- A document recording consistent stylistic choices in a manuscript.
- Covers capitalization, hyphenation, made-up words, dialogue quirks, punctuation.
- Maintained by the copy editor; referenced by author and proofreader.
- Typical length: 4-12 pages for a novel.
- Industry standard reference: Chicago Manual of Style for trade fiction.
A style sheet is a document recording the consistent stylistic choices used in a manuscript — capitalization, hyphenation, made-up word spellings, character-specific dialogue quirks, punctuation patterns. The copy editor maintains it; the author and proofreader reference it. A typical novel’s style sheet runs 4-12 pages.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Style sheets prevent the small inconsistencies that signal "amateur self-published book" — a character’s invented place spelled two ways, hyphenation that flips chapter to chapter, dialogue tags that drift from "said" to "exclaimed" without rationale. The sheet keeps the copy edit consistent and gives the proofreader a checklist.
Chapter ii·What to include
- Capitalization decisions (proper nouns, titles, made-up words).
- Hyphenation choices (compound words, modifier hyphens).
- Made-up word spellings with pronunciations.
- Character-specific dialogue quirks (vocabulary, accent, contractions).
- Punctuation patterns (em-dashes, ellipses, italics for emphasis).
- A reference style (Chicago Manual of Style for trade fiction).
Chapter iii·Example
A copy editor’s style sheet for an 80,000-word fantasy novel: 8 pages covering 24 made-up word spellings, 16 character-specific dialogue choices, 12 hyphenation decisions, and 8 punctuation patterns. The author reviews and accepts the sheet; the proofreader uses it as the reference for the galley pass.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom keeps the style sheet alongside the manuscript and story bible — three documents, one project.
See the Edit studio