Recommended reference books - editing, English

Recommended: reference books about editing

Cultivate excellence. We believe these titles offer useful, interesting ways of thinking about language and communication — in any medium.* It’s about so much more than grammar and spelling… but those, too.

Books about editing

Great for novice and experienced editors and writers. Keep them near to clear the cobwebs and settle disputes.

**Eats, Shoots & Leaves**
Why, commas really DO make a difference!

**What Editors Do**
The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Publishing

**Bugs in Writing**
A Guide to Debugging Your Prose

The McGraw-Hill Desk Reference for Editors, Writers, and Proofreaders

**Copyediting & Proofreading for Dummies**

**The Copyeditor’s Handbook**
Book Publishing & Corporate Communications

**The Elements of Editing**
A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalists — Arthur Plotnick

English language

Strunk — because if we don’t know our history, we’re doomed to repeat it. And it’s helpful to understand where today’s rules came from when considering contemporary usage.

**Dreyer’s English**
An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style

**The Oxford English Dictionary**
Compact Edition

**Workbook: Elements of Style**
Strunk: Writing Strategies with Grammar, New Lessons on Writing with Style

**Fowler’sDictionary of Modern English Usage**
2015 edition, Jeremy Butterfield ed.

**STET! Dreyer’s English**
A Game for Language Lovers, Grammar Geeks, and Bibliophiles

Typography

A different kind of art… with dashes of science, biology, and psychology.

**The Elements of Typographic Style**
Renowned typographer Robert Bringhurst

**An Essay on Typography**
Just like Gill: exasperating, exorbitant, exciting.

**Lessons in Typography**
Lessons, exercises, and examples

Left Field

Challenging how we think, and because most editors benefit by also being generalists.

**Getting to Yes**
Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

**Gödel, Escher, Bach:**
An Eternal Golden Braid

Arm yourself well.

Use Dupré for fast, practical answers.
Try Hofstadter and Bringhurst to inspire yourself (and to impress visitors).

Give them a few minutes daily and find yourself cultivating excellence — editorial and otherwise.

Why worry about website typography?

You will find an interesting overview in this article concerning design and typography, from the respected website “A List Apart.” When you are convinced, order a copy of Bringhurst — it’s invaluable.

* External Design is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. That does not determine our choice of titles.