appealing ‘instant gratification’ titles such as this one—each one has dropped at
least a nugget of golden advice on good writing into my pouch.

10. Indulgences

Frey, James N. How to Write A Damn Good Novel. New York: St. Martin’s Press,
1987. Print. What more can I say? Self motivation is a choice, this manual and
drama-management guidebook actually helps me to tone-down my prose,
especially on highly personal topics. Not for fiction only—the world, after all, is
stranger than that.

The Holy Bible: Authorized King James Version. & The Book of Mormon: Another
Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: LDS Press, 1986. Print. I start each
day perusing the words of ancient prophets and journalists. I am convinced there
is no finer source for daily meditation and inspiration. I need to think in terms of
“thee, thou and thine,” in order to “link up” to my own potential.

Sims, Norman, ed. Literary Journalism in the Twentieth Century. Evanston:


Northwest University Press, 2008. Print. Every author should be aware of the
pedigree of their genre. This collection of essays reminds me of the evolution of
the field of literary journalism, and sits well on the bedside table.

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