What is a style sheet, and why do I need one?
If you’re working with a copyeditor in any capacity, at some point during the process you’ll hear the term “style sheet”. If you’re unfamiliar with the editorial process, you’ll probably be unsure what exactly that means and why you need one! The term comes up during the copyediting stage as this is the point at which a style sheet is created.
What is a style sheet?
A style sheet is a document created especially for your book by the editor. It will record choices the editor made in terms of spelling, punctuation, formatting, and so on. These may be in line with your preferences (for instance if you write in US English), or the editor may make consistency decisions based on majority usage (if you favour “T-shirt” over “tee shirt”). Style sheets can be simple or very detailed, depending on the project and the editor. If you’re writing a contemporary romance set in a tiny village, your style sheet might contain less information than a complex sci-fi novel about time travel that also has lots of unusual terminology.
What’s included on a style sheet?
But what exactly does a style sheet contain? Every editor creates style sheets slightly differently and some will go into more detail than others, and it can be dependent on genre and complexity, as I mentioned above. In its most basic form, each style sheet tends to include:
- Language and spelling preferences (US/UK for instance) and the style guide to follow (a style guide is different to a style sheet – more on that soon)
- Sources – dictionaries, reference books and so on
- Rules on punctuation and grammar, such as quotation marks, dashes, serial commas and so on
- Capitalised terms
- Hyphenated words
- Unusual words, especially if you’re writing fantasy or sci-fi and have made-up terminology
Other editors get more detailed with their style sheets. In my view, the more detailed the better, because the more things you keep track of, the better your ability to spot errors, such as a character’s hair suddenly changing colour later in the book. Style sheets may also cover:
- Characters’ names, roles, ages and appearances
- Family relationships
- Location names/important settings
- Timeline
- Abbreviations and acronyms
- Formatting decisions (such as how to mark scene breaks, how many spaces should come after chapter headings, which words should go in italics, styling for chapter headings, etc)
- Accented words (cafe vs café)
What’s the difference between a style sheet and a style guide?
A style sheet is a document tracking all the style decisions that are relevant to your book. It’s specific to your story, and your preferences. It’s created by your copyeditor as they work on your book.
A style guide is a published set of editorial guidelines created so that documents and books follow certain specifications. There are style guides for different types of English (most fiction books in the US follow Chicago style, for example, whereas fiction books in the UK tend to follow New Hart’s Rules). Publishers have their own in-house style guides so that all their books remain consistent and follow the same rules in terms of grammar, formatting and punctuation. An in-house style may be based on an existing style guide with some tweaks.
Your editor will usually follow a style guide when editing your book. This will help inform their decisions – the ones that get recorded on your style sheet.
Why style sheets are useful
- Your editor can refer to a style sheet to make sure any books in a series remain consistent.
- Keeping your style sheet to hand can help you when writing sequels, as you can make sure they adhere to the same conventions, and that you aren’t accidentally introducing errors.
- Style sheets can be passed along to proofreaders to make sure they don’t “overwrite” any decisions already made by you and your copyeditor.
- Style sheets can be crucial for helping you remember details. If you have a complicated novel with lots of character names or locations, style sheets can ensure you don’t slip up with your characters’ ages, surnames, appearances, and even the timeline of the story.
- With a style sheet, you can be sure your editor made decisions for a good reason. Style sheets help you to understand the edit you’ve received.
You shouldn’t expect a style sheet from a developmental editor or writing coach. Style sheets are produced by a copyeditor – and sometimes by a proofreader, if the copyeditor’s style sheet was somehow lost.
Looking for a copyeditor for your book? I offer copy and line editing services that can help polish your manuscript – take a look at my editorial services.
