Editing
Ginna, P. (Ed.). (2017). What editors do: The art, craft, and business of book editing. University of Chicago Press.
Irvine, D., & Kamboureli, S. (Eds.). (2016). Editing as cultural practice in Canada. Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
Norris, M. (2015). Between you & me: Confessions of a comma queen. W.W. Norton & Company.
Norton, S. (2009). Developmental editing: A handbook for freelancers, authors, and publishers. University of Chicago Press.
Grammar
Aarts, B. (2001). Oxford modern English grammar. Oxford University Press.
Weiner, E. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford reference grammar. Oxford University Press.
Thomson, A. J., & Martinet, A. V. (2012). A practical English grammar. (4th ed.) Oxford University Press.
Punctuation
Casagrande, J. (2014). The best punctuation book, period: A comprehensive guide for every writer, editor, student, and businessperson. Crown Publishing Group.
Crystal, D. (2015). Making a point: The persnickety story of English punctuation. St. Martin’s Press.
Style
Forsyth, M. (2013). The elements of eloquence. Berkley Books.
Glover, D. (2012). Attack of the copula spiders. Biblioasis.
Pinker, S. (2014). The sense of style: The thinking person’s guide to writing in the 21st century. Viking.
Design
Lupton, E. (2010). Thinking with type. Princeton Architectural Press.
Online Articles and Resources
10 “grammar rules” it's OK to break (sometimes)
Buzzwords
Comma Queen
Grammar rules everyone should follow
Guidelines for using charts and graphs
Word Nerd
Writing in the 21st Century
Steven Pinker
Psychologist, cognitive scientist, and linguist Steven Pinker proposes science as a basis for a 21st century alternative to Strunk & White’s Elements of Style. Rules, according to Pinker, matter less than the writer’s stance towards the audience.
edge.org/conversation/writing-in-the-21st-century
Reference Books
Editing Books
Editors’ Association of Canada. (2015). Editing Canadian English. (3rd ed.). Macfarlane, Walter & Ross.
Einsohn, A., & Schwartz, M. (2019). The copyeditor’s handbook. (4th ed.) University of California Press.
Plotnik, A. (1982). The elements of editing: A modern guide for editors and journalists. Macmillan.
Rude, C. (2010). Technical editing. (5th ed.). Pearson Education.
Saller, C. F. (2009). The subversive copy editor: Advice from Chicago. The University of Chicago Press.
Tarutz, J. (1992). Technical editing: The practical guide for editors and writers. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Vermeer, L. (2016). The complete Canadian book editor. Brush Education.
Grammar and Reference Books
Hacker, D. (2012). A Canadian writer’s reference. (5th ed.). Bedford St. Martins.
Lester, M., & Beason, L. (2019). The McGraw-Hill education handbook of English grammar and usage. (3rd ed.) McGraw Hill Education.
Ruvinsky, M. (2013). Practical grammar: A Canadian writer’s resource. Oxford University Press.
Style Books
Baker, S. (1997). The practical stylist. (8th ed.). Longman.
Garner, B. (2012). HBR guide to better business writing. Harvard Business School Publishing.
Plotnik, A. (2007). Spunk & bite: A writer’s guide to punchier, more engaging language & style. Random House.
Wilbers, S. (2016). Keys to great writing. Writer’s Digest Books.
Williams, J., & Bizup, J. (2020). Style: Lessons in clarity and grace. (13th ed.). Pearson.
Zinsser, W. (1998). On writing well. (6th ed.). HarperCollins.
Strunk, W., & White, E.B. (1999) The Elements of Style. (4th ed.). Pearson.
Websites
Editors develop their own lists of favourite websites. The following is a sample of a few that you might find useful.
Grammar and Style
Lynch, J. (2011). Guide to grammar and style. jacklynch.net/Writing
Grammar Bytes! Grammar Instruction with Attitude chompchomp.com
Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing: quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl
Purdue University Online Writing Lab: owl.english.purdue.edu
Style Guides
The Chicago Manual of Style chicagomanualofstyle.org
American Psychological Association apa.org
Modern Language Association (MLA) mla.org
Canadian Style Guide btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2guides/guides/tcdnstyl/index-eng.html
Design
Information is Beautiful: informationisbeautiful.net
Information on designing easy infographics: piktochart.com
Miscellaneous
Editors Canada. (2016). Professional editorial standards. editors.ca/publications/professional-editorial-standards-2016
Editors Canada. (2015). So you want to be an editor. Editors’ Association of Canada. https://editors.ca/join/career/
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (1998). A plain English handbook: How to create clear SEC disclosure documents. sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf
Book Editors Canada, “Free Writing, Editing, and Publishing Resources”: bookeditors.ca/resources.html
American Copy Editors Society: aceseditors.org/
Center for Plain Language: centerforplainlanguage.org
The Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN): https://www.plainlanguage.gov/
Plain Language Association International: plainlanguagenetwork.org
Writership: writership.com/
My Virtual Reference Desk: refdesk.com
The Slot: A Spot for Copy editors by Bill Walsh: theslot.com/sharp.html
The Editor’s Weekly (Editors Canada): blog.editors.ca
Legal Writing 201: 30 Suggestions to Improve Readability, or How to Write for Judges, Not Like Judges”—by Judge Mark P. Painter: tinyurl.com/rttvzae
7 Steps to Plain Language, Provincial Court of British Columbia: https://www.custodyxchange.com/locations/canada/british-columbia/provincial-court-process.php
Associations
Alberta Magazine Publishers Association (AMPA): albertamagazines.com
Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA): the-efa.org/
Editors Canada: editors.ca
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Calgary chapter: iabccalgary.com
Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC): pwac.ca