The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction

by Amy J. Schneider

A book-world veteran offers the first copyediting guide focused exclusively on fiction.

Although The Chicago Manual of Style is widely used by writers and editors of all stripes, it is primarily concerned with nonfiction, a fact long lamented by the fiction community. In this long-awaited book from the publisher of the Manual , Amy J. Schneider, a veteran copyeditor who’s worked on bestsellers across a wide swath of genres, delivers a companionable editing guide geared specifically toward fiction copyeditors—the first book of its type.

In a series of approachable thematic chapters, Schneider offers cogent advice on how to deal with dialogue, voice, grammar, conscious language, and other significant issues in fiction. She focuses on the copyediting tasks specific to fiction—such as tracking the details of fictional characters, places, and events to ensure continuity across the work—and provides a slew of sharp, practicable solutions drawn from her twenty-five years of experience working for publishers both large and small. The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is sure to prove an indispensable companion to The Chicago Manual of Style and a versatile tool for copyeditors working in the multifaceted landscape of contemporary fiction.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Professional Development, Language, Business

229 pages, Paperback

Published March 10, 2023

Reviews

[Cary Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in copyediting fiction stories, or even writing them. The author provides a comprehensive explanation of what is and isn't the copyeditor's job, as well as examples for workflow, lists of things to check and look out for, and tools to help with the process.

I found the guide easy to read and follow, and filled with tons of information. I would highly recommend you pick up a hard copy of this one for easy searching-through. Worth giving a read-through!

[Christina Pilkington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been working on getting my advanced certificates in Line Editing and Developmental Editing from the Editorial Freelance Association this year, and this was one of the books we had to read.

It's a great reference book covering everything from basic grammar and mechanical errors to creating style sheets and reviewing software useful for fiction editors.

I'm excited to start my fiction editing career next year and thankful for resources like this will help me along the way!

[Beth Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was incredibly informative and helpful, full of concrete examples, resources, and really empowering. Definitely a little overwhelming at times, but I appreciated the thoroughness and am seeing how practical this book is while moving into my first editing position. As someone who has done a lot of writing and editing of nonfiction over the years but read a lot of fiction, this really merged my current skillsets mentally. I will be referring back to this book as I edit!

[Burwell56 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting for a book like this. Finally, confirmation of some grammar decisions I've made in writing fiction. And approval for things I wanted to do but have been too afraid to. Thanks much to Amy J. Schneider.

[Robin Marwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting for this book since Amy announced she was writing it, and it doesn’t disappoint. Absolutely packed with great advice. I especially appreciate the style sheet templates!

[Davy Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me far too long to finally get around to reading this in its entirety. But I finally did!

There is not much to say besides my utmost approval. Nothing in this resource came as a surprise to me, which for me at this stage is a good sign. It's an ego boost to know that your own philosophy and approach aligns closely with an industry master—and that's exactly what Amy is. When I first started training myself to be an editor years and years ago, one of my "I know I'll be ready when..." conditions was that I'd answer a question in an editing group and Amy would agree with it. There were other editors I looked up to and sought the silent approval of, but that was the ultimate target.

Where I differ from this resource is in how style sheets are constructed, but I chalk this up to working on different material and working at a different market level. The bones are still the same, thankfully.

Really, this is a wonderful resource for an aspiring editor. Reading the Chicago Manual of Style is a good idea but overall unreliable for learning how to edit. Editor groups are fracturing because of social media drift, and it's more difficult now to find community. You would be shocked how much you can learn simply by observing editors in an environment where they can mingle. This craft book is essential if you're hoping to edit fiction. The fundamentals and specifics described in it are contemporary and lasting: there's little in it that will evolve into a zombie rule someday. There's a clear focus on approach and mindset that will do right by your clients for a long, long time.

I would also recommend it to someone who's experienced, if only to make sure you're current with how things are done and to be able to confidently list it as a reference in your own work. This guide is included alongside CMOS and M-W on my style sheets as a resource.

[Daniel]

Less detail on grammar than I expected, more about process and general categories of stuff.

This detail was unexpected:

Publishers often ask the copyeditor to leave the author’s comma choices unless they create confusion or an egregious error. Tread carefully!

[Clover · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
A conversational book about copy editing fiction, not a stand alone, but still a good starting place.

This one was fun. It's a good first step for people wanting to learn about this career. I enjoyed the tone, it's friendly and conversational while still being professional and matter of fact.

