Style guides and dictionaries
Although each job has its own set of specific style guidelines, for the most part P&G publications follow three manuals of style:
Note that some P&G editors and/or BYU Style occasionally deviate from what's prescribed in Chicago. For example, when it comes to numbers, Chicago indicates that all numbers between 1–99 should be spelled out; BYU Style only spells out numbers between 1 and 9. Chicago says to make names with "s" endings possessive by adding "'s"—Oaks's—but in this department, we don't follow that rule—we would style it as Oaks'. Also note that we cap all words in titles over five letters, which also differs from Chicago.
BYU Style
This constantly updated as new issues arise, so as you come across style issues you feel could be helpful included in the BYU Style Guide, share them with Karen Seely, style guide keeper.
LDS Church Style
Check the “Style Guides” subdirectory in your personal folder on the network to find a link to the 2009 version of the LDS Church Style Guide. This version has not been officially released by the Church, but we have an advance draft copy.
The BYU Magazine uses AP Style for certain portions of their magazine—if editing content for them, make sure to ask which style guide you should adhere to in which instances.Our primary dictionary is Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. Occasionally editors will consult the Oxford English Dictionary for a second opinion.
Usage manuals used by editors include:
Hodges’ Harbrace College Handbook
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage
Inquire with a job's primary editor on style issues particular to that specific job. For example, Natalie Holloway keeps style sheets for each of her major projects—these have been linked in your personal folder on the server.
Overall P&G editing process
While each job is of a different nature, has different time contraints, and originated from clients with different expectations and preferences, most jobs follow, for the most part, this series of steps:
Preliminaries
- The designer and/or editor arrange for an initial meeting that includes the client, the designer, and the editor.
- The designer takes notes for estimating the job and filling in the Publications & Graphics (P&G) printing spec sheet.
- The designer, client, and editor draft a workable schedule determined by the desired delivery date. (Remember to update the client along the way of any changes in this schedule.)
- The editor tells the client where to find the BYU Style Guide online (styleguide.byu.edu) for use when preparing the copy.
- The designer obtains an account number for both P&G and Print and Mail Production Center (PMPC)—preferably before starting work on the job.
- The designer submits estimate(s) to the client based on specifications. (Remember to update the client along the way of any changes that could affect the job’s budget, e.g., additional pages or design alterations.)
- The designer and editor decide whether editing the copy first or flowing it into the design first is most efficient for this job (see next two steps).
- The editor edits the text, applies the z-import style sheet (LINK Z-IMPORT HERE) to the file, and either attaches it to an e-mail to the designer or puts the file into the designer’s folder and notifies the designer it is there.
- The designer implements the design and flows in the text.
- The designer gives Proof 1 to the editor to check.
- The editor checks Proof 1 and returns it to the designer for corrections.
- The designer keys in the corrections and the editor checks them. Show any and all corrections to the editor.
- The designer stamps the corrected proof and gives it to the client.
- The client checks the proof, makes any corrections, signs approval, and returns it.
- The editor checks any changes to the proof, the designer keys them in, and the editor checks them. Do final spell checks.
- Designer exports an electronic file of the job to the prepress folder. (If it is not the final file, label it as such in the file name.)
- Designer takes a file-location map, the P&G printing spec sheet, and a copy to a PMPC consultant.
- Designer requests the PMPC job number. Usually the consultant will write it on the spec sheet and return the yellow copy to the designer.
- After getting a PMPC job number and estimate, the designer inputs the printing code (month and year the job is being printed, quantity, PMPC job number, and P&G job number) in small typeface at an inconspicuous place on one of the first or last pages in the electronic file and saves it as the final file in the prepress folder.
- The designer ascertains when the job will be on the press and asks the client if he or she wants to be involved in checking the press proof.
- The designer and editor each check, initial, and date the final digital proof(s) and obtain client’s signature.
- The designer signs off on the press proof and the binding/folding proof.
- The designer does a quality-control check of the job.
- PMPC delivers the job to the client.
- PMPC delivers the job to Mail Services (if applicable).
- PMPC gives samples to the designer, who shares a couple of them with the editor.
- The designer saves all files in a DVD backup folder on the server.
The designer bills the job. If it is over budget, the designer reviews it with management before sending the bill to the client.
History
The designer ascertains that the client received delivery as planned.
The remainder of this manual will further expand on the parts of this process that you will be involved in.
