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The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself
An intimate, lively guide to the magic and mechanics of editing by a veteran editor and writer. The Artful Edit explores the many-faceted and often misunderstood―or simply overlooked―art of editing. Brimming with examples, quotes, and case studies that include an illuminating discussion of Max Perkins's editorial collaboration with F. Scott Fitzgerald on The Great Gatsby , this book proves how fundamental editing is to great writing. Bell also offers strategic tips and exercises for self-editing, and a series of remarkable interviews, that take us into the studios of established authors such as Michael Ondaatje, Tracy Kidder, and Ann Patchett to learn from their various approaches to shaping their work after its initial creation. Much more than a manual, The Artful Edit inspires readers to think about both the discipline and the creativity of editing and how editing can enhance their work. A vigorous investigation into the history and meaning of the edit, this book, like The Triggering Town and The Elements of Style , is a must-have companion for every writer.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published August 13, 2007
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2355 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews
April 1, 2011
There is an endless glut of books which propose to help one unleash one's Muse (yuck), write mystery novels, bestsellers, a killer screenplay, slam poetry and the like: in short, there is a stupefying amount of books that propose to teach, or guide one, into the writing process. Most of them are awful but even the awfullest ones can be inspiring: like your run-of-the-mill self-help book, they can achieve brilliance by inspiring the brain to enter a new cycle of introspection, exciting synapses into a new direction that involves creating a “new, more powerful you,” or into creating things. This is valuable stuff.
There are not, however, as far as I can tell, too many books on editing, on honing and making your writing the best if can be. Sure, writing books sometimes skim this subject, but all too often they offer obvious, pat stuff, chapters with titles like Character Development, The Three-act Structure, and etc. Very few get into the nitty-gritty of actual editing, which is surprising, since it is probably the most important aspect of writing next to the actual writing itself.
This book is all about editing, and though editing can be as difficult to learn or teach as writing, it goes a long way to putting the brain into editing mode, and to explaining why good self-editing is necessary and even inspiring. Sure, some (maybe most?) of the insights this book offers are (as is the case with most writing books) easier to discern than to actually put into practice. But besides the obvious and thus vague insight this book is enriched by a plethora of emulative examples. Being not about the often obtuse and namby-pamby activity of writing but the definite production of editing allows the use of clean, concrete examples of how editing works, the before and after of a thoroughly edited product. This is immensely valuable as a tool to help one understand one's own editing habits and faults.
(I myself am a good editor of other people but though I can see clearly sometimes the faults in my own writing, I can be too stubborn or self-indulgent to edit properly until perhaps the last possible moment, or when enough time has come along that I really don't care anymore about some striking passage that meant something to me once but does no longer. Still, though I can intuit knowing editing, it is good to have a book that validates what I thought I knew about editing all along.)
The style of this book is easy and digestible, sometimes sustaining the tone of a meditation exercise. As a bonus, it can also be of invaluable use to high school students studying The Great Gatsby, as a great deal of time is spent exposing the merits and motifs of that book, and using it as an example of an exemplary and hard-nosed edited process.
Being a book about editing, this book is, not surprisingly, edited for quite well. There are interesting examples near the end of artists of different fields explaining how they edit within their own art form. This may be insightful or needless, depending on your tastes. However, the last section, a brief history of editing throughout the ages, seems superfluous, though I read it with some enjoyment and consider it an appendix to the book as a whole.
This is a very helpful book to anyone considering editing their work into such a state as to be of any interest to anyone but themselves. I plan to photocopy certain pages I found to be particularly helpful. No small praise from this guy!
There are not, however, as far as I can tell, too many books on editing, on honing and making your writing the best if can be. Sure, writing books sometimes skim this subject, but all too often they offer obvious, pat stuff, chapters with titles like Character Development, The Three-act Structure, and etc. Very few get into the nitty-gritty of actual editing, which is surprising, since it is probably the most important aspect of writing next to the actual writing itself.
