Writers tend to spend most of our energy on the big concerns – structure, tone, messaging – while neglecting the critical element of consistent publication style. It may seem pedantic to the creative mind, but sloppy style can ruin an otherwise brilliant piece.

A serial comma used here but not there. Dates with the month flip-flopping from abbreviation to full spelling. Times written as AM in some cases, a.m. in others. Inconsistencies like these may not be detected by the reader who isn't a writer or editor, but I think they create a vaguely unsettled feeling: There's something wrong here, but what?

If you’re smart enough to employ a copy editor, you don’t have to worry your pretty little writer head about this. But you ought to know why the editor is making you, say, capitalize this job title but not that one.

That depends on which style guide they’re using.

There’s a Rule for That

Usually, it's either The Associated Press Stylebook (AP) or The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), the two most widely used manuals. Generations of writers and editors have relied on these publication bibles to establish standards that can be quickly referenced to save time and reduce uncertainty.

Newspaper copy editors have miles of content to review in the few short hours before deadline; imagine how it would slow things down if they had to remember whether they abbreviated the month in a date or spelled out numbers in that story from an hour ago.

Book editors can’t be constantly flipping back and forth to see how they styled sentences in the early chapters.

The two manuals share many rules, but there are some critical differences. I won’t go into them here; click the links above to learn more.

Pick a Style

Which one is your editor likely to use? That’s the critical difference.

AP is the choice for newspapers, magazines and other media outlets. It favors brevity and simplicity, using a simple alphabetical listing of its rules. The manual also has sections on sports, fashion, food and other specialties and offers a guide to media law.

CMS is used in book publishing, academic writing, and some corporate documents, so it includes guidelines for footnoting and manuscript preparation. It's more comprehensive; you’ll need the detailed index.

Stay Consistent, My Friends

That old saying, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" almost never applies to the technical style of your work. Consistency in this case is never foolish. It's a gift to your reader, who won't have to stumble over erratic application of the standards. And that makes it a gift you give to yourself.