Modernize Your Writing: The Case for Refreshing Your Style Guide

Last week, I reviewed the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) and talked about how to absorb all the changes in this mammoth manual.

Many editors are now wondering when their clients or employers will make the shift to the 18th edition. Those clients and employers, though, may be asking a more basic question: Why should we update?

The Dilemma of Updating Style Guides

Editors and others passionate about the nuts and bolts of writing will update just because. But for the publishers themselves (and I use publishers to include anyone who publishes a piece of writing for a readership), updating might seem like an unnecessary chore.

Why do you need to stay up to date with a style manual that your house style is based on? Especially if you disagree with some of the changes?

Flexibility in Following Style Manuals

First, remember that no one needs to follow a style manual to the letter. Like editing changes, style manual “rules” are actually suggestions. You don’t have to follow any guidance that doesn’t serve your writing project. 

For example, one of my long-time clients follows CMoS but doesn’t use a closed em dash (—) to set off words or phrases in a text. Instead, they use a spaced en dash ( – ), following a British usage. The type of dash doesn’t change a text’s meaning; it’s just a style preference. There is no style guide police to force them to abandon their preferences.

 So why follow a style at all?

The Importance of Consistency

Consciously or not, your readers will notice inconsistencies in your writing. They might not notice whether you use an em dash or an en dash, but they will notice if you use both in one document. They’ll notice if one document contains some vertical lists with solid round bullet points and other lists with solid square bullet points. While these are small differences, they add up over the course of a written piece.

Why Update Your Style Guide?

Simply put, styles change. Even in writing. Not everyone will notice if you wear last year’s trendy dress, but they will notice if you wear a trendy dress from decades ago. The same can happen in writing. Readers might not notice when you omit the word that (5.212), but over time, they might start to think your writing sounds dated, clunky, or just off without knowing why.

Not updating right away won’t make a difference, of course. It takes time for changes to have a cumulative effect across a world of writing, whether your own or throughout an industry. But sooner or later, the lack of updates will become noticeable.

Steps to Update Your House Style

So you’ve decided that it’s time to review your house style and make updates based on changes to the style manual you follow. How do you go about it? I’ve got a solution for you.

When the now-retiring CMoS 17 came out, I drew up seven tips for publishers and editors to follow.

The first is to familiarize yourself with the changes. For CMoS 18, you can check out:

• My full review: “CMOS 18: A Deep Dive into the Latest Edition’s Updates”
• My initial review: “The Chicago Manual of Style: 18th Edition Updates”
• CMoS’s changes page
• Other reviews that cover different perspectives and changes

Pro tip: save the changes page as a PDF to your computer for reference (and to get rid of that distracting yellow sidebar).

You can read the remaining six steps in my post “7 Tips to Mastering a Style Manual Update.”

Leveraging Your Editor’s Expertise

If all this seems like more than you reasonably have time to do, why not ask your editor to help? Your editor is well versed in your style and is excitedly getting to know CMoS 18, I promise. The editing communities I’m in (and I’m in a lot) are all chatting about the details of the update.

You don’t need to give up control of your house style, either. Your editor can make a list of recommendations that you can review, then update the document based on your decisions and preferences.

Beyond Basic Updates: Expanding Your Style Guide

While you or your editor is reviewing your style guide for CMoS changes, this is a good opportunity to review other topics as well. If your house style doesn’t yet cover conscious language or plain language, this is a great time to look into it. CMoS is a good start (see 5.255 for conscious language), but there are more extensive resources available. Karen Yin’s new book, The Conscious Style Guide, and plainlanguage.gov are two excellent resources.

And how about AI? Can it be used in your writing or editing processes? If so, how and what are the limits? CMoS has some initial guidance (see 4.5), but what else might apply? Could you use a chatbot for drafting alt text or cleaning up citations? Could you use it to rephrase comments or create a bibliography from footnotes? 

Don’t forget your house dictionary, either. Check to see what’s changed since your last update. What words have been added? Have any words moved from being considered slang to fully accepted? Have any become outdated or found to be offensive?

The Impact of a Well-Maintained Style Guide

The time you spend researching and updating your house style will pay off in the clarity and consistency of all your future writing projects. Readers may not be able to point to a specific rule you applied; in fact, style should be invisible to readers. Instead, they’ll notice the content of what you’ve written. 

And that’s the ultimate goal of all writing.

Need Help? Professional Assistance Is Available

Feeling overwhelmed with the thought of updating your house style? We can help! Right Touch Editing has written and revised many house style guides over the decades. We love helping clients shape their writing style to reflect exactly what they want. We’re kind of nerdy about it, in fact. 

Book time with Erin today to discuss your house style!