EDITOR TO NEW CLIENT: “Do you have a style guide you can share with me?”
NEW CLIENT: “A what?”
EDITOR: “A list of your writing preferences, word choices, spellings, and anything you need me to know that’s unique to you and how you write.”
NEW CLIENT: (lengthy silence) “I don’t know … maybe?”

Sound familiar? If it does, welcome to the club. Many fiction writers are caught off guard when I ask about their guide—or why I need one—until the emails start. Suddenly, every spelling choice, every comma, every dash becomes a back-and-forth across inboxes.

A style guide doesn’t have to be perfect before we start—but the more we know upfront, the smoother everything goes. At this point, you have your story the way you want it. With a style guide—small or extensive—we keep your novel consistent as you prepare it for publication.

How We Tackle It Together

Even though I create a style guide for every manuscript I touch, your input is gold. If you already have something started—even a few notes—I’ll use that as a foundation and build from there. And if you don’t, that’s completely fine too. We’ll start with what you know and add to it as we go. Most of this isn’t complicated. It’s the things you already know about your story, written down in one place so we’re not guessing later. Once that’s in place, everything moves more cleanly. Your edits stay focused. Your voice stays intact.

Need Some Help?

Because let’s be honest—life’s too short for endless emails about commas. I created a fillable PDF style guide template where you can plug in your details anytime and save for later. It’s a place to keep everything in one spot, so you’re not answering the same questions over and over again.

Grab the template and start filling it out today.