When I’ve carried out a copyedit, I send back the edited manuscript, along with a style sheet. This is a document that lists the editing decisions made.
A typical style sheet you get from me might look something like this:
That’s just one I’ve created as an illustration, so it’s not as comprehensive as an actual style sheet would be, but you get the idea.
What’s a style sheet for?
When I’m copyediting, I have to make many decisions concerning spelling, punctuation, grammar, formatting and more. I document those decisions on a style sheet.
A style sheet is invaluable for me, as it helps me to maintain consistency within your book. It’s also useful for you as a writer.
- It gives you the context of the individual edits made so you can understand my reasoning behind them.
- If you’re self-publishing, you can send it to your proofreader so they know what to be looking out for.
- If you’re writing further novels, you can refer back to it to ensure consistency.
Let’s break the style sheet above down a bit.
The introduction
At the top of the style sheet, I state:
‘The style guide used is the New Hart’s Rules along with the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)‘.
You can read more about style guides here, but, put simply, a style guide sets out blanket rules and preferences. If you haven’t specified a style guide (and most authors don’t, so don’t worry!), I’ll choose an appropriate industry-standard one. For fiction, that’s usually New Hart’s Rules for UK texts or The Chicago Manual of Style for US texts.
The style sheet then goes on to say:
‘with attention paid to consistency and author preference, as well as flow and pace.’
This means that although I’ve chosen a style guide, I haven’t followed it rigidly. I’ve also paid attention to your writing style and modified the guide to create a bespoke list of rules that work for your book. Let’s look at those terms.
Consistency: If you’ve been consistent with a particular decision, such as a spelling, I’ll retain that, as long as it’s not wrong! I won’t ‘correct’ it for the sake of it.
Author preference: I’ll incorporate any preferences you’ve told me about. For example, you might have told me that you’ve used towards and backwards rather than toward and backward. If you haven’t told me about a preference (perhaps you didn’t even realise you had one!), but I notice a pattern, I’ll follow that (and document it!).
Flow and pace: The purpose of grammar and punctuation is to communicate your meaning to the reader, so that they can easily understand and enjoy your book. But sometimes, particularly in fiction, writers bend or break rules for a particular effect, such as varying the pace. I’ll be sensitive to what you’re trying to achieve in your writing and how best to support that.
Finally, the style sheet states:
‘Clarifications and any deviations are listed below.’
This means that the style sheet documents any editing decision that:
- is important enough or occurs often enough to warrant clarification (for example, if I’ve often had to edit dialogue punctuation, I’ll clarify the rules here so you know why)
or - deviates from the rule specified in the style guide (for example, if I’ve retained commas that would, strictly speaking, be incorrect but which are important in conveying a particular rhythm in the sentence).
The main style sheet
I split the style sheet into sections. These might look different for each book (it is a bespoke document, after all), but they will usually cover:
Formatting: These decisions concern how the text looks, for example when italics are used or how dates are presented.
Punctuation and grammar: As well as detailing specific choices made, if there were lots of edits concerning a particular issue (such as dialogue punctuation), this is where you’ll find a clarification of the applicable rules, for your reference. You might also find explanations for how rules have been bent for flow or pace.
Spellings and capitalisations: These edits are to do with recording spelling decisions made – those you may have told me about, those I recorded while I was editing, and decisions I made if there were different spellings of the same word.
If you’ve told me about any preferences, I’ll follow those and document them on the style sheet. But if it’s something you haven’t mentioned, I have to make a decision. I do this by considering any usage obvious in the manuscript, then referring to the style guide if necessary. For example, if I come across a mixture of leaned and leant, I’ll check to see if there’s a clear majority one way or the other. If there is, I’ll go with that. If not, I’ll consult the style guide, or I might ask you what you’d like me to do.
What to do with the style sheet
I’ll send you the style sheet with your completed edit. Before you look at your manuscript, read the style sheet thoroughly and make sure you understand it. It will explain the edits I’ve made, and that will help you decide whether to accept or reject each one.
Then:
- Refer to it when you’re reviewing your copyedited manuscript.
- If you disagree with any of the editing decisions and reject those specific edits in the manuscript, change the style sheet to reflect that.
- After your book has been designed, send the style sheet to your proofreader so they know what decisions you’ve made and can proofread accordingly.
- File it away safely. You can then refer back to it when you’re writing further novels and ensure consistency within your publications. This is particularly helpful if you’re writing a series!
So there you have it! I hope that’s clear. When you receive a style sheet from me, if there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask. I’ll be happy to clarify!