With List #1 and List #2 fading into memory, I share with you a new proofreader pet peeve list. This is not as much a list as a single topic that includes lists within itself. Recently, I have been doing more editing than proofreading, which means I am earlier in the process of the book creation. I see this topic as a proofreader some, but I am seeing it even more significantly as the editor. Please, if you are writing a document for a publisher, follow the provided style guide! As I stated in a previous post, most publishers provide style guides that they expect you as a creator to utilize for submissions. These style guides include file format requirements, font styles, layout requirements, grammatical standards, book reference requirements, page referencing standards, color standards, etc. When you as a writer do not follow the style guides, then the editor/proofreader has to resolve those issues.

Submitting a written document that does not follow a publisher’s style guide could result in…

  • Rejection of a submission because it doesn’t follow the style guide.
  • Long delays in the project as the submission is sent back to the writer to rework according to the style guide.
  • Extra work for the editor/proofreader to rework an entire submission, thus delaying the release of the project.

Please, before you begin writing for a publisher, read their style guide in detail. Then, before you submit your draft of the document to the publisher, review it to be sure it follows the official style guide. As an editor and proofreader, I thank you for taking the extra time to follow the style guide.

As I begin to mull over Proofreader Pet Peeves List #4, what experiences have you had with style guides? As a publisher or line editor, have you had to reject or send back submissions for incorrect style?

 

Proofreader Pet Peeves List #3

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