On Editing: How to edit your novel the professional way

by Helen Corner-Bryant, Kathryn Price

"Highly On Editing is indispensable reading for anyone who is or wants to be a writer. Every desk should have a copy!"- Dr Samantha J. Rayner, Director of the Centre for Publishing, UCL"On Editing is a feast with many courses. When you have finished this book, you will feel encouraged, empowered, and indomitable. If you are writing-or editing-a novel, you could do no better than to have this book by your side. Comprehensive, easily digestible, it is a classic in the making." - Shaye Areheart, Director of the Columbia Publishing CourseWriting a novel is a magical but often difficult journey; and when your first draft is complete, that journey's not over. As the editing process gets underway, authors often find themselves in unfamiliar territory. What does it mean to 'map your plot'? How do you know if you're 'head-hopping'? When is your novel ready to send out to agents, and how do you make each submission count? Written by the team behind one of the world's most successful literary consultancies, On Editing will show you how to master the self-edit. You will learn to compose, draft, and edit while sharpening your writing and ensuring that your novel is structurally sound, authentic, well-written, and ready for submission.On Editing will help you harness your creative potential, transform the way you think about your writing, and revolutionise your editorial process."It's easy for writers to be overwhelmed by the technicalities of writing, editing and getting published, but Helen Corner-Bryant and Kathryn Price share their decades of experience nurturing writers in On Editing. They know all the problems and how to fix them - including many you might not even think of - and explain it all in a clean, jargon-free, way that demystifies the whole process, with infectious enthusiasm that will have you ready, eager and bursting with the confidence to take your writing to the next level." - Writing Magazine

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

293 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 17, 2018

Reviews

[Khira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second or third time I've read this book from cover to cover and I still find it incredibly helpful. The principles of creative writing and editing are laid out very clearly and examples are reworked several times to illustrate these principles. This is a reference text that I will keep coming back to.

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

On writing good non-fiction

Most books 'on writing' focus heavily on the original draft, and seldom are there many resources on 'editing' per se, so I was pretty keen to pick this books up.

At first it was a little dry, which is concerned for a book on creative writing right? However after diving into the material I found some of the best resources I have for a while, especially on description, showing and telling, and Bryant and Price even provide a thorough section on queries and synopsis' an often neglected yet extremely challenging part of publishing.

All in all a great on editing book - perhaps the only thing missing were different approaches to the actual editing process, such as contrasting development editing with line-by-line. Still a great read though.

[Kim Stallwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novelists are the audience for On Editing by Helen Corner-Bryant and Kathryn Price. I am not a novelist; however, the writing style I am using to write the biography of Topsy the elephant, narrative nonfiction, is a way to write a true story that uses the techniques of fiction. Even though I am not the intended audience, I found this book to be one of the more helpful books I have read on writing, editing, and getting published. The book has two sections: 'Editing your novel' and 'Submitting your novel'. The first is the larger of the two. It is rich with insightful and practical advice. While the second is helpful, it is familiar territory to other books about writing I have read. The first section more than justifies reading this book.

[Julia Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I've finally finished this book after losing it in my closet-bookshelf for a year (oops!).
My thoughts: I loved it! I took SO many notes! Literally. I mean, there are pages and pages of notes that I took in my Tardis journal. There are gobs of highlights and underlinings in my copy of the book. I recommend this book to anyone who is in the process of writing their book, editing a draft of their book, looking into the publication process or looking into becoming an editor.
I'll probably be revisiting my copy for years to come. Such a wealth of information in this book!

[Waffle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book like may other books focused more on PUNCHING UP a story more then editing it. If you want writing advise on how to punch up a story this has it. There was only one useful chapter about editing in this whole 200 page book. Its not what I wanted or was expecting but it wasn't bad so it gets 3 stars.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘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.

[Walter's Writing Emporium · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't really say this was focused on editing in the way I was expecting. Some of the sections, such as on character, felt like they were for writers beginning to write and at the planning stage as opposed to working with a completed manuscript, but I suppose that might depend on the type of writer you are.

Generally, this book felt like it was for revising a rough first draft as opposed to what I imagine an editor in a publishing house would be doing. There are different kinds of editing though and so I acknowledge that this is probably better for developmental editing than a language edit which is what I was hoping for. it would be a useful tool to create a checklist and use during that rewrite stage.