This book is all about editing, and though editing can be as difficult to learn or teach as writing, it goes a long way to putting the brain into editing mode, and to explaining why good self-editing is necessary and even inspiring. Sure, some (maybe most?) of the insights this book offers are (as is the case with most writing books) easier to discern than to actually put into practice. But besides the obvious and thus vague insight this book is enriched by a plethora of emulative examples. Being not about the often obtuse and namby-pamby activity of writing but the definite production of editing allows the use of clean, concrete examples of how editing works, the before and after of a thoroughly edited product. This is immensely valuable as a tool to help one understand one's own editing habits and faults.
(I myself am a good editor of other people but though I can see clearly sometimes the faults in my own writing, I can be too stubborn or self-indulgent to edit properly until perhaps the last possible moment, or when enough time has come along that I really don't care anymore about some striking passage that meant something to me once but does no longer. Still, though I can intuit knowing editing, it is good to have a book that validates what I thought I knew about editing all along.)
The style of this book is easy and digestible, sometimes sustaining the tone of a meditation exercise. As a bonus, it can also be of invaluable use to high school students studying The Great Gatsby, as a great deal of time is spent exposing the merits and motifs of that book, and using it as an example of an exemplary and hard-nosed edited process.
Being a book about editing, this book is, not surprisingly, edited for quite well. There are interesting examples near the end of artists of different fields explaining how they edit within their own art form. This may be insightful or needless, depending on your tastes. However, the last section, a brief history of editing throughout the ages, seems superfluous, though I read it with some enjoyment and consider it an appendix to the book as a whole.
This is a very helpful book to anyone considering editing their work into such a state as to be of any interest to anyone but themselves. I plan to photocopy certain pages I found to be particularly helpful. No small praise from this guy!
June 16, 2023
I wanted to bone up on some editing essentials and could not have found a better, more helpful book on the subject.
November 5, 2025
My favourite class this semester was a class on editing, which is pretty relevant to me given that it's my side hustle lol
The book we've been using is Susan Bell's "The Artful Edit: on the practice of editing yourself" - and I love it so much!
To be fair, there are a few bits that felt a bit dry and bogged down (she references The Great Gatsby as a text throughout to point out editing examples; I have never read the book nor intend to), but overall, this is a fantastic read for all writers.
The most relevant chapters were the first 3: gaining perspective, macro-editing, and micro-editing.
Whether you're a first-time writer or seasoned at it, the very helpful checklists at the end of each chapter will remind you of important points to evaluate your own manuscript for. It's easy to understand, streamlined, and very practical.
I've already put a lot of what I learned from this book and my class into practice, and it's absolutely helped my entire editing process - whether I'm fixing my own work or others'.
4.75/5 🌟
The book we've been using is Susan Bell's "The Artful Edit: on the practice of editing yourself" - and I love it so much!
To be fair, there are a few bits that felt a bit dry and bogged down (she references The Great Gatsby as a text throughout to point out editing examples; I have never read the book nor intend to), but overall, this is a fantastic read for all writers.
The most relevant chapters were the first 3: gaining perspective, macro-editing, and micro-editing.
Whether you're a first-time writer or seasoned at it, the very helpful checklists at the end of each chapter will remind you of important points to evaluate your own manuscript for. It's easy to understand, streamlined, and very practical.
I've already put a lot of what I learned from this book and my class into practice, and it's absolutely helped my entire editing process - whether I'm fixing my own work or others'.
4.75/5 🌟
February 18, 2015
This is the best book I've ever read on revision. Rather than increase the mystery and angst of revision, Susan Bell treats revision as a tool you can use on yourself---with the same compassion, patience and respect you would give a client. What a revelation for me. Forget Faulkner's dictum "Kill your darlings." I'll take Bell's proscription instead. After analyzing the way that the late, great Maxwell Perkins edited F. Scott Fitzgerald, she writes: "Perkins's treatment begs the question: Couldn't you be as square, courteous, generous and open-minded to yourself when you edit your work work?" Thank you, Susan Bell.
