Surviving and Thriving - Reviews

by Renni Browne and Dave King

The authors are accomplished editors who conduct workshops around the country with The Editorial Department, a company that Browne founded in 1980. They point out that the days of publisher sponsored editing are basically over. It simply is no longer cost effective for publishers to maintain the staff required to provide thoughtful, supportive editing for each manuscript that they may want to publish. The result is that manuscripts arriving at publishing houses that require editorial work are often rejected. This underscores the need for self-editing by writers.

Browne and King tell us how to write tight, well polished fiction by paying closer attention to the rules of showing/telling, dialog development, and interior monologue. They give pointers on avoiding useless repetition and maintaining proportion to a work. Self-editing exercises are also included – with the "answers" in the back of the book. All of the principles discussed are illustrated with examples of good (and some not so good) fiction that are made stronger through proper editing technique. Browne and King stress that writing and editing are separate processes and that writers should not allow editing to interfere with writing that first draft.

There is something here for all writers, regardless of experience or genre. This is a quality reference work that every fiction writer should consult before "going final" with any manuscript.

Renni Browne was interviewed on Long Ridge’s Professional Connection in January 2003.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King is published by Quill ($14 U.S.) and is available in paperback for $11.22 at Amazon.com.

Review by Gerald Franklin

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