Developmental Editing, Second Edition

The only guide dedicated solely to developmental editing, now revised and updated with new exercises and a chapter on fiction. Developmental editing¿transforming a manuscript into a book that edifies, inspires, and sells¿is a special skill, and Scott Norton is one of the best at it. With more than three decades of experience in the field, Norton offers his expert advice on how to approach the task of diagnosing and fixing structural problems with book manuscripts in consultation with authors and publishers. He illustrates these principles through a series of detailed case studies featuring before-and-after tables of contents, samples of edited text, and other materials to make an otherwise invisible process tangible. ¿This revised edition for the first time includes exercises that allow readers to edit sample materials and compare their work with that of an experienced professional as well as a new chapter on the unique challenges of editing fiction. In addition, it features expanded c