February 4, 2024
This book, though short, was kind of a slow read, for me. Most of the craft books I've read are very practical, formula-focused, "this is how I think it should be done" types of books. This one was a study of how many authors and editors did it. It's meant to make the reader think thoroughly for herself and use what she can to develop her own methods.
I wouldn't recommend this to a beginner writer since it assumes you already know quite a bit about your craft and are ready to delve deep into the artistry. It came at a good time in my journey.
I wouldn't recommend this to a beginner writer since it assumes you already know quite a bit about your craft and are ready to delve deep into the artistry. It came at a good time in my journey.
July 12, 2025
Good book on editing. Helpful, but I could have done without all the wandering anecdotes from other writers.
Fair warning: Make sure you've read, or at least are familiar with, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The author references it in every chapter.
Fair warning: Make sure you've read, or at least are familiar with, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The author references it in every chapter.
September 13, 2009
Potential readers of Susan Bell's "The Artful Edit" would do well to consider first what this book is, and what it is not. This is not a replacement for the ubiquitous and essential "Elements of Style" which should be on every English speaker's desk. No, where that fine work was written for everyone who wishes to write, Bell's work, I would dare to presume, is meant for writers. And for those people, her pages sing.
Bell offers a considered meditation on various questions related to editing - what it is, how is it done, what purpose does it serve? For each question she looks at the works of different writers to consider both their answers to these question and their methods in considering their own works. These writers, often quoted at length, give the reader a sense that Bell shares the quality that surely must exist in all great editors, that being humility.
Of particular pleasure is Bell's use of perhaps the greatest American novel of the last century "The Great Gatsby." Considering this classic, Bell presents text from the draft Fitzgerald first presented to his editor, the notes and comments of that editor, and then Fitzgerald's thoughts and rewrites. Of course, Fitzgerald was fortunate to work with Max Perkins, who worked with many of the best American writers of his time, and is widely considered the master of his craft.
As I mentioned, non-writers may not find her efforts useful, particularly as it relates to seeking to "perfect" one's work. But for writers, this thoughtful work will provoke more than a little thought and more than a single reading.
Bell offers a considered meditation on various questions related to editing - what it is, how is it done, what purpose does it serve? For each question she looks at the works of different writers to consider both their answers to these question and their methods in considering their own works. These writers, often quoted at length, give the reader a sense that Bell shares the quality that surely must exist in all great editors, that being humility.
Of particular pleasure is Bell's use of perhaps the greatest American novel of the last century "The Great Gatsby." Considering this classic, Bell presents text from the draft Fitzgerald first presented to his editor, the notes and comments of that editor, and then Fitzgerald's thoughts and rewrites. Of course, Fitzgerald was fortunate to work with Max Perkins, who worked with many of the best American writers of his time, and is widely considered the master of his craft.
As I mentioned, non-writers may not find her efforts useful, particularly as it relates to seeking to "perfect" one's work. But for writers, this thoughtful work will provoke more than a little thought and more than a single reading.
October 25, 2012
Helpful but--dare I say it?--I think this book needs a good edit. The last chapter is a history of editing. The only reason I can see why it doesn't start the book is because the author didn't want to have to write a conclusion. The book did change my perspective on editing, as was its goal, however. The best part of the book was Chapter 2, in which the author instructs the reader on how to macro-edit using the example of Fitzgerald's and Perkins' collaboration on The Great Gatsby as an example. Overall, it's a good resource, but I don't plan to read it cover to cover again.
September 30, 2019
I'm deeply skeptical about self-editing, and I don't think this offers much useful advice on how to do it successfully. And it's certainly not a practice done in solitude or solely by oneself; most of her examples have authors working in tandem with their editors. I also thought that the book itself was poorly organized and difficult to follow in its structure.
May 30, 2012
Helpful and different. I will definitely teach from it, esp. for upper level undergrads.
January 18, 2013
Drawn out and offering less "tips & tricks" to self-editing than I expected. But overall I guess that this is a good introduction to editing for new writers.
December 22, 2019
Summary: An editor offers advice on how to edit your own writing.
