2/9/2024 0 Comments Style sheet for a manuscript![]() I generally include them whether they have been spelled out or not, simply to clarify what they stand for. AbbreviationsĪbbreviations used in a novel might be those used in the real world (GPS, FYI) as well as invented ones from the fictional world in the novel (names of organizations, slang terms). Again, each book might use a different style, with house style and author preference as factors.) I’ll delve into numbers in more detail in a future article. (The examples I’ve given here are just that - examples - rather than rules about how to style these. Common entries on my style sheet include heights (five-foot-one, six four), time (eight thirty, 6:27 a.m.), highway numbers (Route 28, the 101), decades (the seventies), clothing sizes (size eight) and room numbers (room 307). In general, use digits for numbers that would become unwieldy if spelled out. Phone numbers (particularly 911, the emergency number), years, decimals, vehicle designations (such as aircraft call signs), and weapon names (AK-47) and calibers are usually presented in digits. Most of the time in fiction, numbers will be spelled out, especially in dialogue, but as always there are exceptions. (Imagine how flavorless The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would be if it had been edited to be one hundred percent grammatically correct!) Numbers And, as I’ve mentioned earlier, there is much more leeway for style in fiction because the author is creating a mood and telling a story. The Chicago Manual of Style is one of several standard style guides in book publishing, but the rules in fiction are looser than in nonfiction and thus Chicago - and any other style guide - should be considered more a guide than a collection of hard-and-fast rules. In fiction as in nonfiction, we need to track the basics, such as treatment of numbers, abbreviations, punctuation, typography (use of italics and other font attributes), usage, and, of course a general word list. Over the next four essays I will discuss the style sheets I keep in a little more detail. Or you can keep them separate and combine them into one document when the edit is finished. (See my essay, “ The First Pass - Just Read It!,” for more on reviewing previous style sheets.) I actually maintain four style sheets (general style, characters, places, and timeline) for each fiction edit for ease of navigation, although if you would like to combine the four sections I use into one document, go right ahead. If a style sheet is available from a previous book by that author or a previous book in the series, use that as your starting point. Of course, as for a nonfiction copyedit, you will compile a style sheet. Now you’re ready to get into the thick of things and do your main-pass edit. ![]() So you’ve completed the first-pass read-through of the manuscript. ![]()
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