Editing
Some important things to keep in mind while editing:
Indents v. tabs
when working in Word, there is a difference between indents and tabs—indents will not translate correctly into Word. Ensure tabs are really tabs by looking for a tab arrow to appear. See the video below for a demonstration:
Z-import
Z-import is a style applied to text in Word to remove formatting and hidden codes that can cause problems when the text is flowed into InDesign. (It does keep bolds and italics in tact, though.) Before you start doing any editing in a Word doc, it's a good idea to apply the z-import style, but you can also apply it at the end if you forget to do it at the beginning. Following is a list of steps to take to ensure the text you edit has a z-import style applied:
Preparing a Word document for use in InDesign
Editors: Use steps 1 through 4 to prepare text for the designers.
Designers: Use steps 5 and 6 to import text from the editors.
1. Create a generic style sheet in Word.
Format menu—Style—New. Name new style “z_import” and base it on “no style” (at the top of the list). Take note of the font and size listed in the description. Check the box “add to template” and click “OK.” (Naming it z_import will put it at the bottom of the style sheet list when it’s imported into InD)
Future documents.
Because you selected “add to template” when you created z_import, this style sheet will be in the style sheet list of future documents you create. You won’t have to create it each time, just apply it to all your text before you save the document.
If you receive a Word file from an outside source, go to Format—Style—Organizer and copy z_import from the style sheets in your template (on the right) to the style sheet list of the new document (on the left). Then proceed with step 2.
2. Apply the new style sheet.
Select/highlight the first line of the document and make it plain text (I'm not sure why, but this prevents some problems). If an automatic indent has been used for paragraph tabs instead of a tab, they need to be replaced with a tab if the designer is using a tab for paragraph indents. (Automatic indents will disappear once the z_import style is applied.) If the designer prefers to use an InD stylesheet with a first-line indent, then the Word paragraphs should stay flush left.
Select/highlight the complete document (command+a) and apply the font and size that matches the z_import description (usually Times or Times New Roman/10 or 12 pt). Select the “flush left” icon and then select z_import from the style sheet list to apply it to the whole document. Italics, bold, superscripts, and other local formatting should still be in place.
3. Clean-up the style sheet list.
Format menu—Style—Organizer. Delete all the style sheets that Word will allow (sometimes the delete button will be gray).
4. Save the document.
“Save as” the document either with a new name or replace the original.
5. Import into InDesign.
In an open InDesign document with a text box selected, go to File—Place (command+d) and choose your text file.
Select/highlight all the text (command+a) and select the base InDesign style sheet for the majority of your document. Local character formatting such as italic, bold, superscript, subscript, etc., should be visible.
To test the success of this import process highlight a word that does not have any local formatting. Look in the style sheet list. There should not be a plus sign by the style sheet name. If there is no plus sign, then your document is free of any “contamination” from Word. Use “Find Font” in the Type menu to replace the italics and bolds with true weights of your fonts. Create and apply additional style sheets to finish formatting the document. If you don’t like having extra style sheets in your list, you can delete the ones that came in with the Word file once you’ve applied your base InDesign style sheet.
If there is a plus sign by the stylesheet name, then “select all” the text and delete it. Open the document again in Word and check that the font and font size of the text matches that of the z_import style sheet and that there is no formatting in the first line. Also, if Track Changes has been used in preparing the text, Accept Changes needs to be done before importing into InDesign.
Here's a video illustrating how to apply a z-import style sheet:
Levels of edit
While we don't want documents with mistakes to go to press, depending on time constrains and client wishes, different levels of edit may be required on different projects. Inquire with the primary editor as to which level of edit you should give a project you're assisting with. Following is a sample copyediting checklist that details the steps an editor can take to ensure a document is accurate and consistent with descriptions of the issues we most often encounter when checking for those things. We use the list of proofreaders' marks found in Chicago:
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Design/Layout
Following is a list of style issues you will encounter frequently so as to give you a good head start in being a valuable assistant to Publications and Graphics editors, but it is by no means an exhaustive list. It's a good idea to tackle a page or two a day in Chicago to familiarize yourself with the many style conventions you'll need to know as an editor.
Spacing: P&G does not use double spaces between sentences.
Fonts: Check for unintentional font size changes. Inform the designer if a font is too small, too flowery, or to blended into the background to read.
Bolding: Punctuation following a bolded word should also be bolded:
I considered three names for my dog: Fido, Rover, and Lassie.