Review: I loved the first half of this book for its practicality, but as it got less practical I lost interest. Example:
* Loved learning about how The Great Gatsby changed during the editing process
* Didn’t love reading about the entire history of book editing
One little gem was the author’s tips for gaining perspective on your work—techniques like editing in a different environment than where you wrote, changing the font when you read it back, hanging it up on a laundry line to look for big picture issues.
Even though I didn’t love the second half, the book was easy to get through, which isn’t always true of writing books. (As my shelf of 20+ unread writing books can attest.)
I’ll leave you with one of the practical tips that stuck with me:
Review: I loved the first half of this book for its practicality, but as it got less practical I lost interest. Example:
* Loved learning about how The Great Gatsby changed during the editing process
* Didn’t love reading about the entire history of book editing
One little gem was the author’s tips for gaining perspective on your work—techniques like editing in a different environment than where you wrote, changing the font when you read it back, hanging it up on a laundry line to look for big picture issues.
Even though I didn’t love the second half, the book was easy to get through, which isn’t always true of writing books. (As my shelf of 20+ unread writing books can attest.)
I’ll leave you with one of the practical tips that stuck with me:
Take care not to indiscriminately repeat a turn of phrase. Avoid, that is, overusing one particular sentence structure, such as, for example, a clause, then a colon, then a list. Single out the structure you unwittingly repeat, enter it in a notebook marked “patterns to break,” and make it the only thing you look for on one or two read-throughs. Hunt down your habit, and train your mind to flinch at it.
March 27, 2014
Should Have Been A 5...
The writer of this book gets a 5 but the publisher gets a 3, though it should be a 2. The actual editing and advice is excellent and I will use it, but I felt so annoyed and angry at the fluff they threw in the back to give it a certain amount of a word count. Susan Bell is awesome and if that is all she had to say on editing that would have been fine, charge a little less and let it be a smaller book, but it felt like the publisher needed some kind of filler to charge more and put in some interviews that added nothing but a reason for me to spend more money. I am not self-editing this review by the way, but I will self-edit my fiction and it will be better because of this book. I recommend buying this book on paperback used and cheap. To expensive for Kindle unless they take out the fluff and cut the price in half.
The writer of this book gets a 5 but the publisher gets a 3, though it should be a 2. The actual editing and advice is excellent and I will use it, but I felt so annoyed and angry at the fluff they threw in the back to give it a certain amount of a word count. Susan Bell is awesome and if that is all she had to say on editing that would have been fine, charge a little less and let it be a smaller book, but it felt like the publisher needed some kind of filler to charge more and put in some interviews that added nothing but a reason for me to spend more money. I am not self-editing this review by the way, but I will self-edit my fiction and it will be better because of this book. I recommend buying this book on paperback used and cheap. To expensive for Kindle unless they take out the fluff and cut the price in half.
June 13, 2025
The Artful Edit is a book aimed at writers, specifically the editing part of the writing process.
I'm still rather new to the writing process, while I have a comfort zone for churning out a first draft the process of editing has been a mystery process, a process I had no confidence in. After reading this book I now know each author has to come up with their own way of doing the editing process, the process that works for them.
I also feel more confident after reading the chapters on macro and micro editing, a list of things to look for when I'm editing, and the end of chapter bullet points to refer back to as I go through the editing process.
This book is an easy read, thought provoking with examples that are easy to understand. I recommend this book to anyone looking for more insight into the editing process.
I'm still rather new to the writing process, while I have a comfort zone for churning out a first draft the process of editing has been a mystery process, a process I had no confidence in. After reading this book I now know each author has to come up with their own way of doing the editing process, the process that works for them.
I also feel more confident after reading the chapters on macro and micro editing, a list of things to look for when I'm editing, and the end of chapter bullet points to refer back to as I go through the editing process.
This book is an easy read, thought provoking with examples that are easy to understand. I recommend this book to anyone looking for more insight into the editing process.
