The Chicago Manual of Style

If you’re going to be doing very much of your own editing, it would probably be a good idea to invest in a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style. In 2003 they came out with the 15th edition and it can be found at most bookstores. Just to warn you, editing knowledge doesn’t come cheap. The copy I bought cost $55 new, so it might behoove you to check on EBay or Craig’s List for a used one before you shell out that much cash.

So what’s so great about this manual that it costs so much? For your information, it contains 955 pages of guidelines on everything from using correct grammar to an enumeration of the functions of an epithet to a detailed list of an author’s vs. a manuscript editor’s responsibilities during the editing and publishing process.

Still not convinced this could be a handy book to have around? Here’s an excerpt from the section on the “Author’s Responsibilities:”

After a book manuscript has been accepted for publication, publishers usually require the electronic files for the work . . . in its latest version, often in disk form, along with two sets of hard copy (one may be a photocopy), which must correspond exactly to the electronic files submitted (Chicago Manual 59).

The rest of that section is full of other helpful hints for those who are serious about getting published and the rest of the book includes one of the most comprehensive guides to grammar usage available. I wouldn’t suggest it as a piece of light reading—and I mean that literally, the book weighs at least 3 lbs—but it is absolutely chalk full of invaluable advice for those of us who are attempting to write in our spare time.