Style Sheets

An Editor works to a ‘Style Sheet’ that is agreed with the client.

Picture of the Table of Contents of a typical Style Sheet.

Why is a Style Sheet necessary?

The English language is capable of huge variations of expression while remaining “correct”. If a book contains different spellings of the same word or varied use of punctuation, an attentive reader will be distracted.
A style sheet is a Rule Book for the use of the English language in your manuscript.
The key to good editing is to achieve consistency of approach so that the reader’s experience is kept as smooth as possible.
The ideal is for the reader not to realise they are reading or that someone has worked very hard to make the words flow on the page.

A bit more detail

As there are vexed questions in the use of:
🪶 spelling (judgment or judgement?)
🪶 punctuation (should a capital letter follow a colon?), and
🪶grammar (different to, or different than?)
a Style Sheet helps the editor impose consistency on a manuscript.
There are decisions to be made about how to refer to clock time, or how to set out dates, or numbers, abbreviations, people’s titles, references to books, whether you will use double or single quotation marks, or a serial comma, and many other points of detail you might never have had to think about before. 

My Style Sheets

I use my own Style Sheets and adapt them according to a writer’s needs.
For a UK readership, my Style Sheet is based on New Hart’s Rules (commonly preferred in the UK).
When I edit a manuscript for a US readership, my Style Sheet is based on the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS, ed. 18).
When you hire me as your editor, we agree the Style you wish to adopt and the Style Sheet keeps us on track.
Any questions about the editing process? Just message me.
Message Ruth