Review: QuickStyle from Hazel Bird

As a professional editor, I am always on the lookout for ways to increase my efficiency and improve communication with clients. So when I learned about QuickStyle — a style sheet template that can be tailored to fit any project and client — I was intrigued. Hazel Bird and I are colleagues at the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and we sometimes collaborate. She kindly agreed to provide a free copy of QuickStyle for the purpose of writing this review about my experience using it with a recent copy editing project. 

Why is a style sheet important?

A style sheet is “a detailed record of the variable spellings, hyphenation, capitalization, etc., used in a particular document, which records in detail the editorial style applied in the text” (online glossary, CIEP). A style sheet succinctly and clearly communicates the decisions made by a copy editor to ensure consistency in the next stages of production.

My current style sheet is missing the mark. Its haphazard organization works for me while editing because it reflects my thinking, but I am willing to bet that it works less well for my clients or those down the line in the production process. 

What is QuickStyle?

QuickStyle is a Word template. This is a winning feature. As with most editors, I am familiar with the mechanics of Word and advantages of using Word templates, and appreciate that using QuickStyle does not require learning (yet another) new system.

QuickStyle contains 25 standard categories listed in alphabetical order and a setup for adding the word list specific to your project. It covers all the categories in my current style sheet, and a host of other pertinent ones I had never thought to include. The ingenious system of almost 150 prepopulated combo boxes (drop-down menus) provides multiple options that correspond to a variety of standard style guides. A simple tick is all that is required to select the option appropriate to your project. You can also delete or add categories and combo boxes (drop-down menus), and modify, add or delete elements in the boxes.

QuickStyle can also be personalized to reflect your style and branding by using any of the standard Word features, including Word Styles. I have only flirted with the appearance so far, but what I was able to produce looks more professional than my current style sheet.

Macros

QuickStyle, due to its nature as a Word document, supports macros. I use Paul Beverley’s macro CopyToListAlphabetic to populate my word list while editing, and it worked like a charm with the QuickStyle template.

Time investment

I read the instructions attentively in about an hour, and worked my way through the combo boxes (drop-down menus) within an hour and a half. Another hour or so was spent further customizing the template and boxes to fit the needs of my project.  

Conclusions

I had no prior experience working with Word combo boxes (drop-down menus), but I was able to quickly acquire and apply the skills needed thanks to the detailed instructions provided. These serve as an excellent introduction to the workings of QuickStyle and are peppered with time-saving tips. For these reasons, I recommend reading the instructions before starting to work on the template. 

QuickStyle requires an upfront investment of time, but for my editing work, I am convinced it will be made up manyfold in future efficiency, reliability and professionalism. 

A special offer for The Editors’ Weekly reader: Get 10% off until Nov. 23 by entering the code EC2025 at checkout.

___

The Editors’ Weekly is the official blog of Editors Canada. Contact us.