Copyeditors and proofreaders will create style sheets as they review a writer’s manuscript. It’s also helpful if the writer provides one that he has already created as a starting point. So what goes on a style sheet? I’m glad you asked.

Style Decisions

Funnily enough, style decisions are the first thing to go on a style sheet. What does that mean? They’re anything where a decision is made that impacts the entire manuscript when a different decision could reasonably have been made. It’s easier to explain by showing some examples.

• Does the writer use a serial (also called Oxford) comma?
• Does the writer spell out numbers one through nine or one through one hundred? What about other numbers (e.g., house numbers in street addresses, phone numbers, time of the day, years, scores, statistics)?
• Does the writer spell out percent or use the percent symbol?
• Are dates written Month Day, Year (e.g., March 19, 2019) or Year Month Day (2019 March 19)?
• Are foreign words italicized throughout, or only when first used? Are they set in roman if they appear in an English-language dictionary (e.g., en garde)?
• Are words italicized for emphasis?
• Are terms (e.g., Dad, Mom, King) capitalized when used in place of a name?
• Is internal dialogue in quotation marks, italics, or roman?
• Are titles of armies or other forces capitalized (e.g., United States Army)?
• Regarding the above item, is it capitalized when it’s not part of the complete name (e.g., the army)?
• Is the first letter after a colon capitalized in all cases or only if
  • The colon introduces more than one sentence
  • The first letter is a proper noun
  • The colon is introducing dialogue
• If dialect is used in dialogue, does it allow alternate spellings and apostrophes (e.g., “what’cha”)?
• Are comma splices okay as long as the sentences are clear (to allow for mimicry of how people actually speak)?
• How is the ellipsis treated? Is the ellipsis character used or are non-breaking spaces between dots used? Also, are there spaces on either side of it?
• Is the ellipsis used for speech that trails off?
• How is the em dash treated? Are there spaces on either side of it?
• Is the em dash used for speech that’s interrupted?
• How are sounds treated? Are they put in all caps (e.g., BANG)?
• Are the names of ships italicized?
• For manuscripts where things are not based in the world in which we live, are names of creatures or species treated a certain way (italicized, capitalized, all caps)?

This list may seem exhaustive, but it’s not. It really depends on the decisions that the writer makes along the way and on what type of manuscript it is. A fiction style sheet will look different than a nonfiction style sheet. A fantasy novel’s style sheet will look different than a self-help book’s style sheet. A math-based research paper’s style sheet will look different than a pop culture magazine article’s style sheet.

If there’s ever a pause to consider whether something could have been done differently, put it on the style sheet, even if you’re following Chicago Manual of Style. Chances are it’ll show up again later on, and you can look back at what decision was made without having to find it in the manuscript.

Spelling

Sometimes spellings are questionable. You may get two different answers from two different dictionaries (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is the industry standard). Also, British and American spellings are often different, and we are sometimes used to seeing the British version (e.g., American—gray, traveled, color; British—grey, travelled, colour). Go ahead and include any spellings that could be questionable (or that you had to look up!) on the style sheet for later reference.

Also, compound words—Hyphen? No hyphen but space (i.e., open)? No hyphen and no space (i.e., closed)? Compound words are complicated. It’s a great idea to document them on the style sheet so that you’re applying them consistently throughout the manuscript. Here are some examples of compound words: hyphenated—ill-advised; open—seat belt; closed—meantime. Use your dictionary to help determine how the compound words should be presented.

Finally, if you have any spellings of words that aren’t English (in a primarily English manuscript) or are made up, put those on the style sheet. If the occasional French word is used in a manuscript, put it on the style sheet along with a translation. If there’s a ship name, creature, species, emotion, or anything else that the writer created and named, put it on the style sheet so that each time it comes up, the spelling can be checked for consistency (character and location names will be discussed later). For these situations, it’s also a good idea to include a very short description (just a few words) on the style sheet to make sure the same name is being applied to the same thing throughout the manuscript.

Characters or People

In fiction, one area of your style sheet should be dedicated to the characters. Indicate the correct spellings of their names and nicknames as well as their relationship to each other. Consider grouping characters on the style sheet in a way that makes sense to you. For example, a child may be placed on the sheet right below her parents, or the main characters may be grouped together with secondary and tertiary characters farther down. Or you may just list them alphabetically.