Capitalization: Carefully review sections in Chicago and the BYU and LDS Style Guides on what should and should not be capitalized—in the Church Style Guide especially, there are conventions that don't seem consistent. For example, General Authority is capped, as is First Presidency, but bishop and bishopric are both lowercased. Note that "Church" in "the Church" should be capped if referencing the LDS Church: a trick is to ask if "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" could replace "the Church" in the sentence and make sense. If so, cap it.
Italics: Punctuation following an italicized word should also be italicized. Also italicize words referenced as words as well as not commonly known foreign words (e.g., "The word reverence comes from the latin word reverae"). Commonly known foreign words, however—aloha, mahala, gracias, etc.—are left roman. Note that italics contained in parentheses stay italic while the parentheses stay roman (see Chicago 6.6):
My favorite phrase in Hawaiian (aloha) means both hello and goodbye.
Refer to Chicago 7.30 when dealing with possessive forms of italicized terms: "As with plurals, when an italicized term appears in roman text, the possessive s should be set in roman." For example:
The Daily Herald's readers
Christmas Around the World's fans
Kerning: Inform the designer if the words in a line are too spread out due to full justification (e.g.
Thanks for the flowers,
I really love them! It is great
to feel appreciated.
Indentation: Speeches style is to indent the first line of text following a heading. Other BYU publications prefer not to indent there, though. Check with the primary editor.
Headings: Make sure to use the appropriate capitalization as detailed in Chicago 8.167:
(1) Always capitalize the first and last words both in titles and in subtitles and all other major words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions—but see rule 4).
(2) Lowercase the articles the, a, and an.
(3) Lowercase prepositions, regardless of length, except when they are stressed (through in A River Runs Through It), are used adverbially or adjectivally (up in Look Up, down in Turn Down, on in The On Button, etc.), are used as conjunctions (before in Look Before You Leap, etc.), or are part of a Latin expression used adjectivally or adverbially (De Facto, In Vitro, etc.). [Note that BYU Style deviates from this in that any title word over five letters is capped, regardless of its grammatical function.]
(4) Lowercase the conjunctions and, but, for, or, nor.
(5) Lowercase the words to and as in any grammatical function, for simplicity’s sake.
(6) Lowercase the second part of a species name, such as lucius in Esox lucius, or the part of a proper name that would be lowercased in text, such as de or von.
Also, Chicago 8.169 offers an important rule when deciding what to cap in titles (refer also to 8.170 for an alternate system some editors may still prefer): "Capitalize only the first element unless any subsequent element is a proper noun or adjective."
Line wraps: Watch out for widows and orphans.
Dashes: Make careful note of whether a dash is a hyphen, an en-dash (–) or an em-dash (—). En-dashes are most often used and in place of a hyphen in compound nouns. To make an en-dash on a Mac, do option + -. To make an em-dash, do shift + option + -.
Note the use of the en-dash in the names of BYU's sister institutions:
Brigham Young University–Hawaii
Brigham Young University–Idaho
(BYU–Hawaii and BYU–Idaho are preferred over BYU–H and BYU–I; but use just BYU when referring to the Provo campus.)
Hyphenation: BYU Style does not allow for two-letter hyphenations at the end of a line. Also, make sure a paragraph doesn't contain too many end-of-line hyphens:
Coupon clipping is a past-
time that can save a shop-
per loads of cash but re-
quires lots of time in ex-
change.
Sidebars: In the case of multiple sidebars, ensure that the text either ends with a period in all cases or without.
Headers: It's easy to forget about headers, but make sure they match the table of contents and that the page's contents match the header.
Footers: Refer to Speeches editing process for specifics on editing footnotes.
Pagination: Check the publication's pagination against the table of contents numbers as well as any references in the text to other pages in the document.
Signatures: Make sure signatures appear on letters in their designated spots; make sure the signature matches the name beneath it.
Print code: This should appear on every P&G publication—usually it can be found in fine print on one of the back inside pages. It's formatted as follows:
10-09/4600/03-247/15822
Date/quantity/P&G job #/PMPC #
Copy
Check style, grammar, spelling, punctuation. After you've gone through it from front to back, read the publication again from back to front.
Cover: Make sure the correct date, issue number, etc. appear. Check teasers to make sure they reflect the publication's contents.
Table of contents: Make sure the correct date, issue number, contents, etc. appear. Check section titles, page numbers, fonts, and indentation.