I'd recommend this book for intermediate writers, although if you have read quite a few books on writing you'll probably know quite a bit of the information in this book already. I did get a better understanding of some topics. For example, its detailed discussion on the passive and active voice was helpful because it provided some useful examples. The section on synopsis was also very helpful and clear, making that dreaded task feel manageable.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Editing's tough yet it's probably the most important thing in writing. It's also the most unsung hero, and the biggest misconception. The editing that truly matters has less to do with typos and grammar and more to do with story, plot, and character. And while this is a great book on editing, it's still hard to learn about editing from it.

That's just me. Subjects like this, or maybe learning in general, I have a hard time learning from a book. I will retain some of the information and interesting tidbits, but I much prefer a hands on experience. When I hired my first editor for my first book, that was like a personal classroom session. And I did learn a lot.

That said, this book is still a damn good book, and I would recommend it to any writer.

As an aside, I did skip the final section of the book. I don't know why it's included in here. It's about publishing and this book is about editing. Why did they include it? Very weird.

[Garry Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful for any writer

I have an MFA in Creative Writing, and used to be a professor teaching the subject, so I've read most of the literature. Even so, I found this very succinct and comprehensive. An invaluable resource for self-editing, even for experienced writers. My only disappointment was that most of the examples are from commercial rather than literary fiction, and the chapters on agents and publishing are over-optimistic and a bit outdated. Still, well worth the price and your time.

[Ali Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brilliant. If you want an all-in-one tool to help you with everything from developing plot and character, to dialogue, POV, and fault-finding this is it. I've read lots of books on writing, but this one is by far my favourite. It teaches the technique of developmental editing so you can see where you've gone wrong and how to fix it. But even if you're starting out, this book provides a good framework on planning, writing and editing. I enjoyed it so much I enrolled on the Cornerstones course afterwards, which was taught by co-author Kathryn Price, and it was also excellent.

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very thorough book detailing the specifics of fiction edition. There was a heavy focus on show don't tell. Every issue discussed was clearly illustrated with an example, sometimes several. For someone learning how to self-edit this is a very valuable tool to have in your kit. I've marked several sections with post-it notes for quick reference.

[Joe Newbry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helen Corner-Bryant and Kathryn Price’s On Editing isn’t the best book I’ve read on editing. I think it’s lacking an overarching approach versus something like Deborah Chester’s books on writing. I’d rate it 3 out 5 stars as a fine place to start if you’re editing a novel but I’d recommend picking Deborah’s book instead.

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Show don't tell

While this book has tons of great advice and examples, the real hidden gem was the show don't tell section. They broke it up into parts and showed how good writing can become great writing. They also explained the dangers of leaning too much on some of the techniques. Of all the books, blogs, etc. I've read on show versus tell, this one did it best!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect read for those looking to learn how to self-edit! I've never read a writing book with so many fantastic examples, tips, and intensive coverage of the editing and publishing process. A must read for writers!

[Stefan Grieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful, comprehensive and accessible, this book has both tips for beginners and the more experienced writers. It was also an enjoyable read, as well as being informative. I feel I have learnt more skills for my craft from reading this book.

[Mon Gilham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was gifted this from one of my best friends for my birthday and truly LOVED it. A highly well thought out and useful resource for any emerging writers. Benefited greatly from it when editing my first manuscript :)

[J.G. Cully · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional. Exactly what I needed for editing my own manuscripts and has, I believe, improved my writing. I would highly recommend for new and existing writers. A must have.

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very helpful and useful for any aspiring writer.

[Mercedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some goldmines can be found in this book.

[K.R. Hansen]

Extremely basic beginner level information. Not useful for intermediate or higher level authors. Would probably be helpful to those new to writhing.

[Michelle Marie McGrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this highly engaging book and found it jam packed full of relevant examples to all of the points. The perfect accompaniment to edits/re-writes.

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so informative. I read it cover to cover in 2 days and I'm not normally one to read nonfiction with any kind of gusto. There was so much information and none of it felt superfluous. It is definitely a book I will be coming back to over and over again.

[Ruthie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authors write because they are inspired, it's something they are driven to do. To get good at it needs imagination, talent, hard work, craft.

This book is about craft.

Covers general advice, character, point of view, head hopping, plotting, dialogue, description, pacing, tension, cutting, and the daddy of them all, Show Don't Tell.
Phew!

The final section is about getting an agent and getting published.
Really useful book that I should go back to periodically.

[Michael Wilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched