Style Sheets
Ever wonder how a copyeditor maintains consistency in a manuscript? There are a good many things that a copyeditor must keep track of in a manuscript to ensure that the finished book or article is consistent throughout and doesn’t jar the reader by odd deviations from its intended structure, message, or voice.
What are some of these? Proper spelling and capitalization of jargon, for a start. There’s much more, such as chronological numbering of chapters and references, physical and personality traits of fictional characters, and how ranges of numbers are handled.
To document choices about such items, a copyeditor creates a style sheet for each manuscript. It then serves as a reference for anyone who deals with the manuscript later in the process, including the author, the proofreader, the production editor, and the indexer.