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Making Book
Trade paperback collection of the author's non-fiction writing.
- GenresNonfictionWritingEssays
160 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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November 16, 2016I bought this books years ago just for the essay on "High Twee" and ended up discovering a treasure trove for the writer, the fan, the lover of books.
I have so many post its marking quotes that it looks like a paper hedgehog (I think of such books as fretful perpentines--there are several in my library).
As the years have gone by, some of it has become charmingly dated, but the observations about writing, and the relationship between writer and editor, writer and reader, are still spot on.
I have so many post its marking quotes that it looks like a paper hedgehog (I think of such books as fretful perpentines--there are several in my library).
As the years have gone by, some of it has become charmingly dated, but the observations about writing, and the relationship between writer and editor, writer and reader, are still spot on.
August 10, 2012
Basically +4 ★ for the copyediting essay, the American Psycho essay (basically an extension of the copyediting essay) and some of the painful, honest writing about narcolepsy and neuropsychological difficulties. -1 ★ for some of the impenetrable ancient fandom stuff which would apparently need to be footnoted more heavily than Dante to be understood, except I just don't care about it enough to bother looking stuff up. A few more essays like "God and I" and "Apocalypse Now and Then," a few less fanzine in-jokes ("High Twee" is especially regrettable), and this would have been a fine collection.
.....also, altho this is REALLY shallow, it has a GREAT cover. It reminded me of my own days learning proofreading marks in grad school at UNM (always erasable red pencil! Never red pen!).
.....also, altho this is REALLY shallow, it has a GREAT cover. It reminded me of my own days learning proofreading marks in grad school at UNM (always erasable red pencil! Never red pen!).
January 19, 2023
This is a perfect example of why when my spouse recommends a book I should read it right away. In these dark early days of 2023, I'm going through my shelves and reading short, unread books. I think this has been on the shelf for 20 years and has survived uncountable purges because the author was one of the bosses and editors at Tor and is friends with some of our friends. But when I wait 20 years to read it, my spouse has no memory of why he recommended it, or more than the faintest recollection of much of anything. I'm pretty sure it was because I was managing an advertising copyediting department in the early aughts, and there is a long, good section called "On Copyediting." And since that is what is on the cover too, I always assumed it would be something like Stet by Athill, or Draft No. 4 by John McPhee, or Dreyer's English, all of which are delightful forays into the wonkish world of editing. This book was not that book.
This book, which I might have been given a disclaimer on if I'd read it sooner than 20 years after my husband red'd it, is a super niche book, containing essays and stories from Hayden's years as an editor of various SFF zines, magazines, and books, plus her years working and attending cons. It is chock full of names I do not recognize and yet didn't feel the need to look up. They seem like they were having a good time back then in the 1980s and 1990s. Good for them. But minutiae and in jokes from the con crowd at the end of last century is not my jam. And if they are not yours, now you have been warned.
Still, this book contains lots of stuff that was great. That includes the opening essay on how she was excommunicated by the Mormons, various details of her disabling narcolepsy and how she managed to have a life beyond it, and a very early railing against disability inspiration porn. The aforementioned essay on copyediting. A hilarious and withering review of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho, which makes me wonder if she liked the film (I did.) And a zinger of an ending about the dangers of pop culture sharing metaphorical bodily fluids with historical scholarship. TNH is a funny, sharp writer.
Also, how can I have run a copyediting department and not know that "arent I" isn't grammatical? Did I know and have forgotten? Now I know. I hope I will not forget.
This book, which I might have been given a disclaimer on if I'd read it sooner than 20 years after my husband red'd it, is a super niche book, containing essays and stories from Hayden's years as an editor of various SFF zines, magazines, and books, plus her years working and attending cons. It is chock full of names I do not recognize and yet didn't feel the need to look up. They seem like they were having a good time back then in the 1980s and 1990s. Good for them. But minutiae and in jokes from the con crowd at the end of last century is not my jam. And if they are not yours, now you have been warned.
Still, this book contains lots of stuff that was great. That includes the opening essay on how she was excommunicated by the Mormons, various details of her disabling narcolepsy and how she managed to have a life beyond it, and a very early railing against disability inspiration porn. The aforementioned essay on copyediting. A hilarious and withering review of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho, which makes me wonder if she liked the film (I did.) And a zinger of an ending about the dangers of pop culture sharing metaphorical bodily fluids with historical scholarship. TNH is a funny, sharp writer.
Also, how can I have run a copyediting department and not know that "arent I" isn't grammatical? Did I know and have forgotten? Now I know. I hope I will not forget.
January 10, 2025
What I really enjoyed was the glimpses into fandom in Seattle. Her writing about disability was also strong
September 29, 2007
Teresa Nielsen Hayden and her husband, Patrick, have been fixtures in the science fiction community for decades. They have published and contributed to important fanzines through the community's rocky 70s and 80s. They then settled into editor positions at Tor, a major publisher of SF/F.
Making Book is a collection of Teresa's essays, fanzine contributions, and stories. It covers a lot of ground: her famous story of being formally excommunicated from the Mormon church, an essay about the trials and tribulations of working on the other side of the financial aid counter at a university, and the also-famous (and hilarious, and fascinating, and informative) guidelines for copyeditors editing science fiction or fantasy for the first time.