There's plenty in this little book, although some might be common sense to you. It's going to end up as a good little desk reference. It's worth having on the shelves, but it shouldn't be your only book on the topic, she isn't claiming it should be either.

The formatting was nice and the reading was easy. I didn't get bored or bogged down. It wasn't too technical or dense as sometimes these books make me yawn.

I'm thankful for my library for purchasing this book and expanding their 808.02 section! I would happily purchase this and keep it with my Chicago Manual of Style. But I can also check it out from the library whenever I need to. Check your local library and put it on hold!

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most writers are familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style, which is the gold standard for advice on things like punctuation, capitalization, and word usage. Schneider, a longtime editor, decided the rules are different enough in fiction to warrant a separate book, and here it is. This book is incredibly helpful. While written for professional editors, it also works for writers editing their own work. Among the topics: how to handle trademarks, how to avoid saying something stupid about mental illness, sexual preferences, or ethnic groups besides your own while maintaining the voices of your characters; when to capitalize; how to punctuate, and how to deal with God (god?), sex and history, especially when you’re writing about a made-up world. If the information you need isn’t in this book, Schneider tells you where to find it. Writers and editors of fiction need this book. I’m keeping my copy to the computer.

[Delaney · Rating 2 out of 5]

On consistent characters: "Lee is single and an only child—so how is it that they have a niece?"

On consistent timelines and plots: "The Friday-night knitting club meets tomorrow (in which case today had better be Thursday)."

Since much of copyediting is about logic and consistency, I can’t trust an editor willing to call an obviously single Lee "they". This completely underminds the point that Lee cannot have a niece without having a sibling or a wife. Or that Thursday must come before Friday. If Lee, as a single person, can be referred to as multiple people, why shouldn't Tuesday come after Friday? Or why shouldn't Lee's dog have given him a niece?

We need editors and writers in the book industry strong enough to take a stand against this, not cater to it.

The book has some helpful pointers, but the issue of preaching one thing and doing another drags it down.

[K.B. Hoyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is simply phenomenal. Whether you are an author seeking to improve your craft or an editor of fiction seeking to understand and better serve your clients (indie or traditional or small press) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this. Whimsical, easy to follow, encouraging, and engaging, Amy Schneider writes with expertise and knowledgable guidance. A fantastic 5-star read and a must-have reference tool for anyone building their industry bookshelf.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speaks my language. Love this. It's super reassuring for those of us who have been copyediting fiction for a while. Lots I knew already but some brilliant nuggets that will definitely help tweak my approach.

LOVE the index. Phrases like 'words as words' are incredibly useful.

[H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugely substantial and more helpful than many classes (costs less, too).

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone (specifically me) who wants to copy edit fiction. I read it in preparation for a future side gig or retirement gig and will be referring to it often.

[Jason Pettus · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023 reads, #18. This is currently the big hot book within the tiny insular world of book editors that I belong to, a practical guide by an academic veteran on the differences between copy-editing a novel and copy-editing a textbook, and what kinds of special issues the fiction editor needs to look out for and consider that you would not have to worry about within the more traditional world of academic papers, journalism, legal documents and other kinds of writing that usually need to be "technically perfect." Unfortunately for me, though, I've never been a part of that traditional editing world myself, but am a self-taught editor who's spent his entire career so far in the world of indie fiction; so I actually knew pretty much 100% of every single piece of advice Amy Schneider gives here in her slim but informationally dense 200-page guide, and I have to confess that I was legitimately shocked at all the cartoonishly obvious things that traditional academic copyeditors apparently need to be told about how to actually edit fiction. Guess what? Sometimes authors have their characters say things that are grammatically deliberately wrong! Sometimes authors will put things a different way than you would, and that's okay! Sometimes characters will do things you don't like, such as smoke or curse or be racist or kill someone, but you should still let them do it because it might be important to the plot!

