The new edition
of the classic reference for all who work with words.
Here is the thoroughly revised
and updated edition of the one essential reference for
all who work with words--writers, editors, proofreaders,
indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers. Almost
200 pages longer than its predecessor, this edition
reflects nearly every significant change in style, usage,
procedure, and technology. It is easier to use, richer
in illustrative examples, and informed everywhere by
the presence of computers in publishing, from manuscript
preparation to editing, typesetting, indexing, design,
and printing.
The result of more than a decade's
worth of continuous editing and revision, the changes
to this edition fall into two broad categories.
First are the changes designed
to make editorial guidelines more systematic, more inclusive,
more reflective of contemporary usage, and more accessible.
There are major revisions in the chapter on quotations,
which features a fuller discussion of speech and alternative
punctuation; in the chapter on names and terms, expanded
treatment of nationalities, tribes, and races; a reorganized
chapter on foreign languages, with a new section on
Hebrew; and a revised and enlarged tabular spelling
guide for compound words and words with prefixes and
suffixes.
The most thoroughly revised is
the section on documentation. What was scattered across
three chapters is now more logically and concisely presented
in two. Chapter 15 now covers the humanities style of
documentation, and chapter 16, the author-date style
preferred in the natural and social sciences. Notes
and bibliographies are discussed separately, and there
are many examples of ways to cite a range of material--
from medieval documents to computer programs, with guidelines
for citing data bases, network billboards, and other
electronic documents.
The other set of changes emphasizes
new developments in publishing, from new technologies
for composition, design, printing, and binding, to the
shifting responsibilities of author and editor in an
age of personal computers. For first-time and self-publishing
authors, there is also new information about the outside
of the book: jackets, covers, and how to obtain and
display ISBN numbers and bar codes. The chapter on copyrights
and permissions has been rewritten by attorney William
Strong to cover current laws, practices, and procedures,
with a more substantial section on interpreting the
concept of "fair use." Finally, the bibliography
and glossary have been extensively revised.
This revision process has been
guided by a set of basic principles: consistency, clarity,
literacy, good sense, and good usage, all of them tempered
by a respect for the individuality of expression. These
principles have worked successfully at the Press for
a century; constantly renewed, they are what makes the
Manual the authoritative voice of publishing. There
is no other reference so valued or so necessary.
Features of the new edition
The first revision in eleven
years--updated, expanded, and reorganized to incorporate
contemporary usage and technology
Many more examples illustrate
every chapter
Documentation chapters completely
rewritten for greater ease of use
Discusses computer terminology
through every stage of the publishing process--from
preparing a manuscript to composition and printing
Extensively revised and updated
chapter on copyright and permissions
Significantly updated chapters
on quotations, names and terms, spelling, and indexing.
