Style Guides & Style Sheets
When I was researching what becoming a proofreader was like, the most glaring thing I came across was the importance of editorial style and making sure it is consistent throughout the manuscript you are working with. This is achieved through style guides (also commonly known as house style) and style sheets, which help maintain clarity between the author and editors/proofreaders.
The essential features that will be included in both a style guide and sheet sheet include:
spelling
grammar
punctuation
capitalization
numbers, dates, and time
layout conventions
use of italics and bold type.
What is a Style Guide?
A style guide is a list of standardized guidelines to make sure the writing, formatting, and editing of your document remains the same across the board. This most commonly includes:
spelling and word choices (usually distinguished between British English and American English)
grammar and punctuation
formatting and design layout
desired voice and tone
any divergence from other official style guides (things that will be unique to your writing).
Of course, the human eye will miss certain things, so don’t worry about following your preferred style guide exactly when you’re actively writing, that’s why you should have editors and proofreaders on hand to polish your drafts!
What is a Style Sheet?
In a style sheet, you will find the same information and instructions that style guides contain. However, they intend to be more concise and direct as they are created for a specific document.
The author should take an empty template and fill out their style sheet with all the specific details that should be adhered to when it comes to the document being edited/proofed. Moreover, if the editor is feeling confident (and the author hasn’t already made a style sheet), they can compile their own style sheet noting certain things that the author needs to pay attention to in future drafts.
Since each style sheet is designed specifically for each manuscript, we will find the author’s stylistic preferences all in one place. This will include:
linguistic preferences — dialects, writing style, spelling/vocabulary choices, the choice to write numbers as words or numerals, and time and date formats.
punctuation preferences — comma usage, favoured use of hyphens/en dashes/em dashes, single or double quotation marks, ellipses, and capitalization preferences.
formatting preferences — font size and typeface, usage of bold/italics/underlining, indentations, instructions on how to start new chapters/sections, page numbering, and page orientations.
If you are creating your own style sheet, make sure you are including information you deem necessary, only nit-pick certain things you have noticed that might cause the readers to raise eyebrows because they have picked up on inconsistencies!
Final
Overall, if you are looking to get your manuscript edited and proofread, or you are looking to become a copyeditor or proofreader, you will ideally need to become accustomed to using style guides and style sheets as they are an industry staple. If you want to research style guides and style sheets, you can google templates and examples that are readily accessible. The CIEP has a master list of general editing, publishing, and style guides which may be a good place to start. It is important that the style guides you are using as relevant to who you are editing for, as some guides are centric to either UK publishing houses or US publishing houses!
Lauren Ternent | The Editorial Geordie