Book excerpt: Many stylebooks and manuals explain writing, but before the release ten years ago of Elsie Myers Stainton's The Fine Art of Copyediting, few addressed the practices and problems of editing. This handbook has guided users through the editing process for books and journals, with tips on how to be diplomatic when recommending changes, how to edit notes and bibliographies, how to check proofs, and how to negotiate the ethical, intellectual, and emotional problems characteristic of the editorial profession. Now featuring solid advice on computer editing and a new chapter on style, as well as more information on references, bibliographies, indexing, and bias-free writing, The Fine Art of Copyediting, Second Edition offers the same wealth of information that prompted William Safire to commend the first edition in The New York Times Magazine. Complete with helpful checklists for the manuscript, proof, and index stages of book production, as well as an excellent bibliography of reference works useful to the copyeditor, The Fine Art of Copyediting, Second Edition is an indispensable desk reference for writers and editors confronting a host of questions each day. Why use the word "people" instead of "persons?" What precautions are necessary for publishers to avoid libel suits? How can an editor win an author's trust? What type fonts facilitate the copyediting process? How does computer editing work? For experienced and novice copyeditors, writers and students, this is the source for detailed, step-by-step guidance to the entire editorial process.