What Style Guide Do Editors Use?

What Style Guide Do Editors Use?

The “standardized content” principle separates a book from a news article, academic paper, and blog post.

The idea is that every content piece is designed to deliver a message in a distinctive manner to the point that a reader wouldn’t mistake it for anything else but what it is.

In the practice of creating standardized content across multiple industries, writers embrace certain qualities to make their content consistent.

Non-fiction authors and academic writers follow specific styles and conventions to meet the expected standards in their respective fields.

For instance, an author writing a business guide will likely adhere to the Associated Press (AP) Style Guide, which outlines rules on grammar, punctuation, and principles of reporting, assuring clarity, conciseness, and objectivity in business writing.

In contrast, academic writers will likely abide by the American Psychological Association (APA) or Modern Language Association (MLA) styles, depending on their discipline.

These guidelines dictate grammar, punctuation, citation, and formatting conventions.

These guides seek to maintain integrity and uniformity, allowing for peer review and scholarly discourse.

When it comes to online blogs, the style tends to be more flexible, reflecting this medium’s informal and conversational tone.

Nonetheless, bloggers often adhere to grammatical norms and may follow style guides, i.e., Yahoo Style Guide, which offers tips on how to write headlines properly, put links, and manage SEO-related content.

Meanwhile, news writing embraces a straightforward and concise style characterized by the inverted pyramid structure.

This involves presenting the most important information first, followed by additional details and background.

The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook is commonly used in this industry, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and journalistic fairness.

Why a Style Guide?

Adherence to a style guide fosters consistency, which is paramount in writing.

The primary role of consistency is to see that a piece of writing maintains a uniform tone, style, and structure throughout, thereby improving the readability and comprehensibility of the content.

Consistency in writing makes it easier for the reader to follow the writer’s thoughts, as it eliminates any would-be confusion that will come from irregularities or inconsistencies in style, grammar, or punctuation.

Furthermore, consistency contributes to the author’s credibility and professionalism.

A consistent writing style reflects attention to detail, a comprehension of the subject matter, and a respect for the reader’s time.

Inconsistent content, on the other hand, will appear disjointed and unprofessional, potentially leading the reader to question the author’s expertise or credibility.

In broader terms, style guides exist to institutionalize this consistency across multiple writers and platforms.

They’re like a comprehensive manual for writers, providing guidelines that ensure uniformity in the presentation of ideas and information.

By adhering to a specific style guide, writers maintain a consistent voice and tone across different pieces of writing, even when multiple authors are involved.

For institutions, style guides are critical in maintaining a consistent brand voice and image.

They help create a homogeneous reading experience across all publications – be it blog posts, research papers, news reports, or any other form of written communication.

This uniformity benefits the organization by strengthening its identity in the reader’s mind.

Therefore, the existence of style guides and the emphasis on consistent writing are intertwined, both working towards the common goal of creating clear, credible, and reader-friendly content.

But mind you – we’re merely talking about style guides and consistency in writing from a writer’s perspective.

How about editors, specifically in book publishing?

Both authors and editors take full advantage of style guides, but their approach varies. Authors use style guides as a compass to direct their writing, ensuring that they conform to the established grammar, punctuation, and structure norms.

They use these guides as a resource to craft a narrative that aligns with the expectations of their intended readership.

On the other hand, editors use style guides as a tool to refine and polish the author’s work.

Their role is to generate consistency, coherence, and stylistic accuracy across the entire manuscript.

They focus on minute details, i.e., word usage, sentence structure, punctuation, and formatting.

In other words, they check if the text adheres strictly to the chosen style guide.

While authors use style guides to create their narrative, editors use them to refine and enhance that narrative so that it will meet the highest standards of professionalism in book writing.

Style Guide Editors Use

No universal rule commands the use of a single style guide in book publishing.

Unlike academic writing or news reporting, where certain guides dominate specific fields, book publishing allows for more flexibility in style choices.

That said, there’s no denying that the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is the most widely used style guide in book publishing.

You ask why?

Here’s a rundown of how CMOS makes for the ideal style guide used by editors for the arts, i.e., fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs.

CMOS is comprehensive and exhaustive.

It covers a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to, grammar and punctuation, citation styles and formatting.

This makes it an ideal resource for editors looking to ensure consistency in all aspects of the manuscript. Let’s illustrate how.

Say an editor is working on a manuscript that involves the use of foreign languages and requires specific accents or diacritics.

CMOS has sections specifically dedicated to these matters, making it easier for the editor to find the right answers.

CMOS offers multiple options.

In some scenarios, CMOS includes more than one acceptable style option.

For example, when it comes to the use of numbers in writing, different styles may be appropriate depending on the context or industry.

While some publications prefer using numerals for all numbers above nine, others may follow a more traditional approach and write out numbers below 101 in words.

Having multiple options allows editors to make the best possible decisions based on the specific needs and preferences of the manuscript at hand.

This flexibility is especially useful for book publishing, where authors have different writing styles and may require unique formatting choices.

CMOS stays updated. As with any style guide, CMOS frequently updates its guidelines to keep up with the changing linguistic landscape.