November 21, 2014
I got more out of this book than anything else I've read on self-editing. At least, that's what it feels like at the moment. I like the way it was structured, spiraling down from process to macro-edits to micro-edits. The author illustrated her points by using The Great Gatsby as an example throughout the first three chapters, which was very helpful.
I skimmed the last two chapters, the "Master Class" and the history of editing, because I was anxious to get back to work, to apply some of what I'd learned to the manuscript at hand. Enough procrastinating already!
I skimmed the last two chapters, the "Master Class" and the history of editing, because I was anxious to get back to work, to apply some of what I'd learned to the manuscript at hand. Enough procrastinating already!
May 28, 2023
Probably the best book I've read not just on editing but on the craft of writing itself. Very concise and insightful. All writers can benefit from reading it - especially those who overuse participles!
March 4, 2022
What a wonderful read! Even the positive blurbs on the back of the book do not do it proper justice. Susan Bell writes on editing in a way which is truly literary, not merely instructive, and never pedantic. Disclaimer: I'm working on a career transition to screenwriting, not novel writing. But after my novelist wife (@JenGennari) left this book lying around after reading it, I idly picked it up, always looking for more on writing (and rewriting), and was immediately drawn in by the beauty of the work. It includes examples from the recent history of editing; thoughts on proper relations between writers and editors; chronicles of writers growing into good self-editors; a brief history of editing itself (saved for the end, not an academic beginning); and some very shrewd observations on the ever-changing relationship between art and commerce in publishing. Start it for the ostensible purpose of learning about editing a novel; stay for the comments from artists in other fields, including film and sound editor Walter Murch. I'm no F. Scott Fitzgerald, so I'll put it in the vernacular: Most Excellent!
March 20, 2018
If you're a writer, you need to read 'The Artful Edit'. It's clearly written and contains many concrete examples. These lessons not only strengthened my editorial muscles, but also refined my reading skills. Overall, I feel this information will also help improve my own writing.
Much of the book uses 'The Great Gatsby' as a model. At first I was leary, because I had never read Fitzgerald's novel (yes, for shame!), but Susan Bell selects passages with great precision, and disects the text in such a way that I didn't feel lost without having read the enitre story.
I now feel prepared to apply macro and micro level editing to my own work, and think I will be able to provide better feedback to my critique partners.
Much of the book uses 'The Great Gatsby' as a model. At first I was leary, because I had never read Fitzgerald's novel (yes, for shame!), but Susan Bell selects passages with great precision, and disects the text in such a way that I didn't feel lost without having read the enitre story.
I now feel prepared to apply macro and micro level editing to my own work, and think I will be able to provide better feedback to my critique partners.
November 27, 2019
Recommended by the facilitator in my writing class, I found The Artful Edit interesting but not totally helpful. I really enjoyed Bell's discussion, vis-a-vis editing, The Great Gatesby,/i>, one of my favorites.
March 29, 2018
As I was reading it, I was feeling an urge to sit down and write.
An essential if you are interested in writing; no matter what type, but especially ficiton.
An essential if you are interested in writing; no matter what type, but especially ficiton.
April 20, 2022
Adding this to my list of, 'Books every writer should read.'
June 2, 2022
I'm struggling to rate this because parts were wonderful and other parts...well, just didn't work for me.
Read
November 30, 2024I’m tired of reading books for class
January 10, 2020
If you are an editor or a self-editor, "The Artful Edit" is a must-have book. Bell provides methods of improving your editing and new ways of editing. I will give you one warning about this book, read "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald first. She references this book as many times as Geralt of Rivia says, "hmm" in Netflix’s "The Witcher."
August 13, 2016
Bell suggests reading one's own work (or any work you are editing) alternatively with a macro-lens and micro-lens, and she asserts that these two types of methodical reading cannot be done simultaneously; that a too-methodical reading "will force a text into categories too cleanly divided. Character here, leitmotiv there. Theme here, continuity of style there. But narrative parts work in tandem. [...] Try too hard to separate the parts and you destroy the whole." I found this advice interesting, because this is in fact how I read when I index (reading for the big picture - the forest - and also the details - the trees). It can in fact be done, and the whole is not destroyed. But I do, of course, read somewhat differently when I'm not reading-for-indexing, since the methodical reading can be intense and exhausting.
