If you are on a tight budget, you may like to use our style sheet–only service. This service is ideal for those starting out on their self-publishing journey. It is also useful for those who just need a bit of polishing help, for example if you have had multiple alpha and beta readers who have helped you get your manuscript most of the way there. A professional style sheet is useful for those who are planning to write a series of books as it serves as a reference when writing the rest of the books in the series.
What is a style sheet?
A style sheet is a document that is usually prepared by the copyeditor. It contains the fixed styles that the publisher will be using, usually based on a published style manual such as The Chicago Manual of Style or the New Oxford Style Manual. It also includes lists of character and place names (for fiction and narrative non-fiction), and terms and jargon used in the particular manuscript. Attention is paid to acronyms and capitalisation. If the author has particular styles or quirks to their writing, these are also noted.
As part of our style sheet service we also prepare a list of tailored recommendations for your manuscript, and we include some tips and tricks to help you be more effective and efficient at self-editing your manuscript.
How does the service differ from editing?
We won’t make any changes to your manuscript while preparing your style sheet. If you would like us to do so, please look at our fiction editing or non-fiction editing services. You can use the style sheet and the material we send with it to self-edit your own manuscript. Perhaps you could give the style sheet to your beta readers so they can help apply it.
Sometimes, it may not be clear from the manuscript which of two options to choose, for example if you sometimes capitalise a noun and sometimes don’t. In this case, your style sheet will record both options with a question mark beside them. It will be up to you to decide which one to choose.
Price
The style sheet service costs NZ$100 for manuscripts under 100,000 words. For longer manuscripts, we will send a custom quote.
The process for preparing your style sheet
– We receive your query.
– If we have space in our schedule, we invite you to send your manuscript to us. (Read our privacy policy for more on how we handle and store your files.)
– We send you a quote for the work.
– If you accept the quote, we will invoice you for a 50% deposit.
– We evaluate your manuscript and look for the common choices you make in the text regarding nouns, style, formatting, Oxford commas, etc. We pay particular attention to the things that you have not been consistent with.
– We prepare your tailored style sheet and recommendations, and package them with our tips and tricks section in a PDF file.
– We send you your file and invoice the remaining balance.
If you are interested, please send a query using the form below.
