A style sheet is an invaluable tool that ensures consistency. Per The Chicago Manual of Style (2.52), “for each manuscript the editor must keep an alphabetical list of words or terms to be capitalized, italicized, hyphenated, spelled, or otherwise treated in any way unique to the manuscript.” The style sheet makes sure each volume in a series or title released by a publisher maintains the integrity of previous releases. Consider:

• The author of a series will want to ensure her hero’s physical characteristics and background are consistent from book to book. For example, a hero identified as a six-foot detective with a degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University in book one would raise an eyebrow if he alludes to his eternal love for his college mascot, the Buckeyes, and his frustration at never being able to find pants for his five-foot frame in book three.
• A Christian theology book should decide whether it wants to use God or god. Readers may question whether God refers to a single, supreme being and whether god connotes some less significant meaning.
• Education publishers will want to be consistent in how they treat frequently used terms, like response to intervention, students with disabilities, and professional learning community but Professional Learning Community at Work.

When creating a style sheet, I make sure to:

• Alphabetize my entries
• Apply capitalization, italics, or other special treatments that have been decided
• Make sure any style decisions are consistent with what’s been decided in the author’s or publisher’s previous books on the topic (In fact, I’ll copy the entries from the style sheet of the author’s last book onto the one I’m creating for the newer title.)
• Copy any acronyms, mnemonic devices, definitions, questions, or other special elements the author lists. For example, “A KWL chart determines what a student knows, would like to know, and learns from a lesson.”

I always err on the side of giving too much information. My goal is a polished, professional book that’s consistent with its publisher and author’s previous works and that the next editor will find easy to follow.

There you have it!