It ensures that editors are equipped with the most current information and resources to provide the best possible editing services.

It’s a perk that publishing values so much since authors are able to incorporate new language trends or writing techniques that require guidance.

CMOS is tailor-made for book publishing.

This is best epitomized by the fact that CMOS has an entire section dedicated to manuscript preparation.

This section provides detailed instructions on how a manuscript should be formatted, including margins, font size and type, spacing, etc.

These are elements in producing compelling books that balance aesthetics with functionality.

The “Chicago Style”

CMOS offers clear guidelines on myriad intricacies of writing, contributing to a manuscript’s consistency and professional look.

For instance, CMOS stipulates the use of double quotation marks for direct quotations or titles of articles.

Single quotation marks are reserved for quotes within quotes.

When it comes to punctuation, the CMOS endorses the use of the serial comma.

This comma is used before the conjunction in a list of three or more items. For example, “The grocery list includes apples, strawberries, and vegetables.”

Without the serial comma, the sentence could have a different meaning, demonstrating the importance of this comma for clarity.

Periods and commas, according to the CMOS, always go inside quotation marks.

This rule is consistent, irrespective of meaning. For example, “The film was deemed ‘phenomenal,’ but I thought it was quite average.”

Even though the comma is not part of the quoted word ‘phenomenal,’ CMOS dictates that it should be placed within the quotation marks.

These are but a few examples of the detailed and comprehensive guidelines the CMOS offers that showcase the insistence on details and consistency in book publishing – elements that help maintain a high standard of credibility.

Remember that the CMOS is considered the standard style guide in American book publishing, which means that most publishers will require manuscripts to adhere to its guidelines.

Since English is the universal book publishing language, following the rules and recommendations of this guide ensures a consistent voice and style for books published in English worldwide.

Differences Between CMOS and Other Style Guides

CMOS distinguishes itself from style guides like AP, the MLA Handbook, and the Publication Manual of APA in several noteworthy ways.

Perhaps the most notable difference lies in the fact that CMOS is specifically tailored for book publishing, as evidenced by its detailed section on manuscript preparation.

This contrasts with the AP Stylebook, geared towards news reporting and journalism.

The AP style, emphasizing succinctness and clarity for rapid comprehension, lacks the nuanced guidelines required for the multilayered and often more complex narratives found in book manuscripts.

The MLA Handbook and APA Publication Manual primarily aim at academic writing, i.e., essays, research papers, and dissertations in humanities and social sciences.

While these guides offer in-depth rules for citing sources and structuring research, they lack the same level of detail as CMOS when it comes to elements crucial to book publishing, i.e., formatting a manuscript or creating an index.

What sets CMOS apart is its flexibility.

Unlike other guides, CMOS often presents multiple style options, granting editors the freedom to react based on a book manuscript’s prospect for success.

For example, CMOS’s approach to numbers in writing is less rigid than that of AP, MLA, or APA, all of which have more prescriptive rules.

This flexibility is crucial in book publishing, where authorial voice and style diversity are highly valued.

The comprehensive nature of CMOS makes it a valuable resource for editors working on a range of topics. It covers not only grammar and punctuation but also intricate details.

For example, we mentioned earlier how a manuscript with diacritics or foreign words could be challenging to edit. CMOS offers detailed guidelines for handling these intricacies, making it an indispensable tool for editors with diverse content.

On the other hand, other style guides may not delve into such specifics, making CMOS the more exhaustive option.

What If an Editor Uses Another Style Guide?

Choosing to use a different style guide when editing a manuscript could have several repercussions, especially if it’s not aligned with the conventions of book publishing.

For one, the varied application of a style guide will result in inconsistencies in the manuscript. Each style guide has a set of rules for language usage, punctuation, and citation methodologies.

For instance, AP Stylebook, primarily designed for news reporting, has different guidelines for things like abbreviations, capitalization, and number usage compared to CMOS. So, using the former will result in an uneven reading experience, which could even become unpleasant.

Also, using an alternative style guide is a recipe for incorrect formatting.

Each style guide has very specific regulations on layout, from margins to font types and sizes.

A manuscript styled under APA format, which is used for academic papers, might not meet the specific layout requirements for a book.

The result is a book that visually doesn’t meet industry standards or reader expectations.

And then, there are differences in citation styles.

Academic style guides such as the MLA or APA have unique and sometimes opposing rules for citing various sources in text and creating a reference list, which differs from CMOS.

So, if authors have used these guides in their writing, changing to CMOS during the editing process leads to a complete overhaul of the citation structure. It won’t make sense anymore because it’ll be time-consuming and complex.

The choice of a different style guide impacts the voice and tone of the manuscript. CMOS is designed for book publishing and allows for more flexibility in language, accommodating a wide range of authorial voices and narrative styles.

On the contrary, using a guide like the AP Stylebook may result in a more direct and concise tone, which isn’t suitable for all types of manuscripts, especially those that require more descriptive or exploratory language.

While other style guides serve their respective fields effectively, they may not work as seamlessly when applied to book publishing.

CMOS remains the most reliable and comprehensive guide for book editors, with pertinent attributes that don’t necessarily fit with other writing fields.