Right on top of my dictionary and thesaurus sits my copy of the Associated Press Stylebook, my arbiter for, among other things, capitalization, punctuation and various grammar questions. I am always amazed at how many writers don’t use a stylebook in their work. I couldn’t get along without one. And The Writing Loft would suffer accordingly.
A stylebook doesn’t teach you to write, dictate what to say, or prevent you from saying anything on your mind. What it does do is help you present your work in a clear, concise, logical and consistent manner.
When you write “Yesterday, the mayor said …,” the letter “m” is always lower case.
When you write “Yesterday, Mayor Jones said …,” the letter “M” is always upper case.
Sounds simple, right?
Try some city names, such as these two in Canada. It’s Saint John, New Brunswick and St. John’s, Newfoundland.
It gets even trickier with government agencies and terms. FBI and CIA are easy. Then there is the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty known as START (Actually, there is START 1 of 1991 and START 2 of 1993). Don’t confuse the “Reduction” treaty with the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) of 1979. Reduction? Limitation? We still have arms? Don’t we?
A stylebook will also keep you honest when referring to everyday products. Styrofoam is a trademark for a brand of plastic foam. It’s not a “cup.” And Kleenex is a trademark for a brand of facial tissue. Misuse these terms and some lawyer may be calling you up with a warning about trademark infringement! Many companies have names or produce products with names that have wiggled their way into everyday language. These companies can be as serious about copyright infringement as writers try to be about plagiarism of their work.
Many large newspapers and magazines have their own stylebooks. In general, most are similar to the AP Stylebook. Their versions are customized with differences in word usage unique to their publication. Again, the stylebook — any stylebook — brings consistency to your writing, especially where terms and titles are used repeatedly.
A stylebook is like a second bible for reporters (lower case “bible” when using the word in a nonreligious way; capitalize “Bible” when referring to the Scriptures). A stylebook should be just as important for all other writers, too. It’s very easy for a novelist to make a slip-up in a 300-page manuscript.
Spend some time at a bookstore or library going over different stylebooks. Settle on one you are comfortable using and stick with it. It will fast become your friend and help you present confusing or technical data in a clear and concise manner.
Be cooperative with prospective publishers/editors who want to see your work submitted in accordance with their particular styles. Remember, editors hate inconsistencies in writing!
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I have one and never use it. That’s changing. I’m taking it off the bookshelf and setting it with my other reference books.
Thank you for the insight.
Hi Gina, Glad you were inspired to delve deeper into the world of style books. Sorry for the delay in uploading this, I was contemplating styles!j
The AP Stylebook is an excellent place to start, and probably all a writer needs in most cases.
Writers and editors can be a contentious bunch, however.
Some will tear apart AP mercilessly. Relax. It is a guide. AP has some foibles. Most relate to the history of the wire or newspaper industry. You are not trying to change the world, just trying to write clearly.
Depending on the publication or the company, there may be a variety of substitutes to AP. If you are comfortable with AP, you will be able to glide into the other style publications.
John’s last point is key: be consistent. I’ve had a couple quick jobs that were supposed to be Chicago Manual. I wasn’t told. I did not check the pubs ahead of time, nor did I ask. (You should do this.) The editors were cool about it because the inconsistencies were right where they expected them to be. No harm, no foul.