Posts tagged Style Guide
In-Style Writing
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Recently, I posted a book review of Alpha Teach Yourself Grammar and Style. Read the entire post here. If you choose not to read the review, I’ll refresh your memory. Grammar, the mechanics of language, is not the same as style. “Style” means “a distinctive manner of expression,” according to Merriam Webster online dictionary. As you ground yourself in grammar, you should also work on developing a unique personal style that adheres to the style guides for your intended market.
Magazines and newspapers usually follow Associated Press style. Book publishers, however, use the Chicago Manual of Style. Check out the following style guides, and, if you’re not familiar with them, now’s the time to enlighten yourself. Public libraries might have some of them in their reference sections. (more…)
Book Review: Teach Yourself Grammar and Style
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Full title: Macmillan Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 Hours, by Pamela Rice Hahn and Dennis E. Hensley, Ph.D., published by Pearson Education Macmillan USA, 2000.
Have you wanted to attend a writers’ conference but couldn’t afford it? Have you considered online courses but passed on them for the same reason? Consider getting a copy of this book, and give yourself a thorough workshop on the basics of writing. Although the title may intimidate you, the book is not boring and pedantic. It’s designed for anyone needing a review of grammar basics, but it also targets those who need to improve their writing.
You may be wondering what’s the difference between grammar and style. The first sentence in the first chapter explains, “Grammar is the study of sentence structure and the rules that govern it.” “Style” means “a distinctive manner of expression,” according to Merriam Webster. The first 12 chapters give you grounding in grammar, while the rest of the book helps you develop your style.
The title says you can accomplish your study in 24 hours. Sounds amazing? Well, you won’t be able to do it overnight, unless you just don’t sleep at all. Each chapter is constructed so that you can study and absorb the material in one hour. Then you take the multiple-choice test. If you do one chapter a day, you can finish in 24 days. Do two chapters a day and be done in 12 days. Maybe it’s not “quick and easy,” but it is effective.
The book offers several appendices with tables, resources, lists, and a detailed index. If you’re a published writer or one who wants to get work published, this book will be a good refresher course. It’s available both new and used on Amazon.
Preview the book on Google books.
The Little Style Guide to Great Christian Writing and Publishing
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Notice the title of this book is not A Little Style Guide. It’s The Little Style Guide. That’s because this little book is the best, most affordable style guide and reference for any writer aspiring to have his or her work published.
Written by Leonard and Carolyn Stanford Goss, this book will educate you about book production. Then you’ll be guided through the grammar and style conventions common to the Christian publishing industry. You’ll find helps with publishing technology and electronic media, proofreading and editor’s marks, and a listing of recommended books for authors and editors. Top the content of with a detailed index, and you’ve got the handiest, most economical single reference book a Christian writer could own.
Need to know how to spell website, Web site, Website? Look on page 156, and you’ll find that the publishing industry prefers Web site. Or, maybe you are confused about spelling an capitalization of religious terms, there’s an extensive list on pages 39-60.
If you think grammar and style is not important as you write your book, think again. Publishing houses prefer books and/or proposals that need very little editing for grammar and style these days. It’s true that publishers often have their own style guides, but many of them adhere to the industry standard Chicago Manual of Style. This little style book gives you the Cliff’s Notes version of Chicago at a very reasonable price.
Both Leonard (Len) and Carolyn Goss have extensive experience in the publishing industry. Leonard has been with Broadman & Holman Publishers for a number of years. Carolyn has worked in marketing and sales for publishers and is an author and a teacher of composition and literature. They’ve been involved in the production of numerous books, either as author or as editor.
If publishing a book is your dream, you need to read this little book and keep it hand on your desk