Captions: Ensure captions correctly and accurately reflect photos and text and that they contain no grammatical or spelling errors.
Voice: Make sure first person doesn't change to second or third person halfway through a document or quote.
Tense: This is a common problem—review tenses carefully to make sure past tense doesn't inexplicably become present tense or vice versa. Pay special attention to said/says: inquire with the primary editor as to which tense should appear.
Antecedent agreement: A common antecedal problem is using "their" when referencing a single individual. Make sure there are grammatically correct.
Spelling: Common misspellings include universtiy,
Repetitions, omissions, and sense/meaning: Read the document once for comprehension to make sure passages aren't repeated by mistake; also note any holes in the document that are confusing or not understandable. Check the copy flow from column to column and page to page.
Names: Note that some General Authorities and BYU administrators do not use a period after their middle initial—if it is an initial only and does not represent a name, it doesn't require a period indicating an abbreviation. Advancement vice president Kevin J Worthen is the example you will likely come across most often.
Titles: Be especially conscientious about whether a faculty member is an assistant, associate, or full professor. When possible, check names against the original source lists (BYU telephone directory, faculty Web page, etc.).
Punctuation: BYU Style prefers the serial comma. Also, make sure both single and double quotation marks are "curly" and not "spikes" (curly—“; spike—").
Apostrophes: BYU Magazine uses a "closing" curly single quote in front of a two-digit year of graduation—it should appear John Smith (’89), not John Smith (‘89) or John Smith ('89).
Quotes/enquotes: Make sure quotes are attributed. For specifics on block quotations, see Speeches editing process.
Dates: Double check that announcements of events note the correct day of the week and month.
Statistics: In charts and graphs, add up columns of numbers and recalculate statistics to ensure the math is accurate. For BYU statistics, refer to the YFacts Web site, which contains the most up-to-date, verified BYU stats.
Facts: Use Google to search for possible sources that can be used to verify names, locations, events, etc. Trust only reputable Web sites, though. For facts about BYU, refer to YFacts.
Abbreviations: BYU Style does not use periods in most abbreviations—it's BYU, not B.Y.U.; LDS, not L.D.S. One notable exception is U.S. for United States (see Chicago 15.34).
Jr., III: There should be either no comma preceding, or a comma both before and after (see Chicago 6.49).
Contact Information: Check the college name, department name(s), contact name(s), contact title(s), college address, phone number(s), e-mail address, and Web site. Often an editor will call the telephone numbers to verify it is correct as well as type the Web site in a browser.
Numerals: BYU Style deviates from Chicago in that numbers one through nine are spelled out and numbers 10 and above are numerical. (This is the same rule put forth in AP Style.) When numbers between one through nine and numbers 10 or above are included in the same sentence, often editors will ignore this rule for consistency's sake.
The grocery store had five kinds of potatoes and eleven kinds of apples.
However, not all P&G editors do this, so make sure you ask the editor what their preference is. Also, use a Roman Numeral Converter to double check roman numerals.
And vs. &: BYU Style eliminates all ampersands in favor of "and."
Alphabetization: Ensure that alphabetized items are in correct order. If editing digitally, The Alphabetizer can help you quickly find errors.
Maps/charts/graphs: Don't overlook the text in these graphics. Add up columns of numbers and pie graphs to ensure their totals are recorded accurately. Double check place names.
Most common errors
- email instead of e-mail
- website instead of Web site (note that AP style recently adopted "website")
- its/it's
- their/there/they're
- who/whom
- whose/who's
- not using the serial comma
- too much capitalization ("Please walk across Campus to the Mailbox outside the Wilk to drop off your Law School Application and Essay.")
- high counsel instead of high council
- No comma between two independent clauses
- fullness instead of fulness
- Towards, forwards, backwards, etc. instead of toward, forward, backward, etc.
In additional reads, you look over the job as if you were a reader seeing it for the first time—it is not a time for major overhauls (although be sure to point out any errors) but rather a time to catch last-minute mistakes, missing information, and logical fallacies that have inevitably slipped by.
Remember: no editor, no matter how experienced, will catch every mistake every time. Editors rely on each other to look at the text with a fresh pair of eyes and point out errors that have slipped through. Second reading is considered a give-and-take effort: you find my mistakes this time, I'll catch yours next time. You shouldn't worry about offending your fellow editors by pointing out possible errors, and in turn you shouldn't feel as if you've failed or done a terrible job when others point out possible errors in your work.