Bell quotes Scott Spencer on NOT reading aloud and I rejoiced because I've been waiting for someone to make this point: I've spontaneously changed things around because it just occurred to me, with the stimulation of people there, how to make it funnier.[...] But a lot of fiction strikes me as having an ingratiating quality that isn't good for the overall book. It comes from how many people read out loud: the professors read at the schools and people read at their writing groups. There is too much of that, because the contact between the reader and the writer is really two people in solitude. [page 144] -- Yes, two minds in solitude-together-silently! The writing has to pass the test of readability on the silent page, without inflections and pauses. I am learning to appreciate audio books, but when listening to a good one I will always wonder how it would be to read on the page.
Regarding parataxis, which I think can be poorly done and cheap: Today [Maurice] Berger no longer writes in fragments, a form that can, he says, become a crutch. [page 174-75] (Hurray.)
I think Bell misuses the phrase "beg the question" in speaking of Perkins's style in editing Fitzgerald: His light touch led Fitzgerald to acknowledge his editor's "tremendous squareness, courtesy, generosity, and open-mindedness." Perkins's treatment begs the question: Couldn't you be as square, courteous, generous, and open-minded to yourself when you edit your work? But it doesn't mean "raise the question" or "beg that the question be asked." It's like a tautological circle, no?
Bell quotes Scott Spencer on NOT reading aloud and I rejoiced because I've been waiting for someone to make this point: I've spontaneously changed things around because it just occurred to me, with the stimulation of people there, how to make it funnier.[...] But a lot of fiction strikes me as having an ingratiating quality that isn't good for the overall book. It comes from how many people read out loud: the professors read at the schools and people read at their writing groups. There is too much of that, because the contact between the reader and the writer is really two people in solitude. [page 144] -- Yes, two minds in solitude-together-silently! The writing has to pass the test of readability on the silent page, without inflections and pauses. I am learning to appreciate audio books, but when listening to a good one I will always wonder how it would be to read on the page.
Regarding parataxis, which I think can be poorly done and cheap: Today [Maurice] Berger no longer writes in fragments, a form that can, he says, become a crutch. [page 174-75] (Hurray.)
I think Bell misuses the phrase "beg the question" in speaking of Perkins's style in editing Fitzgerald: His light touch led Fitzgerald to acknowledge his editor's "tremendous squareness, courtesy, generosity, and open-mindedness." Perkins's treatment begs the question: Couldn't you be as square, courteous, generous, and open-minded to yourself when you edit your work? But it doesn't mean "raise the question" or "beg that the question be asked." It's like a tautological circle, no?
October 22, 2025
Awesome, awesome, awesome! You know how sometimes it takes lots of repetition for a lesson to sink in? (I guess that's the theory behind multiplication tables in third grade....) Well, sometimes I think that we just need a really good teacher to put the lesson in terms that can be understood.
That teacher is Susan Bell. She's a professional editor, and not a bad writer either. =)
Bell breaks down the editing process in order to show writers how they can self edit. And this day in age, with the ton of self-publishing e-authors out there, self editing is soooooo important.
Important things that Bell covers: history of editing/editors' roles, creating distance from the work in order to gain perspective (sometimes it's literally pasting your work to a wall and looking at it from a different distance), macro vs micro editing, and developing your own style of editing...much like developing your own style of writing. Throughout the book she uses some really stellar examples from F. Scott Fitzgerald legendary book The Great Gatsby and his equally legendary editor, Maxwell Perkins. I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of this classic, but Bell has shown enough about Fitzgerald's reworking work to make me impressed.
Unlike other books on writing (editing) this one is fairly easy to charge right through. It doesn't read like stereo instruction and there are no annoying charts/graphs to mathematically dictate how to write creatively. Bell does include checklists--however, they are useful breakdowns of what she has already explained very well in her chapters. Think of them as reminder sheets. All in all, if you're working on revising a piece, you should read this first. It's encouraging, practical, and should inspire you to Finish. Yup, with a capital F.