Sheesh, are there really a bunch of copyeditors out there who need to be told such ridiculously basic things? Apparently so, or else this book wouldn't exist, much less be one of the most talked-about titles in this category in the last year. That's great news for me, because it's proof that I actually have way less serious competition for fiction editing jobs than I had thought I had; but that still didn't make this very useful to me, beyond it containing useful factual information about copy-editing that Schneider (self-admittedly) pulls straight from the larger book from her publisher on this subject, the revered Chicago Manual of Style, and I suspect that other editors who are already fiction veterans will also find this book as disappointing as I did. If, however, you're the kind of uptight fusspot academic editor with a permanently clenched butthole who would never dare allow an author to say that something was "decimated" to mean it was destroyed WHEN EVERYONE CLEARLY KNOWS THAT "DECIMATE" MEANS TO REDUCE SOMETHING BY ONE-TENTH AND THEREFORE SHOULD NEVER BE USED IN ANY OTHER CONTEXT THAN TO DESCRIBE WHEN SOMETHING IS BEING REDUCED BY EXACTLY TEN PERCENT, then sister, this book was exactly designed for you. Despite it not being too useful for me, I'm giving it a high score anyway, because it will be extremely useful to a lot of others...apparently. Sigh.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting so eagerly for this, and now I have it! It's yellow. It's cheerful. It's completely relevant to all the work I do. I'm a big fan of the Chicago Manual of Style, but that thing is heavy (especially when dropped on toes) and sometimes it can be hard to find exactly the answers to editing questions you're asking (even using the online version), since it's aimed more at nonfiction. Well, Super-Amy is here to save the day.

Having attended plenty of webinars that Amy has presented, I thought this book would be pretty much that (extremely valuable) advice in book form. I certainly didn't expect her to go into such detail about specific style questions, like how to capitalize stuttered words in dialogue, and what to do if they're proper nouns.

I like this so much I've also ordered a physical copy to admire on my shelf while I use the easily searchable digital edition to guide my work as a freelance fiction editor from here onward. This is a masterpiece.

Amy gets to the point and explains things clearly, concisely, and in the order you probably are looking for them. Just the thing to save you time when faced with a tricky editing situation. It's in plain English so you don't need to look up things to understand the thing you were looking up, and it's professional and non-prescriptive. She doesn't forbid semicolons as some might, for example, but mentions that some people do, and some people don't. Add it to the style sheet and make it consistent.

On top of the style questions she's answering, she also provides useful advice on how working with multiple screens can benefit an editor, what sort of mindset a fiction editor should try to have, efficient workflows, setting up and making the most effective use of your style sheet, and managing all those files.

TBH, the only criticism I have of this is that yellow cover; it should have been gold. Because everything between the covers is.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY helpful book. I dog-eared a lot of pages.

[Savannah Breedlove]

Very helpful! Planning to add to my professional shelf.

[Coralie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a helpful resource! A pretty quick read from cover to cover, but now that I'm familiar with the material, I've been using it as a reference manual. If it doesn't have the answers, it can at least provide a place to start when I encounter specific questions or need a refresher on examples. It's a super helpful companion to the Chicago Guide, focusing on the necessary divergences for fiction.

Any fiction copyeditor should have this on her shelf. The book is well-organized, easy to follow, and full of helpful examples and figures. It also has a index for quick reference and plenty of additional resources for further study. It walks step-by-step through the process of copyediting a fiction manuscript, defines terms, and details helpful sections for your style sheets--again, with plenty of examples and figures.

I also really appreciated her emphasis on the way editors can clearly communicate with their clients, whether authors or publishers. She gives us context of the editorial process, the copyeditor's part in that process, examines the necessary elements to copyedit fiction well, and goes the extra step of preparing editors to establish clear expectations and work well with others involved in the process. She comments on the differences between working with indie authors and publishers, shares scenarios to expect in those situations, and even how to know when your clients aren't actually ready for copyedits. But most of all, I love how she focuses the editor on serving the story and communicating suggestions and edits with compassion and clarity. Her comments from a philosophical perspective frame editors with a healthy mindset that's just as necessary as the technical parts of the book.

One thing to note is that there is some adult content discussed. She's very professional about it, but does briefly discuss editing manuscripts with profanity and erotica. She doesn't give examples of explicit romance, and it's only a short part of the chapter. She does give specific examples of swearing, but it's for the specific purpose of demonstrating how to best copyedit those manuscripts. And she does comment on the importance of each individual editor understanding what they are and are not comfortable editing. Her point is that even mature manuscripts need editors and those editors still need to do their job well.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HIGHLY recommend this excellent book for both editors and authors! I wish I had written it. While I didn't learn anything new, it was incredibly validating to see my approach to fiction editing—cobbled together over many years of continuing professional development and experience—so carefully documented here. For those who are unaware of what tasks are involved in copyediting, or assume it's "just catching typos," this book explains the challenges and efforts unique to copyediting fiction.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential. IYKYK.

[Donna Ho · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a guide on editing fiction, this book is excellent!

[Marycatlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent advice given from an unpretentious person.

