Editing Fiction at Sentence Level

by Louise Harnby

Learn how to self-edit your novel at sentence level so that readers feel compelled to turn the page. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of narrative and dialogue. In addition to the line-craft guidance, there are examples from published fiction that illustrate the learning in action.

PART1: The different levels of editing. PART 2: CHECKING NARRATIVE. The importance of story structure. Holding narrative viewpoint. Choosing tense. Avoiding overwriting. Character description. Using and abusing filter words. Action beats. Playing with sentence length. Commas, conjunctions and rhythm. Anaphora: Purposeful repetition. Adverbs and adverbial phrases. Dealing with ‘seemed’ and other tentative language. Using ‘suddenly’ with caution. Free indirect speech. Showing versus telling. PART 3: CHECKING DIALOGUE AND THOUGHTS. How to write great dialogue. Other dialogue problems. Punctuating dialogue. Dialogue tags. Addressing others in dialogue. Conveying accents. Depicting thoughts. PART 4: PESKY PUNCTUATION. Apostrophes. Semi-colons. Dashes. Round brackets.PART 5: IS IT A RULE? Rules versus style preferences. The most common myths debunked.PART 6: TRACKING STORY. Style sheets. World-building wikis PART 7: INITIAL PREP AND FINAL PROOFS. Preparing your book file for editing. Checking final page proofs. GLOSSARY OF TERMS. WRITING-CRAFT BOOKS

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

292 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 26, 2019

About the author

Louise Harnby owns an editorial business specializing in proofreading for academic and trade publishers. She has worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years, initially with Williams & Wilkins and then for SAGE Publications. The birth of her child and the resulting desire for more flexible working arrangements led her to set up her own company in 2005.

Louise completed The Publishing Training Centre’s Basic Proofreading by Distance Learning course with distinction in 2006 and is now an advanced member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. As of April 2013, she has over 300 proofreading projects under her belt.

She is the owner and curator of the Proofreader’s Parlour, a blog for editors and proofreaders, dedicated to providing information, advice, opinion, comment, resources, and knowledge-sharing related to the business of editorial freelancing.

She lives in the heart of the Norfolk Broads.

Louise Harnby | Proofreader
louiseharnbyproofreader.com

Reviews

[Ampuir · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book covers a lot of ground but nothing presented here can be described as groundbreaking. There's a lot of talk about making questionable changes in order to maintain POV. I'm not saying that the before sentences were any good just saying that the modified sentences read like any other book on the market; devoid of uniqueness and creativity. I have a problem with the way she presents POV as static categories instead of something that's more open-ended. The same thing can be said for her coverage of dialogue. She does have some good tips especially when it comes to grammar but it's all scattered throughout the book. It's not a well organized book and her coverage of some of the basics is just basic but again it does cover a lot of ground and it might be useful if you're a complete beginner.

[Jen Ghastin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was suggested by a Reedsy editor who wrote a manuscript evaluation of my novel. It was a most excellent read -- and I learned a thing or two about grammar, specifically about my favorite punctuation marks the "en dash" and the "em dash." For example, in England, they prefer to use the "en dash" - and they place a single space on either side of it. However, in the US, we prefer the "em dash" with no spaces--which looks a little swishy if you ask me. I prefer an "em dash" with space -- which isn't wrong, it's a style preference. This book gets you thinking about that level of detail in your punctuation choices. A must-read for writers polishing up work for publication.

[Jörg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have for anybody editing their novel or even training as a copyeditor.

The main body of the book is absolutely packed with things to check and correct or just even learn about. Subjects include viewpoint, structure, POV, tense, grammar, punctuation and much more. Each chapter goes into detail with examples and solutions but what I liked was the handy summing up of the chapter at the end to cover the most important bits.

The book is written by a professional copyeditor who knows her stuff.

There is an excellent part on keeping track of everything such as making a style sheet and a world building wiki.

I give 5 stars to this fantastic book which is the only book you will need to edit your draft.

[Janice De Jesus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for our Freelance Editors Club book club and everything about the content of this book was extremely helpful. The narrative tone of the author was so friendly and so accessible, it was like she was guiding us directly. Reading this book was like taking a comprehensive course on line editing. So worth the cost of this book which I will definitely refer back to again and again! Highly recommend for all writers and editors!

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book was 65% stuff I already knew and 35% great information. The problem is, the way it's structured, it's difficult to skip around. I found myself, in certain sections, getting bored and ready to skip then an excellent bit of new information was introduced. Ultimately, I'd say read it cover to cover (even if you're bored) because you don't know what you don't know, and it's not really set up to easily use it as a reference.

[Bruce Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although there are some hard yards toward the end of the book, it's worth the effort. The reader always feels they are in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. If you are planning to write crime novels or thrillers there are lots of examples taken from those genres. Highly recommended.

[Claire Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for writers and editors alike. I like how Louise Harnby breaks down each point she discusses and provides numerous examples. I will definitely be adding this to my list of recommended resources.

[Written Adventurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well deserved 5 stars! Editing Fiction At Sentence Level is a must have for every writer or anyone who wants to get into fiction editing; it's a rich resource of line, copyediting and proofreading knowledge. Thank you Louise Harnby for this amazing book!

[JULIE · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide for both fiction editors and fiction writers.

[Jenny Editor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for both writers and editors.

[Annette Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I was looking for. Brilliant.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book so useful for me both as a writer and freelance editor.
Highly recommend!

[Poppy Solomon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this to writers and editors at any level.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. Nuanced. Covers some stuff that I don't remember being covered in Browne & King.

[Tammy Tyree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on editing EVER. Keep it on your desk as you write!!

[M.A. Arana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource. All the bases are covered, it's easy to follow, and it makes sense!

[Samantha Simspon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a helpful book. A must-read for anyone either looking to self-edit their own manuscript or looking to become a budding freelance editor and proofreader

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential read for anyone pursuing a career in writing or editing fiction. My copy is absolutely filled with sticky notes. It taught me so much!