Copy-Editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Authors and Publishers

This book is the bane of my life. It may be `a must for copy-editors and authors', it may be `the bible', but it certainly isn't a `great book'. As a professional copy-editor, there are times when I have to refer to it. But it is useless as a reference book. Information which should be in one place is scattered around the book, seemingly without rhyme or reason. Even with the help of a not-too-bad index (pity the poor indexer!) it is extremely difficult to find the information you want. And, I'm afraid, it is not very well written, so that even when you find what you want it may not be at all clear what the point is that's being made. Whether the new edition is any better I simply don't know, and I'm not eager to fork out £45 to find out. Although nothing quite covers the same ground as Butcher, the Oxford Guide to Style and the Chicago Manual of Style are much better books and are indispensable as reference works for editors - and they are both far, far better organised.

The latest edition of this classic comes out in two days. It's called Butcher's Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders.

This is a great book for anyone who is just getting started in proofreading and copy editing. It is really helpful and is one of the recommended books on proofreading and copy editing courses. It covers all the rules of copy editing and how to mark up typescripts for editing. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a copy editor or would be author.

I've been working as a production editor in academic publishing for 6 years and this book is my bible. I use it every single day and I always find something interesting and useful in it. It's a real treasure. What were people doing before it came out I really can't understand.

This book is an absolute must for (copy) editors. It is also invaluable for authors, as it makes clear what happens to their book before it is being published. Copy-Editing explains first what copy-editing is and from there it guides you through all stages and aspects of it, including what to do with, e.g. illustrations, preliminary pages, indexes, bibliographical references and others. It instructs how to edit literary material (e.g. poetry, plays), multi-author and multi-volume works, science and mathematic books and others. There are chapters on house style, proofs, and 13 appendixes, which include, for example, an extensive, 20-page checklist of copy-editing; a table on phonetic symbols; tables on French and German terms and abbreviations; mathematical symbols; notes on Hebrew and Arabic; non-western calendars; a table of proof correction symbols. Together with its 27-page, easy-to-use index, it is not only a ‚handbook', but a complete encyclopedia. Buy it, and you will use it time and again!