Copyeditors’ Knowledge Base

Editing Tools

Acronym Finder
AMA Manual of Style, 10th edition [hardcover reference work to buy and online reference to subscribe to]
AMA Manual of Style, 10th edition, index [PDF to download; it's easier to search the PDF onscreen than to search the index in the hardcover]
American National Biography Online [online reference to subscribe to buy]
AnyCount [word-, character-, and line-counting software for many file formats to buy]
The APA Dictionary of Psychology [reference work to buy]
APA formatting and style
APA Style [blog by the publishers of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association]
Associated Press Stylebook [reference work to buy]
“Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism, and Other Questionable Writing Practices: A Guide to Ethical Writing” (written by Miguel Roig, PhD, and made available by the Office of Research Integrity of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; document also available as a PDF)
Bedford St. Martin’s citation styles
“Benchmarks for Estimating Editing Speed” (from the Society for Technical Communication)
Bibliography of articles for editors and writers
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation [reference work to buy]
California Digital Library Online Catalog
The Careful Writer [reference work to buy]
Checklist For Revising Dissertations For Book Publication
Citation Style for Research Papers: APA, Turabian, MLA, Chicago, AMA
Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers
Chicago Manual of Style [hardcover reference work to buy and online reference to subscribe to]
Chicago Manual of Style guide
CIA World Factbook
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly Research in Communication (from the International Communication Association, via the Center for Social Media)
“Conflict of Interest in Peer-Reviewed Medical Journals”
(from the World Association of Medical Editors)
Copyediting [subscription-only newsletter]
Copyediting: A Practical Guide [reference work to buy]
Copyediting & Proofreading For Dummies [reference work to buy]
The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, 2nd edition [reference work to buy]
Definitions of editorial services (from the Bay Area Editors’ Forum)
Definitions of editorial skills (from the Editors’ Association of Canada)
Developmental Editing: A Handbook for Freelancers, Authors, and Publishers [reference work to buy]
Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 31st edition [reference work to buy]
“Dr. Abel Scribe’s Guides to APA Style Research Papers” (a guide to following APA style)
“EASE Guidelines for Authors and Translators of Scientific Articles to Be Published in English” (major editorial recommendations for English-as-a-second-language authors of scientific articles and for the language and editorial professionals who work with them; translations to other languages are in the works)
Editing Grant Proposals [reference work to buy]
Editing Science Graphs [reference work to buy]
Editing test (from the American Copy Editors Society)
Editing the Future
The Editorium [editing macros to buy]
EditTeach
EditTools [editing macros to buy]
EEI’s standard proofreading symbols
Effective Onscreen Editing: New Tools for an Old Profession [reference work to buy]
“Electronic Copy Editing—17 Steps to an Error-Free Manuscript” (by Alison Hope)
“Electronic Editing: With Your Computer, Not Just On It”
“Electronic Editing: With Your Computer, Not Just On It—Tipsheet” (including information on creating macros)
The Elephants of Style: A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English
[reference work to buy]
English Verb Conjugations: 123 Irregular Verbs Fully Conjugated [reference work to buy]
“First Things First,” about a hierarchy of writing and editing values, from the blog You Don’t Say
Fowler’s The King’s English [reference work to buy]
A Freelancer’s Guide to Book Production [reference work to buy]
Frequently asked questions about APA (American Psychological Association) style
Garner’s Modern American Usage, 3rd edition [reference work to buy]
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing [reference work to buy]
Grammatical Gleanings [reference work to buy]
Grammatically Correct: The Essential Guide to Spelling, Style, Usage, Grammar, and Punctuation [reference work to buy]
“Guide to Scientific Writing: The Title Says It All” (part 1, from Clinical Chemistry)
“Guide to Scientific Writing: The Abstract and the Elevator Talk: A Tale of Two Summaries” (part 2, from Clinical Chemistry)
“Guide to Scientific Writing: ‘It was a cold and rainy night’: Set the Scene with a Good Introduction” (part 3, from Clinical Chemistry)
“History: Documenting Sources” (a guide to following Chicago Manual style)
How to Report Statistics in Medicine: Annotated Guidelines for Authors, Editors, and Reviewers [reference work to buy]
How to use Microsoft Word’s “track changes”
How to Write, Publish, and Present in the Health Sciences: Guidelines for Physicians and Laboratory Researchers [reference work to buy]
“Humanities: Documenting Sources” (a guide to following MLA style)
Indexing Specialties: Cookbooks [reference work to buy]
International Trademark Association’s Trademark Checklist
