"You can't fatten poor stock."

That's one of my favorite of the Old Editor's sayings. It's a good reminder for copyeditors. We can only make the text as good as it can be. Consider the quality of the text you start with before trying to make it Shakespeare.

John McIntyre stuffs a career's worth (and then some) of wisdom into this slim volume. While in general, we should be wary of maxims because they tell less than the whole story, you can trust McIntyre's time-tested lessons. Each maximum is followed by a short explanatory note, in case you need more detail.

From editing lessons to good office etiquette, McIntyre has wisdom a-plenty for copyeditors to use each day.