Moonlight Blogger

by Carol Fisher Saller

Essays from The Subversive Copy Editor blog, by Carol Fisher Saller, contributing editor at The Chicago Manual of Style and author of The Subversive Copy Editor.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Honors for Saller's children’s books include Kirkus Best, Bank Street Best, Horn Book Recommended Verse, NCSS/CBC Notables, the Carl Sandburg Award for Children’s Literature, the Midland Authors Award for Children’s Fiction, and Chicago Public Library’s Best Teen Fiction.

A professional manuscript editor for many years at the University of Chicago Press, Carol is also author of the book and blog The Subversive Copy Editor and contributing editor to The Chicago Manual of Style. She lives in Chicago.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many books formed from blog posts, I found this collection uneven. The good were very, very good - but the others were meh at best. I picked up a few new tricks and will likely return to certain sections in the future.

[Karna Converse · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read that I found helpful in terms of voice.

Moonlight Blogger is a year's worth of blog entries; copyediting/writing/working as an editor are the themes. I had hoped the entries would offer specific editing tips and "insider information" about the industry -- and many entries do -- but I found the most benefit in just reading it for the purpose it was written: as a blog. As an example of conversational writing that builds a friendship with the reader and an example of how a blogger uses a blog to share her expertise.

[Katarzyna Bartoszynska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure - Carol is a friend, so I might be somewhat biased. But I really enjoyed this. It's a collection of blog posts, so it's light reading, but despite the seemingly breezy format, there's a wonderful warmth and overarching sense of an actual presence. And more importantly - engaging content that is worthwhile reading not only for copy-editors, but also for writers. Definitely recommended.

[morbidflight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty enjoyable collection of blog posts about copy editing, writing, and such. I actually learned that I should give MS Word more credit with the find and replace thing...I'll definitely have to try out some of the wildcard searching. The notes on copy editing were appreciated because I have a mental image of myself as a decent editor. If you haven't read the blog, this seems like an appropriate substitution.

[Amy Denim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giggle out loud funny moments that authors who'd like a little insight into the insane brains of their copy editors must read. Great techie tips (yay for ctrl+z). I'd recommend this to anyone in a critique group as well. Do no harm.

[Kilian Metcalf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of blogs from a manuscript editor who works with the Univ of Chicago Press and answers questions about the Chicago Manual of Style is a fun read for a copy editor (or a copyeditor).

[Q · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of blog articles. Wonderful voice, but I wish it were organized in a more coherent way.