‘Whichever structure you’ve used, the main purpose of the final act or closing chapters is to resolve the threads of this plot, ensuring that the reader’s investment is paid off; that the central storyline is given space to be concluded satisfyingly.’

This book was recommended to me in an editorial magazine review, and I thought it’d be nice to try it out and see if it was as interesting as it appeared. It turned out I was correct. Some of the comments on genre were excellent for broadening my mind and encouraging me to think ahead about reader expectations.

On Editing asked me to analyse sections of writing, and explained why some were better for conveying show-not-tell practices as opposed to summaries or ‘telling’. In this sense I felt On Editing opened my eyes to practices I could look into correcting in my own writing, as well as others’.

I didn’t agree with every example, in the point of view chapter, notably. But I did see the point the authors were trying to make. All the examples were clear and easy to understand. I’d recommend On Editing for writers who are new to self-editing, need to brush up on their self-editing skills, and for developmental editors who want to know how to approach some areas of writing.