Businesses, freelancers, and authors can create an editorial style guide in minutes using this template.

It comes preloaded with rules to fix the most common errors I've seen in eight years as an expert copy editor.

What is a style guide?

An editorial style guide is an essential resource to keep your content clear, consistent, and credible. Every style guide looks different depending on the needs of its owner, but the average style guide likely has:

• brand voice guidelines
• spelling and usage sheet listing your style for words and phrases that are often misspelled or have varied spellings; the proper use of oft-misused words
• a list of banned words and phrases
• grammar and punctuation rules
• a list of fantasy locations and character names (specifically if you're an author)

How can a style guide help me?

Style guides aren't just for publications. Any organization or individual that produces content needs one. Heck, even NASA has one!

Maintaining a style guide helps you:

• uphold your brand voice and style
• be consistent (it would look funny if readers noticed names and words were spelled differently from book to book or blog post to blog post)
• eliminate grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors that distract your audience
• quickly onboard and train new writers and editors to your style

Hot tips for using an editorial style guide:

1. Make it a living document.

Upload your style guide to Google Docs or Dropbox and share it with the people who need it. Any updates you make will be automatically visible by everyone. Ah, the beauty of the cloud!

2. Only allow one person to manage the style.

If everyone has the ability to change the style guide, consistency will go out the window. One person should be responsible for updating the style guide as needed.

About the author

Jaime has been a pro copy editor since 2014, when she began editing for NYC print magazines such as Wall Street Journal magazines and Hearst magazines. Formerly the national copy chief for Time Out North America, she now edits for authors and businesses across industries.