So far, all five of the works in our Books for Editors series have been British. This time, we take a look at one of the most influential books on English writing to come out of the US: Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style.

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The original 1918 edition of the book, which is often simply called Strunk and White, outlined a series of elementary rules of usage, elementary principles of composition, some “matters of form”, and a list of commonly misused words and expressions. A very prescriptive little book (the authors are not afraid to set down absolute rules, such as outlawing the passive voice), it has a lot in common with Fowler’s in terms of its pervasive attitude. Prioritising a direct and straightforward form of English, it has had a far-reaching influence on American English, so much so that it is widely held as being chiefly responsible for the way in which students in the US were taught composition in the latter half of the twentieth century.

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Written by a Professor of English at Cornell and a long-time writer for the New Yorker (White also wrote the popular children’s books Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little), the book’s mantra is “make every word tell.” It has always been a controversial book and the revisions it has undergone (the latest in 1999) have  contributed to its reputation as a book that fiercy divides its readers. A Boston Globe review describes how it is “a hodgepodge, its now-antiquated pet peeves jostling for space with 1970s taboos and 1990s computer advice”. We are inclined to agree with this assessment although, of course, such accusations could be made against most style guides, and all such works are all products of a particular time and environment. What is certainly true is that The Elements of Style remains a very important book, a must for all writers and an engaging and enjoyable read.

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The latest in our series on Books for Editors is a hefty tome with a hefty title: Butcher’s Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders. 

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Being generous types here at My Blue Pencil, despite our Oxford base we are perfectly happy to include a book with its roots firmly in the ‘other place’ (i.e. Cambridge). This book started life as a set of rules and regulations for the editorial team at Cambridge University Press, but has since grown to become an essential on any serious editor’s shelf.  Since its first publication in 1975 (the current edition is the fourth), it has set the standard for anyone preparing text for publication in whatever medium. Described by our professional body, the Society for Editors and Proofreaders, as “the copy-editor’s bible”, it covers all aspects of the editorial process and runs to over 500 pages of detailed guidelines and invaluable references. Indeed, its comprehensive glossaries and checklists are one of its real strengths and it is the sort of book that, even after many years of professional editing and proofreading, most editors still find themselves consulting on a regular basis.

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Unlike some of the other books that we at My Blue Pencil have written about in this series, this is a serious reference book probably of interest only to professional editors, with none of the humorous touches that make Guardian Style and The Economist Style Guide such easy reads. Nonetheless, it is clearly and intelligently constructed and has an answer for everything.

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Welcome to the latest in our series on Books for Editors (following earlier pieces on The Economist Style Guide, Guardian Style and the Oxford Style Manual). This time it is the turn of a genuine classic, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage by Henry W. Fowler, informally known as Fowler’s Modern English Usage and just simply Fowler’s.

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First published in 1926, the book is conceived less as a dictionary and more as a style guide for writing clearly and expressively. David Crystal – in his introduction to the 2009 reprint – says that, “No book had more influence on twentieth-century attitudes to the English language in Britain”. This is unarguable. Fowler’s approach eulogised a simple and direct writing style, free of unnecessary verbiage and cliché. He pointed out the artificiality of grammatical rules such as bans on split infinitives and dangling prepositions and his attitude to writing, whilst perhaps not as uniform and scientific as one might wish, nonetheless remains hugely influential today, a set of guiding principals for anyone aiming to write good, plain English that can be easily understood.

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For more insights into Fowler from David Crystal himself, see this video.

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Welcome to the second part of our guide to the books that editors use.  Following on from our piece on The Economist Style Guide, we again focus on a guide published by a British periodical, this time Guardian Style by David Marsh.

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John Humphries appears on the book jacket, quoted to the effect that, “This stuff matters. Rules do not limit; they liberate.”  The team behind mybluepencil.net agree with this and this principle certainly seems to help the Guardian newspaper get its points across as it has won the Plain English Campaign award for best newspaper twice in the last four years and this book is one of the reasons why.  A very well-thought out and accessible directory of clear English, as well as setting out the Guardian’s linguistic approach to race, disability, terrorism and other political hot potatoes, it also contains funny and illuminating mini-essays on such things as the apostrophe and its mis-use and words that are easily confused (try this one for size: hyperthermia, hot; hypothermia, cold).

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There will be a brand new edition out soon, but if you can’t wait to check it out, it is available online here.

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Editors and proofreaders should be familiar with plenty of Style Guides and we thought that it would be a good idea to introduce some of the books we use here at My Blue Pencil.  So, in the first of this series, here is our introduction to The Economist Style Guide.

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It is a concise and witty guide to good writing style, full of pithy and persuasive advice.  Although it was originally created for the writers and editors of The Economist magazine, anyone writing business and financial documents and conforming to its rules will not go far wrong.  It is now on its ninth edition and has been published since 1986.  One of its strengths is its comprehensive list of the differences between British and American English.

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It is full of great tips and has a global reach that some of the other guides don’t have.  For example, did you know this:

Black: in the black means in profit in Britain, but making losses in some places. Use in profit.

or this:

Run. In countries with a presidential system you may run for office. In those with a parliamentary one, stand.

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It really is a very useful book to have around but if you want to check it out now, a large section of it is available online here.  Enjoy.

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