Style Guides

All publishers use style guides. What is a style guide? It is a set of rules used to maintain consistency throughout all publications produced by the publisher.

Not to be confused with the styles, or tags, applied to text in a word processor or layout software, a style guide is like a dictionary for how different words should be treated. For example, should 21st century be spelled out and capitalized, should numerals be used with the abbreviation st, or if the abbreviation is used should it be superscripted? This is the type of information contained in a style guide. It may, for example, specify that 21st Century be set as numerals with a nonsuperscripted abbreviation followed by initial cap century. A style guide will also specify how to punctuate a bulleted list, whether or not formatting such as bold or ital should capture any following punctuation, how to treat state abbreviations (such as following the postal code of two letters, all caps, without punctuation), and so on.

Most publishers more or less follow one of the dominate style guides, such as Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), American Psychologists Association (APA), or Modern Language Association (MLA). However, most publishers also vary from these guides to some degree. This variance may be dictated by how a particular target market treats words or by personal preferences of the editorial staff. These variances will be maintained in an internal document called the house style. For example, a publisher may follow MLA guidelines, but also have a house style manual that outlines when to vary from MLA. The house style will also contain situations not covered by whichever common style guide the publisher chooses to follow. In some cases, a publisher may have its own comprehensive house style guide and not follow any of the common style guides.

A writer should always follow an accepted style guide. Scholarly writing should, generally, follow APA style. Scientific and technical writing generally should follow Chicago. Literary writing in most cases should follow MLA style. However, whenever working with a publisher, be sure to ask the editor if there is a house style guide, and, if so, request a copy. In some cases, a publisher’s house style guide is confidential, but in most cases the publisher will be grateful the writer is making the effort to follow the house style.

Tin Whiskers Publisher is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). IBPA’s mission is “to lead and serve the independent publishing community by providing advocacy, education, and tools for success.” IBPA is a not-for-profit membership organization serving and leading the independent publishing community. Founded in 1983, it is the largest publishing trade organization in the United States. IBPA members pledge to uphold the organization’s code of ethics.