Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Developmental Editing

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS

Contents

Preface.............................................................ixIntroduction........................................................1What Developmental Editing Is.......................................1Whom This Book Is For...............................................2What This Book Covers...............................................3Some Ground Rules...................................................51 * Concept: Shaping the Proposal...................................9Author Profile: The Veteran.........................................10Client Profile: The Agent...........................................11Assignment: The Proposal with Too Many Concepts.....................12Locate the Concept..................................................14Profile the Audience................................................18Evaluate Market Potential...........................................20Bring the Vision into Focus.........................................222 * Content: Assessing Potential....................................27Author Profile: The First-Timer.....................................28Client Profile: The Big Trade House.................................29Assignment: The Tome with Too Many Subjects.........................30Size Up the Author..................................................31Size Up the Publisher...............................................33Size Up the DE......................................................35Create a Content Summary............................................39Find the Main Subject...............................................423 * Thesis: Finding the Hook........................................48Author Profile: The Coauthors.......................................48Client Profile: The Small Trade House...............................50Assignment: The Study with Too Many Theses..........................51Cull Theses from Topics.............................................52Beware of the Rehash................................................55Choose the Main Thesis..............................................58Create a Working Title..............................................624 * Narrative: Tailoring the Timeline...............................68Author Profile: The Historian.......................................68Client Profile: The Copublisher.....................................70Assignment: The Sprawling Saga......................................71Untangle Timelines from Arguments...................................72Find the Main Timelines.............................................74Brainstorm Timeline Strategies......................................76Compose the New Timeline............................................80Finetune the Timeline...............................................81Restore Bits of Argument............................................855 * Exposition: Deploying the Argument..............................91Author Profile: The Theorist........................................92Client Profile: The University Press................................93Assignment: The Theory with Too Many Tangents.......................94Untangle Arguments from Timelines...................................95Find the Main Arguments.............................................98Brainstorm Argument Strategies......................................101Compose the New Argument............................................103Finetune the Argument...............................................105Restore Bits of Timeline............................................1076 * Plan: Drafting a Blueprint......................................112Write Up the Plan...................................................113Compose Chapter Theses..............................................119Intervene Strategically.............................................1227 * Rhythm: Setting the Pace........................................123Author Profile: The Sole Authority..................................123Client Profile: The Regional House..................................125Assignment: The Local History Turned Personal.......................126Rearrange the Furniture.............................................127Draft New Passages..................................................130Balance Chapter Weights.............................................132Edit for Pace.......................................................1358 * Transitions: Filling in the Blanks..............................142Author Profile: The Dead Author.....................................142Client Profile: The Self-Publisher..................................144Assignment: The Memoir with Lapses..................................145Create Opening Transitions..........................................146Create Closing Transitions..........................................149Draw Conclusions....................................................151Place Those Conclusions.............................................1549 * Style: Training the Voice.......................................158Author Profile: The Journalist......................................159Client Profile: The Book Packager...................................160Assignment: The Story with Too Many Voices..........................162Set the Tone........................................................164Parse the Rhetoric..................................................167Master Abstraction..................................................175Gauge the Ironies...................................................178Harmonize the Voices................................................18210 * Display: Dressing Up the Text..................................187Author Profile: The Author-for-Hire.................................188Client Profile: The Trade Reference House...........................189Assignment: The Guidebook with Poor Signage.........................191Consider Subheads...................................................192Consider Epigraphs..................................................197Draft an Art Plan...................................................201Illustrate Concepts.................................................204Visualize Data......................................................207Test-Drive Maps.....................................................212Add Lagniappe.......................................................215Afterword...........................................................221Further Reading.....................................................223Acknowledgments.....................................................229Index...............................................................231

Chapter One

Shaping the Proposal

In today's world, crafting a sound proposal is the indispensable first stage in the process of publishing a book. Regardless of whether the manuscript has already been written or is only a gleam in the author's eye, publishers want to see a crisp proposal that clearly conveys the book's central concept and demonstrates how that concept will appeal to its target audience. For many authors, however, summarizing in a few pages a subject that represents years of research or personal experience can be a daunting exercise. DEs can help authors to find their central concepts, bring them into focus, and then shape them into proposals that will both sell their concepts and serve as useful blueprints for...