A guide to style guides

By Julie Espinosa, at March Commpose

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"Hammering out style details at the beginning saves needless time and expense to clean up these small details at the end of a large project."

—Angie Halama, of Brain Traffic

Why should you care about them?

Purpose

ConsistencyClears up confusion among multiple contributors to a project One centralized resourceResolves questions on frequently problematic elementsTool in editorial strategy, part of a larger content strategyProject- or subject-specific.

What it isn't

exhaustive, i.e. it should not replicate or replace a whole dictionary (or Google)

Essentials

CapitalizationAbbreviationsTone and brand voiceSpellingUsage Punctuation

Specify primary reference material and a real person

If it’s not listed here, please consult the AP Stylebook. If you still can’t find it, call Edith Editor at 555-CAT-SUPQ or e-mail her.

Add what you need

It should be project-specific, so consider:

Trademarks or legally required language If content is done in-house or by freelancers (more detail if latter)Whether content might be recycled online or in print

See "Developing a Departmental Style Guide" on last slide Demonstrate actual examples of tone (words to use or not use)or the word bank (hat tip: Brain Traffic)

Don't include ...

The following are important, but IMO part of a larger content strategy and don't belong in a style guide:

Process informationDesign and developer standardsLinking policyCommunity policyContent management strategySEO strategyMetadata strategy

Points of contention

Conventions of AP vs. Chicago vs. normal people vs. your client To name only a few:

Phone numbersEmail or e-mail, Web site or website, Internet or internetSerial commas List punctuation Sentence vs. title case Hyphenation

Tips to create your own style guide

1. Decide today to put together a guide for the project(s) you're currently working on.

2. Survey all your content for inconsistencies/queries.3. Assess any guidelines you do have and update/reconcile.4. Put your guide somewhere you can collaboratively edit and

share (online page, Google Docs, wiki, etc.) 5. Plan how to review and regularly update the style guide.6. Decide who will decide.7. Use it, share it and keep it up to date.

Questions?

Resources

Developing a Departmental Style Guide by Jean Weber Web Content Style Guides that Don’t Suck by Kristina Halvorson 5 Tips on Working with a Style Guide by Elizabeth Saloka apstylebook.comThe Chicago Manual of StyleThe Elements of Style