Lapsing Into a Comma: A Curmudgeon’s Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print—and How to Avoid Them [reference work to buy]
Levels of Technical Editing [reference work to buy]
Library of Congress Online Catalog
Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing [reference work to buy]
List of keyboard shortcuts in Windows XP
“List of Style Manuals” (manuals used in various disciplines)
A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
(by Kate L. Turabian) [reference work to buy]
Making the Most of Word in Your Business (from Shauna Kelly)
Making Word Work for You: An Editor’s Intro to the Tool of the Trade [reference work to buy]
Mark My Words: Instruction and Practice in Proofreading, 3rd edition [reference work to buy]
Mastering APA Style: Student's Workbook and Training Guide, 6th edition [reference work to buy]
McEdit e-mail list: when you need help with Microsoft Word and other editing tools on the Macintosh
Medical Usage and Abusage [reference work to buy]
MediLexicon (medical dictionary, medical abbreviation definitions, ICD9 and ICD9CM code definitions, drug information, definitions of medical equipment and surgical instruments)
MEDLINE (PubMed)
Merriam-Webster Online
McGraw-Hill’s Proofreading Handbook [reference work to buy]
Microsoft Knowledge Base
Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, 3rd edition [reference work to buy]
Microsoft Word for Medical and Technical Writers [reference work to buy]
Microsoft Word for Publishing Professionals [reference work to buy]
MLA (Modern Language Association) style
Monash University Web Style Guide, version 3: Writing for the Web
The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage: The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative Newspaper [reference work to buy]
Office Watch: advice and tips about Microsoft software (not from Microsoft) [free newsletters]
OnlineStylebooks.com (allows users to simultaneously search multiple online style guides)
Oxford African American Studies Center [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford Art Online [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford Biblical Studies Online [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford Digital Reference Shelf [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford English Dictionary Online [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford Islamic Studies Online [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford Language Dictionaries Online [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford Music Online [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford Reference Online [online reference to subscribe to]
Oxford Scholarship Online [online reference to subscribe to]
PerfectIt [editing software to buy]
“Professional Editorial Standards” (from the Editors’ Association of Canada)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition [reference work to buy]; corrections to the first printing and corrected sample papers [free downloads]
The Publication Process at Biomedical Journals [reference work to buy]
Recipes Into Type: A Handbook for Cookbook Writers and Editors [reference work to buy]
Reference works on many topics, from bibliography software to ethics to maps (from the Council of Science Editors)
“Sciences: Documenting Sources” (a guide to following CSE Manual style)
Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 7th edition [reference work to buy]
Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 7th edition: index (download the index via the “Complete Index” link, save it to your computer, and search it easily)
“Social Sciences: Documenting Sources” (a guide to following APA style)
Statistics for Dummies [reference work to buy]
Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, 28th edition [reference work to buy]
Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style
Stylebook Supplement on LGBT Terminology
[reference work to download]
The Subversive Copyeditor [reference work to buy]
Table 1. Common Editorial Service Levels in Manuscript Development (see second page of document)
Tagging manuscripts (adding typesetting codes) by using Microsoft Word's AutoText toolbar (from the Editorium)
Technical Editors’ Eyrie
Textbook Development as an Art and a Science
[reference work to buy]
Ultimate Citation Resource: ACS, AIP, AMS, APA, ASA, Blue Book, Chicago, Columbia, CSE, IEEE, MLA, Harvard, MHRA, political science, SSCI, Turabian
The Ultimate Style Guide Resources for MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE
United Nations Editorial Manual
Universal Currency Converter
Web Style Guide, 3rd edition: Editorial Style
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
“What Is Substantive Editing?”
Windows keyboard shortcuts for PCs and Macs
Who’s Who with Who Was Who [online reference to subscribe to]
Windows Secrets—“Everything Microsoft forgot to mention” [newsletter]
The Writer’s Virtual Bookshelf
Word-PC e-mail list: when you need help with Microsoft Word as designed for the PC
Words into Type, 3rd edition [reference work to buy]
The World Clock—Time Zones
Writer–editor relationships, onscreen editing, avoiding repetitive-stress injuries, and more
The Yahoo! Style Guide: The Ultimate Sourcebook for Writing, Editing, and Creating Content for the Digital World [reference work to buy]