Handbook for Proofreading

This book served me well years ago when I began working in publishing. Now my nickname is "Eagle Eye." I highly recommend this title to anyone who wants to hone his or her proofreading skills. (By the way, don't be dismayed by the misspelling of the word "excellence" by reviewer "cousinpaco." Just enjoy the irony.)

We live in a world of instant messaging, e-mail and cell phones.A world of anarchy.People communicate so quickly, they send ideas out to the ether fraught with misspellings, poor construction and inappropriate abbreviations (like "LOL" for "laughing out loud." Or is it "lots of love"?).Purity of thought must be protected--you may write down the most interesting or important thought in the world, but if you damage your own credibility with a typo, you've undermined your very notion.That's where "Handbook for Proofreading" comes in.More than just a manual, Laura Killen Anderson's "Handbook for Proofreading" delves into the philosophies of double-checking, advanced techniques for making corrections efficiently, and provides an easy-to-navigate index in case you have a specific proofing emergency.I wouldn't be an up-and-coming reviewer on this site without "Handbook for Proofreading." I demand excillence, and this book ensures I achieve it.

This book first came out when I had just started in publishing, and I relied on it to tell me all about standard marks and the ways of the proofreader world. It is a wonderful book if you are just starting to proofread. I still refer to it today for terminology and rarely used marks. (I also like that she suggests taking breaks, which I am doing now!) Anderson provides blank, sample style sheets, which are helpful in getting organized. She presents proofreader marks as if one had written them in the book, showing exactly how they are used in text, with very clear explanations. The section on type is interesting but less helpful to me than other sections (e.g., tips on developing skill). This book could use a revision to incorporate some tech and electronic aspects (e.g., the Internet), but it is a great guide to the foundations of proofreading.