Throughout, Teresa's wit and knowledge show and through the essays, stories, and reports she and her husband wrote we get a glimpse into a world of authors, fans, and publishers that no longer exists in the same form but which still influences science fiction today.
Even if you don't care about SF, the stories and the humor are worth reading. The copyeditor section is brilliant and educational for anyone interested in writing or language. In short, it's a great read.
Making Book is a collection of Teresa's essays, fanzine contributions, and stories. It covers a lot of ground: her famous story of being formally excommunicated from the Mormon church, an essay about the trials and tribulations of working on the other side of the financial aid counter at a university, and the also-famous (and hilarious, and fascinating, and informative) guidelines for copyeditors editing science fiction or fantasy for the first time.
Throughout, Teresa's wit and knowledge show and through the essays, stories, and reports she and her husband wrote we get a glimpse into a world of authors, fans, and publishers that no longer exists in the same form but which still influences science fiction today.
Even if you don't care about SF, the stories and the humor are worth reading. The copyeditor section is brilliant and educational for anyone interested in writing or language. In short, it's a great read.
May 6, 2013
A fine collection of essays.
Some are closer to historical artifacts in SF fandom, as amusing as they are. There's a cute story dedicated to a popular filk singer from the late eighties, which while well-written, lacks context if you don't know the subject.
Others -- such as "God and I" -- are very personal, and don't require fan knowledge to parse. "Rough Terrain," created from fragments of unfinished letters, essays, and other ephemera written over a couple years, reads like stream-of-consciousness.
The author's guide to copyediting is an industry standard, and rightly so. As a yet-unpublished author, it reads a bit like "How to Survive on Mars" when the rocket hasn't left the gantry pad and I don't even have a ticket, but it's a window into how publishing works for when I do arrive in orbit. (I think I killed that metaphor just now.)
Her style is, obviously, catching.
Other things learned: never read American Psycho, the definition of "woo-woo" and its application to contemporary Arthurian research, and a great deal about narcolepsy.
Some are closer to historical artifacts in SF fandom, as amusing as they are. There's a cute story dedicated to a popular filk singer from the late eighties, which while well-written, lacks context if you don't know the subject.
Others -- such as "God and I" -- are very personal, and don't require fan knowledge to parse. "Rough Terrain," created from fragments of unfinished letters, essays, and other ephemera written over a couple years, reads like stream-of-consciousness.
The author's guide to copyediting is an industry standard, and rightly so. As a yet-unpublished author, it reads a bit like "How to Survive on Mars" when the rocket hasn't left the gantry pad and I don't even have a ticket, but it's a window into how publishing works for when I do arrive in orbit. (I think I killed that metaphor just now.)
Her style is, obviously, catching.
Other things learned: never read American Psycho, the definition of "woo-woo" and its application to contemporary Arthurian research, and a great deal about narcolepsy.
October 12, 2010
A book of essays, two of which are transcendent and very applicable to my current pursuits and interests.
Her essay on getting excommunicated from Mormonism is delightful. I wondered why she participated in her own excommunication ceremony; the attitude was hilarious, though -- so I'm glad she did.
Another essay on copy-editing is very interesting and well-written, and funny for sticklers and friends-of-sticklers.
Those essays rock; then they threw in a couple of duds. That's okay; they're pretty short.
Her essay on getting excommunicated from Mormonism is delightful. I wondered why she participated in her own excommunication ceremony; the attitude was hilarious, though -- so I'm glad she did.
Another essay on copy-editing is very interesting and well-written, and funny for sticklers and friends-of-sticklers.
Those essays rock; then they threw in a couple of duds. That's okay; they're pretty short.
August 31, 2014
if you have to read any of this book, stick to the first and last essays.
March 14, 2013
I slowly digested MAKING BOOK over the last couple of months, and I had a great time with it. Admittedly, there were a lot of jokes of fandom past that went over my head. There were more that startled me into laughing out loud, sometimes even as I winced at the implications. (My current favorite anecdote is the footnote where Teresa compares the editor of the time travel story who recast the whole thing in subjunctive -- I mean, really?! -- versus the one with "Right Attitude." Then again, I snickered all the whole way through "High Twee.") Then there were the parts where I had to stop and re-read to work through an idea or because a sentence hit me straight in the gut. This book gave me food for thought and made my days a little brighter.
I think next on my nonfiction reading list should be A DICTIONARY OF MODERN ENGLISH USAGE...
I think next on my nonfiction reading list should be A DICTIONARY OF MODERN ENGLISH USAGE...
July 7, 2014
I was fortunate enough to have Teresa as a guest instructor at a writing workshop a couple of years ago (Viable Paradise - HIGHLY recommended for am/pro writers of speculative fiction) and I believe I learned more listening to her speak for a few hours about the writing / editing process than I had in the previous two years. Invaluable information.
"Making Book" is a slender volume but filled with awesome. Observations, recollections and just funny anecdotes abound. But of particular worth is the chapter "On Copyediting"; worth 100x its weight in gold.
"Making Book" is a slender volume but filled with awesome. Observations, recollections and just funny anecdotes abound. But of particular worth is the chapter "On Copyediting"; worth 100x its weight in gold.
February 9, 2015
A fine book of essays, covering reminiscences about getting excommunicated by the Mormon church, a funny polemic against "woo-woo" pseudoscience, and what's reputed to be the best essay ever written on copyediting (I agree).
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