Style guides: Every proposal editor loves them, every proposal writer ignores them.
So. What to do?
Pick a few things you want the writers to do, or not to do, and give away the rest. “What are the few?” you ask. These are the first four that I ask for:
- Active voice not passive
- Future tense not present
- First person not third
- Benefits at the front, not at the end
But I’ve learned not to ask writers the same way I might ask another editor. Now I ask writers like this . . .
Whatever your style guide, it’s worth investing enough money to make sure that all the editing/writing team has a copy: CP Style, Globe & Mail Style book, AMA style… But the Chicago Manual of Style is so massive — n expensive — that it tends to deter writers rather than encourage them.
Jim T
Jim T – I looked at one of those formal style guides once (Chicago, maybe) when I was considering doing editing for a publisher or some organization that used it and they *are* overwhelming. I’ve never seen one (of any brand) used on a proposal. Ours reflect the RFP, because we’re trying to give the client a style they’ll be comfortable with, plus some things we can do consistently, often just to save space. But the principle you cite applies for sure: If there is more than one editor, everyone edits to the same list of standards.