I used to think I knew all about grammar until I read “The Frugal Editor.” If I had read Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s new book (the previous one was the invaluable “The Frugal Book Promoter”) before editing my novel manuscripts, it would have saved me a lot of time and heartache.
Had I read this volume before attempting to edit my latest manuscript before submitting it, I would have avoided making several glaring word-separation mistakes, which Carolyn writes about in depth. “Quick test to hyphenate double adjectives,” he headlines. As with many of the topics in his book, his helpful text is supported by a relevant link for more in-depth details.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson emphasizes that “The Frugal Editor” does not focus on the craft of writing or proofreading. She assumes that all authors have checked before editing their books.
“A good editor will help a writer find his voice, stay true to it, and still move the manuscript from hard rock to polished gemstone,” he says.
He even gives practical advice on how to find a good editor, such as asking professors in the writing department at your local university to recommend a good one. And always ask for references to avoid charlatans.
I thought it was particularly interesting that Carolyn edited each document as if it were a manuscript. She emphasizes that it is imperative to carefully edit consultation letters, cover letters, and book proposals. It makes sense since these documents are sent to agents and publishers.
For writers who are sure they know everything about grammar, the book also acts as a useful grammar refresher course. Howard-Johnson is practical and advises authors not to lose sleep if a writer misses a grammatical or typographical error. Even seasoned writers make glaring grammatical mistakes, so Carolyn gives fun and practical advice on how to search for “gremlins,” especially adverbs in your manuscript.
You may have wondered why in the world of writing you would want to search for adverbs, which we all know are perfectly good parts of speech used frequently by the more learned among us.
They are ugly, that’s why. They are often redundant. They cover up weak verbs. In fact, they are probably first cousins of the pixie you normally want them to leave from. The good news: you can use its search feature to remove them. ‘
Carolyn explains each grammar point in explicit detail. She is also a humorous writer who makes her advice sound entertaining. For example, he speaks of “gremlins” as “very smart guys hell-bent on destroying a writer.” His non-fiction prose is full of gems like, ‘Editing your adverbs is like extracting gold from a metaphor. Death to gerunds, participles and other ugly things, gerunds can keep you from laughing all the way to the bank and participles are not twins of a gerund.
“I want you to learn from this book,” he says, “but I would also like you to enjoy the editing challenge.”
She gives helpful advice on proofreading, editing, line editing, and proofreading and insists that your editing will be smoother if you’ve thoroughly proofread your manuscript first. His invaluable book tries to ease the editing process and provides innovative advice on how to use manual and electronic techniques (such as the Search function) to eliminate errors.
He also advises the reader to obtain useful reference books such as “The Chicago Manual of Style” and “Garner’s Modern American Usage” (hardcover).
“The Frugal Editor: Present Your Best Book to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success” is worth shopping alone for the many links, especially those from literary agents who ‘care enough’ to comment on the submission process.
This is an invaluable book for writers, with the help of a comprehensive Appendix to help the reader focus on vital information how to fight those dreaded gremlins.
Authors will do themselves a disservice if they don’t have the Carolyn Howard-Johnson Bible at their desks. At the very least, it will (re) educate them about the English language.