Chicago Manual of Style #AtoZChallenge
As in years past, this month I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. 2016 marks my fifth anniversary, so to celebrate, I’m hosting Friday Blog-Ins here in San Diego; you can find out more info about where we’re meeting each week on my A to Z Challenge page.
My monthly theme is Chicago From A to Z, so stay tuned from Monday to Saturday for new posts on the Windy City. Or sign up for my mailing list (delivered weekly, on Fridays) so you don’t miss a thing!
If you’re a writer, you’ve undoubtedly heard of the Chicago Manual of Style.
This style manual is currently in its 16th edition, celebrates its 110th birthday this year, and is also available online.
The purpose of the manual is to provide a standard manner of presenting material in books, as well as academic papers, so you may have learned about Chicago Style in college, depending on what you studied. (There are other style manuals out there, including APA and MLA in the U.S. For online publications, Associated Press [AP] or Canadian Press [CP] styles are typically preferred.)
So why is Chicago the source for all things style?
Well, the Chicago Style is so named because it was invented in 1906 at the University of Chicago. It is, therefore, “one of the most widely used and respected style guides in the United States,” according to David Spencer of The Type Desk.
Indeed, the CMOS also doubles as an historical document, chronicling the changes in print styles throughout the decades!
And the manual continues to evolve as we continue to change the way we read, write and publish material. As ebooks become ever more popular, so too did the CMOS venture away from relying solely on print form, moving onto the Internet where it can offer style advice at the click of a mouse. Perhaps, eventually, we’ll even be able to access it with the swipe of a touchscreen? (As of this blog, sadly, there is no CMOS app for that!)
If you’re a total style nerd, mark your calendars for May 27th, when The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation debuts!
Finally, I’ll send you off with a song related to Chicago style: Vampire Weekend’s “Oxford Comma.”
Additional Resources
Commas, Characters and Crime Scenes: “Be Your Own Copy Editor” Post Changes Course of Publishing History
Chicago Manual of Style on Twitter @ChicagoManual
Citation Machine: Chicago/Turabian style format citation
Goodreads: You can even rate the CMOS out of 5 stars! (Seriously. What?)
Grammar Girl – Why Would Anyone Use the Chicago Manual of Style?
University of Chicago Press: Inventors of the style guide
Wikipedia: List of style guides
Giveaway: San Diego from A to Z
Want to read the book I wrote last April, based on my A to Z posts about San Diego? I’m giving away two paperback copies of San Diego From A to Z over at Goodreads, so click here and enter to win!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
San Diego from A to Z
by Laura Roberts
Giveaway ends April 30, 2016.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
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