~Jenny
Place For The Stolen
Under Ground Writing Project
That teacher is Susan Bell. She's a professional editor, and not a bad writer either. =)
Bell breaks down the editing process in order to show writers how they can self edit. And this day in age, with the ton of self-publishing e-authors out there, self editing is soooooo important.
Important things that Bell covers: history of editing/editors' roles, creating distance from the work in order to gain perspective (sometimes it's literally pasting your work to a wall and looking at it from a different distance), macro vs micro editing, and developing your own style of editing...much like developing your own style of writing. Throughout the book she uses some really stellar examples from F. Scott Fitzgerald legendary book The Great Gatsby and his equally legendary editor, Maxwell Perkins. I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of this classic, but Bell has shown enough about Fitzgerald's reworking work to make me impressed.
Unlike other books on writing (editing) this one is fairly easy to charge right through. It doesn't read like stereo instruction and there are no annoying charts/graphs to mathematically dictate how to write creatively. Bell does include checklists--however, they are useful breakdowns of what she has already explained very well in her chapters. Think of them as reminder sheets. All in all, if you're working on revising a piece, you should read this first. It's encouraging, practical, and should inspire you to Finish. Yup, with a capital F.
~Jenny
Place For The Stolen
Under Ground Writing Project
January 10, 2013
The gist: A serious writer should be a serious reader of his or her own work.
Susan Bell's editing wisdom is well trenched and her respect for her reader's taste is refreshing. The essays she provide at the end of each chapter are pertinent and contribute another professional's perspective. Her excercises sharpen and challenge our editing ability, and her editing check lists should be copied and committed to heart.
This isn't a rehashing of Strunk and White, nor is it a TomTom for writers. It's a light philosophy on the importance and art of editing ones own work. She'll give you a map and a compass, but she lets you discover your own route.
Thanks to this book, I am no longer daunted by my own text.
Susan Bell's editing wisdom is well trenched and her respect for her reader's taste is refreshing. The essays she provide at the end of each chapter are pertinent and contribute another professional's perspective. Her excercises sharpen and challenge our editing ability, and her editing check lists should be copied and committed to heart.
This isn't a rehashing of Strunk and White, nor is it a TomTom for writers. It's a light philosophy on the importance and art of editing ones own work. She'll give you a map and a compass, but she lets you discover your own route.
Thanks to this book, I am no longer daunted by my own text.
August 5, 2009
This is an excellent little book for writers and editors alike. I particularly appreciated the lengthy discussion of Maxwell Perkins's collaborative edit with F. Scott Fitzgerald of The Great Gatsby. Having a central work with examples of many kinds of revisions helps illustrate the author's main points about the kinds of things one might seek to improve through editing. The viewpoints she brings in from numerous other writers help emphasize the varieties of the editing experience. I think a lot of this book, and I'm adding it to the reading list for my editing class this semester. I'm glad I read it, and I think my students will gain a lot from it. If you write and/or edit, you will too.
September 5, 2019
This is a pretty solid craft text! It had some good advice, delivered in an approachable tone. Author is pretty rabid for The Great Gatsby but even if you don't agree with her opinions on the book, she does a great job of explaining WHY what Fitzgerald did or didn't do is good or bad (from a craft perspective).
I wouldn't read it again until I had a completed draft of something to come back to, though. Reading it mid-project led to quite a bit of second-guessing and quelling doubt. Fortunately my copy is a Kindle book, so I don't have to look at it again until I need to!
I wouldn't read it again until I had a completed draft of something to come back to, though. Reading it mid-project led to quite a bit of second-guessing and quelling doubt. Fortunately my copy is a Kindle book, so I don't have to look at it again until I need to!
June 15, 2016
A graceful commentary on the art of editing. She used lots of concrete examples, particularly from The Great Gatsby. I also liked her discussion of the history and evolution of editing, citing examples from well-known editors.
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