I am not a great editor by any means. I love writing and to a point I think I am decent at it. I was just wondering if anyone here could suggest a writer friendly editing resource so I could better edit my work? There are so many books out there on the subject, I just want to know if anyone has had a better experience with one or another. Thanks in advance for your help!
It depends on what you need. If it's help on grammar, The Elements of Style by Strunk and White has been the go-to book for a long time. I think it's pretty useful. A Harbrace or A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker are also great tools that I have used in school. I think Hacker's book is a little easier to understand than a Harbrace if you've never used one. If you have and are comfortable with it, the Harbrace works just as well. Both of these books give rules and examples, so they can be really great resources. Don't forget that there are also free grammar resources online. If it's another sort of help you need in editing, Google would probably do the trick.
you don't need how-to books on editing in re proofreading your own work, just a good eye for finding goofs and glitches... and, of course, a good handle on grammar and punctuation, etc. if you want some pointers, you can send me an excerpt from your work and i'll show you by example... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
Thanks lovely! I actually have Hacker's book myself from when my mother went to night school. Maia, I'd really appreciate that. What would be a good length sample for you?
