1.4.1 Authorial Style Sheet

One aspect of a well-edited work is internal coherence. That coherence begins with the selection and arrangement of chapters, essays, or sections, but it must also be carried through the details of editing. A volume should follow a clear and consistent standard for matters such as spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, citation form, headings, abbreviations, and the treatment of recurring names, titles, and technical terms.

For this reason, the project or book style sheet is the first authority for many editorial decisions. Each work will raise its own questions, especially in Thelemic and occultural writing, where a manuscript may include sacred texts, ritual titles, divine names, magical formulae, historical terminology, and specialized vocabulary. When these issues arise, the editor should record the preferred usage in the style sheet so the decision can be applied consistently throughout the work.

Consistency helps readers experience a work as unified rather than assembled from mismatched parts. A volume should not spell the same term several different ways without reason, mix citation systems from chapter to chapter, or vary between numbered and unnumbered headings without a clear editorial purpose. The goal of a style guide is not always to declare one form absolutely right and another absolutely wrong. Its chief purpose is to help editors and writers make stable decisions so that the reader can attend to the substance of the work rather than being distracted by uneven presentation.