The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction

Although The Chicago Manual of Style is widely used by writers and editors of all stripes, it is primarily geared toward nonfiction. In this book, Amy J. Schneider--who has copyedited fiction in all genres, from mystery and romance to literary fiction, including many bestsellers--provides a companion to the Manual for those working on fiction. Hers is the first guide designed specifically for this major segment of the editorial community. Schneider highlights and offers advice on issues unique to fiction, such as how to deal with various types of dialogue and when incomplete and ungrammatical sentences are acceptable. She discusses best practices for conscious language issues that are increasingly important to authors, publishers, and readers. She also explains the larger purpose and vastly expanded scope of style sheets in editing fiction, illustrating how to track the details of fictional characters, places, and events to ensure continuity across a work or a series. And she covers workflow and administrative practices that work well for the fiction editing process, based on her own 25 years of experience as a freelancer working for publishers large and small--