What to do on a second read:
- Read the document though quickly as if you are a reader looking at it for the first time; note anything confusing or not fully explained
- Read it through a second time carefully: mark any spelling, usage, stylistic, or grammatical errors (it's helpful to pencil in the basis of your edit if there is one; for example, if you notice something is not conformed to Chicago Style, lightly write the Chicago passage you're referencing to the side of the error you've marked)
- Go through a third time and carefully read headers, captions, and pullout quotes—these are often the last elements added to a publication and may not have been through an initial edit; for this reason, many last-minute errors that appear in publications show up in these elements, which happen to be the elements most likely read by the reader
- Double check page numbers and table of contents
- Feel free to pencil in questions (i.e., "Shouldn't the name of the university be somewhere on this publication?")
- If it's a final proof, mark in pencil so the original editor can decide whether or not to use your edits; sticky notes are also a great way to mark up final proofs
- Note items of interest you'd like more explanation on later and run them by the original editor at a less-busy time
- Take a long time
- Rewrite large passages of text
- Mark things solely on the basis of it sounding different than you would have said or written it, or a personal preference
- Be afraid to mark anything
- Get offended if the original editor doesn't use edits you suggested
Working with authors
When it comes to working with authors of the texts you edit, it takes savvy and discretion to maintain good relations. It requires a lot of effort sometimes even personal involvement to author a work, and authors can find it discouraging when an editor marks up the text they worked so hard to craft, especially if those marks seem unecessary or unintentionally alter the integrity of what they were trying to say. Editors know, though, that a good edit can improve even the best writing, and they themselves can become frustrated if authors insist on retaining errors or poor writing in their texts. Here are some tips to help you as the editor and them as the author be happy with the end result.
1. Emphasize that you're both on the same team.
Let the client know you're there to help them, not "correct" them. Remind them that every writer needs an editor, and that as someone reading the text for the first time, you're going to notice things that the writer, having written it, never could. Emphasize that your goal is to help them sound as professional and articulate as possible.
2. When you're about to mark something, ask yourself, "Does this really matter?"
Discern between personal preference and actual necessity. While it may be true that if you had written the text, you may have worded something differently, but that doesn't mean that the way it currently reads is incorrect or not understandable. Don't fix someone's unique voice just because it's not yours. After editing a document, review your edits carefully and remove any that are purely preferential. A good way to ensure you're not making preferential edits is to have a concrete reason for every change you make—be able to clearly answer "Why did you do that?" for every edit. (Make sure, though, that you're not trying to enforce archaic and unnecessary grammar and spelling rules.) If you can't think of a reason beyond "It just sounds funny to me" or "I just don't like that," restore it how it was.
3. Ditch the red pen.
It sounds silly, but a lot of people have negative associations with red-pen markings all over their work and associate them with "you're wrong" or "you messed up," which naturally brings defensiveness and resentment. Using a different color than red can sometimes make the edits seem less harsh.
4. Consult, don't dictate.
When working with a sensitive author, instead of just marking things as wrong, consider posing edits as questions: "I wonder if this might confuse a new reader—is there a way to reinforce this idea by . . . ?" This invites the author to be your partner, not your student or your inferior.
5. Judge your neighbor . . .
As an editor, it's great to be appreciated by an author for what you do to improve their text, and you will run into many such clients. But the fact of the matter is that some authors are simply more resistant or sensitive to edits than others. An important skill as an editor is to be able to discern between different types of authors and adjust your services accordingly. For example, if an author tends to strongly resist your suggested edits, it might be smart to, when working on their projects, only mark the most egregious errors and ignore those less serious so you don't overwhelm the author and turn them away.
6. . . . but not your fellow editor.
When looking at the final products of projects your editorial colleagues worked on, you may see stylistic or grammatical items you would have marked, and your knee-jerk reaction may be to consider the editor incompetent. Remember the previous principle—in reality the editor may be doing their best to preserve editor-author relations by choosing wisely which mistakes to fix and which to relax on. After all, it's better to fix the giant misspelling in the headline and let a semi-colon that should be a comma slip by than by marking every "error," frustrating the author to the point that they resist an editorial consult on anything they do.
Finally, all editors have different approaches to these issues. Consult with the primary editor of the project you're assisting with to determine to what degree they would like the text finessed.