Also give a detailed description of your characters so that red hair doesn’t turn into brown hair, an owl tattoo doesn’t turn into no tattoos. If things about the characters change, such as they dyed their hair, got tattoos, or lost limbs, include when that happened so that the characters are accurately portrayed when going either backward (such as in flashbacks) or forward in time.

It may also be helpful to have a quick summary of your character’s personality, particularly if it’s a secondary character who isn’t changing over time. Again, if something happens where there’s a shift in that character’s personality, such as when something traumatic happens to her, include a note about when that shift happened.

Of course, the more important the character is, the more information there is to track. For minor characters that are only in the story briefly and will never come back, indicating the correct spelling of their names and a short description of who they are is probably all you need.

Similarly, for nonfiction, include any people that are referenced so that you have the correct spelling of their names and a short description of what makes them relevant, such as their philosophical theory or scientific discovery.

Settings or Places

Whether for fiction or nonfiction, make note of all of the places (real or imagined) mentioned in your manuscript. Again, note the correct spelling for later reference.

Mention any details about it that are relevant. Is the layout of a college campus relevant to how characters or real people move around? Does a house have five bedrooms or three? Is the bathroom down the hall from the living room and to the right, or is it to the left? Make note of anything that could later be mentioned and which you wouldn’t want to have to dig through the manuscript to find.

Time Line

It’s important to make sure your time line is accurate. In nonfiction, you may have an established, documented time line already. Perhaps you can just include a quick summary for your reference or a note about where the time line can be found.

In fiction, though, it’s made up. Readers will catch on if something doesn’t make sense. Make sure kids aren’t going to school six days in a row (unless it’s been established that’s what happens in this manuscript’s world). Ensure someone’s broken arm isn’t mentioned as happening three years ago in one place and last year in another place. Be careful to confirm that something happened three days ago if you say that it did.

How you go about documenting your time line depends on your manuscript and your preference. You may want to actually fill in a seven-day-per-week calendar with a short description of what happened. Or you may want to start with “Day 1” in the manuscript and document forward or backward in time from that point in more of a bullet style. Just make note of major events; don’t recreate the manuscript in the time line.

Other Things Specific to Your Manuscript

In fiction, there could be any number of made up things: ships, creatures, alien species, and so on. Include these on your style sheet as well as any relevant details that should be tracked. As opposed to specific characters, which may include creatures or aliens, or settings, which could be ships, this should be a more generic location. In other words, what are the properties for these types of characters or alien species in general, not the specifics for a character? What are the properties for that class of ship in general rather than the properties of the primary ship in particular?

For example: Alien species properties: Alien species “A” has four tentacles on its head and can read minds when it touches someone with a tentacle; Character properties: Keiara is of alien species “A,” has blue tentacles, and loves to paint her eyelids pink. Ship class properties: Ship class “B” features a bridge that is only accessible by sliding down a pole fireman-style; Specific ship properties: Allsops is of ship class “B,” has an orange stripe along its hull, and its bridge is wallpapered with photos of the great ships of history.

Another thing to consider for fiction is documenting the rules for your world. Is light-speed space travel possible? Great! Write out the rules for how that works or doesn’t work. Is there magic? Awesome! What are the rules for how magic is used? Is it accessible to all? Do they have to be holding something for it to work? It’s important to write down these rules for later reference or for when you’re tempted to break them. Readers do not like it when the rules are perceived to have been broken and can react strongly.

For nonfiction, you may have other things that don’t fit into the other categories as well, such as starting a rough bibliography.

For these items, it may make sense to make additional categories in your style sheet. There are no rules; do what works for you.

Additional Notes

This section is a catchall, of course. If there’s something else that needs to be tracked or noted that doesn’t fit in anything above and doesn’t need a category all its own, include it here.

Editors can use this section specifically for additional notes to the author to explain wide-ranging changes that have been suggested or for broad inquiries that aren’t specific to a sentence or paragraph in the manuscript. For example: “Sentences started with “and” and “but” too frequently. I changed most of them to either remove them or combined that sentence with the previous sentence,” or “Some of your favorite words are sighed, moved, and clocked. Try to be aware of overusing them and substitute other words instead.”

Style sheets can really help you keep track of all of the details to ensure consistency within your manuscript. If you’re writing or editing a series, they’re essential to help you remain consistent across manuscripts when time may have eroded the memory.