Best New Books for Writers and Editors
This is an exciting year for writers and editors — as there are a number of writing and editing-focused books slated to be published in 2024, many of which can be helpful in the process of writing other identities. Just ask Karen Yin…
Karen Yin is the author of children’s books and an upcoming book called The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language That Includes, Respects, and Empowers. She coined the term “conscious language” which means “mindful and compassionate language,” and through the Conscious Style Guide website, has made a huge impact on writing and editing practices. (She’s also the founder of Editors of Color and Diverse Databases — which is bad ass too).
I connected with Karen when I came across her upcoming book, The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language That Includes, Respects, and Empowers. She describes it like this on Tertulia:
“If the evolution of inclusive language has left you feeling lost, turn to ‘The Conscious Style Guide’ for a map that takes your interests, beliefs, and abilities into account. Learn how flexibility and creativity distinguish conscious language from political correctness and other rigid styles. Associated Press Stylebook editor Paula Froke calls it ‘the best tool book of all.’”
There seemed to be some overlap between The Conscious Style Guide and Writing An Identity Not Your Own, so I reached out to Karen and got an advanced reading copy of her book. I’m currently reading it, and I love everything I’ve read so far. There are so many ways you can utilize Karen’s advice in writing other identities, especially in terms of terminology, thinking about words to use or not use, descriptions of people of historically marginalized identities, and so much more. (Full review coming soon…)
All that aside, Karen recently curated a list of the Best New Books For Writers and Editors on Tertulia and she included Writing An Identity Not Your Own, as well as three others:
Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto by Sonya Huber
Tell It Like It Is: A Guide to Clear and Honest Writing by Roy Peter Clark
Dictionary of Fine Distinctions: Nuances, Niceties, and Subtle Shades of Meaning by Eli Burnstein
If you haven’t seen this list that Karen curated, CLICK HERE. These books appear to be fantastic resources for creative writers, journalists, copy editors, and the other forms of media, and just on the descriptions alone, I can see how they might even play a role in writing other identities.