[María Estrada · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was great about explaining dialogue and other philosophical points, but I hoped the grammar section would address punctuation with the em dash, ellipses, and colons more, especially when they are used with compound sentences. Yeah, as the author suggests, I could buy the industry standard software and attach it to Microsoft Word or buy the Chicago Style manual (which is whopping $55 dollars) or subscribe to the Chicago Style website, but the use of both the em dash and ellipses is not consistent in fiction with traditional publishing houses, and it's not very well explained in the Chicago Style Manual itself (I had the website trial version for a spell). I would even wager that most copyeditors don't put the fourth period at the end of the sentence using ellipses which is grammatically correct.

The book is worth the read because this conversation needs to be had, and I enjoyed the fluid writing style, but I was hoping to avoid buying the manual. I guess if I took anything from the book is to keep the reader in mind at all times and the fluidity of writing and that rules will be broken. I think most writers, editors, and copyeditors know that, BUT it's nice to have the ideas reinforced.

[Toni Suzuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is required reading for any editor or soon-to-be editor wanting to work on fiction. As Amy mentions, the Chicago Manual of Style is more geared toward nonfiction, so having a fiction-based book like this out in the world is fantastic.

The book might go a bit over your head if you have no editing experience whatsoever. Lots of jargon and terminology in here, and zero 101-style recommendations. If you're just starting your editor education, leave this one for once you've got the basics down.

As for my personal experience with the book, I was surprised to find (as someone who's been working on fiction for 3 years at the time of this review) that I knew a lot of the contents already--I'd say about 70%-ish. But the 30% that I didn't already know was completely worth the read, and it's always nice to have a refresher anyway. Sometimes seeing something in someone else's words makes it click in a different way. It also provided a sense of validation for the stuff I had gleaned but never explicitly been taught. Thanks for easing some of my impostor syndrome, Amy!

This one's going to have a permanent spot on my reference shelf!

[Angela Boord · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an indie author, not a copy editor, so I can't speak to how helpful this reference guide is to copy editors... but as an author trying to improve my skills at self-editing, this book is *super* helpful. Good copy editors are worth their weight in gold, but sometimes you just don't have the gold to pay them. Being able to take care of as many issues as you can on your own will help maximize the benefits of the editing you do get.

This book covers: what copy editing is and isn't*, how to set up a style guide (worth the price of the book all by itself, especially if you're a series writer), stylistic guidelines, continuity issues to look for, and a really amazing workspace set up that makes me insanely jealous.

Highly recommended for any author's reference shelf.

*If you're an indie author who's used a copy editor, note that what constitutes "copyediting" in the indie world can vary. Schneider actually covers some of the variation particular to indies in the book.

[Lori Paximadis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copyeditors have long wished for a comprehensive and authoritative guide to working with fiction, and The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction fills that void admirably. Amy Schneider takes you by the hand and provides valuable guidance on approach and fiction-specific style considerations based on her vast experience. New and seasoned fiction copyeditors both will find it useful in their day-to-day work. Authors, too, can benefit from the wealth of knowledge in this book, especially the sections on characters and timelines. This book is a must-read for every copyeditor who works with fiction.

[Adrienne Montgomerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the guide the publishing industry has needed for decades! And writers would also do well to put all of this advice into practice. It's about so much more than consistent spelling and eye colour. Just building the style sheet would be an excellent exercise during early revisions! Many sections could be turned into checklists once you know what each part is about. Useful even for non-fiction (especially the parts on voice, representing e-text/dialogue and the like, and permissions, trademarks and song lyrics), this is an essential bookshelf title alongside CMOS and other standard guides. An engaging read cover to cover, and ideally suited for dipping into as needed.

[PATRICK KIDDER · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a person who hires copyeditors for fiction, they need to read this book. (Not saying I agree with everything in it but there's a lot in there that's helpful in talking about and setting expectations). As a writer, a lot of things in here are things I've learned from other sources. But, it's nice to see the writer and editor sides of the house agreeing.

In particular, Amy's discussion of style guides is valuable. Fiction editors need to do this (and if a few more writers learned to do it maybe editors wouldn't have to tear their hair out as much...)

[TK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up to better edit my fiction. There's a ton of great advice here even if you don't want to be a professional copyeditor, plus there's some great resources. I probably have around 20 book flags in here for a quick reference to flip back to. It's also engaging and easy to read without it being a slog. At least for me, it wasn't dry and I enjoyed reflecting on the advice. I'm going to buy one or two other books that Schneider recommends.