The Invisible Art of Literary Editing - by Bryan Furuness & Sarah Layden (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A field guide to the trade and art of editing, this book pulls back the curtain on the day-to-day responsibilities of a literary magazine editor in their role, and to the specific skills necessary to read, mark-up and transform a piece of writing. Combining a break-down of an editor's tasks - including creating a vision, acquisitions, responding to submissions and corresponding with authors - with a behind-the-scenes look at manuscripts in progress, the book rounds up with a test editing section that teaches, by way of engaging exercises, the nitty-gritty strategies and techniques for working on all kinds of texts. Generous in its insight and access to practicing editors' annotations and thought processes, The Invisible Art of Literary Editing offers an exclusive look at nonfiction, fiction and poetry manuscripts as they were first submitted, as they were marked up by an editor and how the final piece was presented before featuring an interview with the editor on the choices they made about that piece of work, as well as their philosophies and working practices in their job.

As a skill and a trade learnt through practice and apprenticeship, this is the ultimate companion to editing any piece of work, offering opportunities for learning-by-doing through exercises, reflections and cases studies, and inviting readers to embody the role of an editor to improve their craft and demystify the processes involved in this exciting and highly coveted profession.

Review Quotes

"The Invisible Art of Literary Editing is a compact book at a very reasonable price that gives faculty advisors a starting point for teaching the next generation of editors." --Technical Communication

"Faculty who manage [literary] journals have a complex job of teaching students the various types of editing on top of topics ranging from print and online production to social media to sales and marketing-all without a textbook, until now. the invisible art of literary editing fills a crucial part of this void by focusing on the editing of creative prose in literary journals." --Kelly A. Harrison, Technical Communication

About the Author

Bryan Furuness is Senior Lecturer of English, Butler University, USA and is the author of the novels Do Not Go On and The Lost Episodes of Revie Bryson. He has also edited several anthologies, including My Name Was Never Frankenstein: And Other Classic Adventure Tales Remixed." data-fwclientid="b2d4aa1b-93f6-442a-92ab-0ec2cadaa3a7" data-preservehtmlbullets="0" data-allowlists="0" data-crlfsubmit="1" autocomplete="off" spellcheck="false" class="field_input_main field_input_copytext field_input_copytext_body copytextheight-normal field_input_disabled fieldkeycheck-setup copytext-setup" contenteditable="false">Bryan Furuness is Senior Lecturer of English, Butler University, USA and is the author of the novels Do Not Go On and The Lost Episodes of Revie Bryson. He has also edited several anthologies, including My Name Was Never Frankenstein: And Other Classic Adventure Tales Remixed.
Bryan Furuness is Senior Lecturer of English, Butler University, USA and is the author of the novels Do Not Go On and The Lost Episodes of Revie Bryson. He has also edited several anthologies, including My Name Was Never Frankenstein: And Other Classic Adventure Tales Remixed." data-fwclientid="b2d4aa1b-93f6-442a-92ab-0ec2cadaa3a7" data-preservehtmlbullets="0" data-allowlists="0" data-crlfsubmit="1" autocomplete="off" spellcheck="false" class="field_input_main field_input_copytext field_input_copytext_body copytextheight-normal field_input_disabled fieldkeycheck-setup copytext-setup" contenteditable="false">
Sarah Layden is Assistant Professor of English, Indiana University-Purdue University, USA. She is the author of Trip Through Your Wires and The Story I Tell Myself About Myself. Her recent nonfiction appears in The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, Salon, and The Millions." data-fwclientid="b2d4aa1b-93f6-442a-92ab-0ec2cadaa3a7" data-preservehtmlbullets="0" data-allowlists="0" data-crlfsubmit="1" autocomplete="off" spellcheck="false" class="field_input_main field_input_copytext field_input_copytext_body copytextheight-normal field_input_disabled fieldkeycheck-setup copytext-setup" contenteditable="false">Sarah Layden is Assistant Professor of English, Indiana University-Purdue University, USA. She is the author of Trip Through Your Wires and The Story I Tell Myself About Myself. Her recent nonfiction appears in The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, Salon, and The Millions.