Rules for condensing novels and manuals?

Question

Does anyone have a reference of the rules for condensing novels and manuals? For example, Readers' Digest used to sell condensed versions of top novels. Did they follow standardized rules? Another application is condensing novels and plays for study guides, like Cliff Notes. I am seeking any standardized rules for condensing huge tomes into manageable mass market versions. Thank you for your answers.

Answer 1

Readers' Digest condensed their books according to rules they kept strictly in-house. This often meant removing subplots, exposition, and anything but the strict forward movement of the plot. The books were then shorter and could be savvied more quickly, but they often lost their intellectual heft in the process.

Cliffs Notes are not condensed novels. They are study guides which highlight key points and significant themes, as an aid for academic study. These, too, are written according to in-house rules. Many teachers consider them such a shortcut, however, that they make a point of teaching AGAINST the Cliffs Notes to make sure students actually read the original source material.

There are no standardized rules for condensing novels. If you can get permission from the copyright holder, you can go about it in any way you want. Just remember, serious readers look down their noses at most condensed novels.