Blue's Website Style Guide
Please read about my preferences before you @me about misspellings. For the most part, I don't follow someone else's style guide here. I follow my own.
When I am hired as an Empathetic Developmental Line Editor, my feedback is based on whatever style guide my client is using—usually the Chicago Manual of Style. That is the style guide most publishers I know of use. However, every publisher and publication can create their own. Businesses may also create their own style guide to indicate how they prefer their copy to be styled. One of my first conversations with an editing client is to go over or create their style sheet, to ensure I understand their preferences. The style sheet is passed on to all over editors, proofreaders, as well as alpha/beta readers.
Since this is my website, this is my style guide. I don't do things like most people, and I have certain preferences you may notice as you peruse my site. I have a lot of creative license, and I make very good use of it. Some of it is practical, but most if it isn't, and that's entirely okay. It's my website, and it doesn't have to be.
You will notice a difference between transcripts, which are my transcribed spoken words (usually done by ChatGPT's Whisper), and my blog pods because I add in extra insights after I've recorded. Other than clarifications and fixing error's I don't edit the transcripts. If the writing I present is for publication, then you'll likely see alignment with the CMOS. Otherwise, I use my creative license. (I'll expand this as time goes on. I just added some basics.)
Punctuation Preferences
- I dislike hyphens. They make me all twitchy, so I use • instead.
- In place of a semi colon, I prefer using a period or em dash.
- I LOVE—em dashes!
Spelling Preferences
I generally use American spelling. In order to eliminate hyphens I either use • or I do some creative spelling. Some words I like to split apart, while others I like to smash together.
- B•love
- gluten free
- nonmonogamy, photowalk, worldbuilding