Style sheet
A style sheet is the working document an editor builds during a copy edit, recording every spelling, name, hyphenation, capitalisation and continuity decision made about that specific manuscript.
A style sheet is how a book stays consistent. A typical one has two halves.
The word list is alphabetical and specific to your book: grey not gray, OK not okay, whisky not whiskey, T-shirt hyphenated, the made-up word you use nine times and spelled three ways.
The reference section holds everything else: character names and their spellings, place names, a timeline of the story's days, physical details like ages and eye colour and the make of the car, and the general rules chosen for the book: serial comma or not, base dictionary, style guide, how numbers and dates are set, how dialogue and internal thought are treated.
An example style sheet
A small section from a fantasy novel's style sheet might read:
- General: British spelling, Oxford dictionary. Serial comma: no. Numbers spelled out up to one hundred. Internal thought in italics, no quotation marks.
- Words: axe (not ax). grey. half-elf, half-elves. Kethra (the river), kethran (the dialect, lower case). storm-glass hyphenated.
- Characters: Maren Oake, 17 at the start, green eyes, left-handed. Captain Idris Vell, called the Captain by the crew, Idris only by Maren.
- Timeline: Chapter 1, first day of the thaw. Chapter 4, three days later. Chapter 9, the new moon.
Why it works: every entry answers a question someone will otherwise have to ask again. The left-handed detail stops a fight scene contradicting chapter two. The note on who calls him Idris protects something the author is doing on purpose with the relationship.
Why it matters
Its purpose is that a decision gets made once and then applied everywhere, by everyone who touches the book afterwards. The proofreader inherits it. So does the translator, the audiobook narrator, and you, two years later, writing book two and trying to remember whether the town had one L or two.
Ask for the style sheet at the end of any copy edit. It is part of the deliverable, and it is the single most useful file to keep.
Start your own while drafting
You do not need to wait for an editor. Keep a plain document open while you write and add to it every time you invent a name, a word or a fact the story will need to remember. For worldbuilding-heavy books this doubles as your series bible. It also makes every later pass cheaper, from the line edit on, because the editor spends less time checking and more time editing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a style sheet and a style guide?
A style guide, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, is a published rule book for everyone. A style sheet is specific to one manuscript: it records which of those rules this book follows and every decision the rule book does not cover, like how your invented words are spelled.
Who makes the style sheet?
The copy editor builds it during the copy edit and hands it over with the edited manuscript. You can start one yourself while drafting, and a copy editor will be glad to have it.
Should I make my own style sheet?
Yes, especially for fantasy, science fiction or any series. Keeping a running list of names, invented terms and story facts saves you from contradicting yourself and saves your editor hours of checking.