Don’t Panic! Tips for Learning CMOS 16

It’s clear from the chatter online that many of you already have the sixteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, and that you love it. But, you know, at some point you’re going to have to open it. Cracking that gorgeous blue cover is intimidating for good reason: a thousand pages of style, grammar, and usage advice, and we’re supposed to master it in how long? Maybe we could just stand back and admire it a while longer.

The transition to a new edition of The Chicago Manual of Style can be overwhelming. We’ve just spent seven years learning the fifteenth, and I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t finished yet. Here at the University of Chicago Press, I’ve been lucky enough to live with both editions for the last year, using the fifteenth to copyedit book manuscripts while helping the editorial team prepare the sixteenth. But even with that head start—or maybe because of it—the issues still tend to blur, and it’s not always easy to remember which is which.

So I’ve been thinking of ways to minimize the stress:

—It helps to accept the idea of a grace period. If it’s not practical to switch style manuals in the middle of a long and complex project, don’t do it. We probably wouldn’t, here at the press. If your magazine or journal has its own house style based on Chicago’s, you might make small changes over time as the issues arise and as they apply to your publication.

—Keep in mind, too, that no one expects you to read the entire new edition at once and retain its contents. If you’re under pressure to make the switch expeditiously, skim through your favorite chapter first. You’ll be reassured to see that the bones of the Manual are still in place. It’s not as though you suddenly no longer know Chicago style. The documentation chapters (14 and 15) have excellent overviews—in fact, reading just the overviews of all the chapters would be another good way to get started.

—Whether you subscribe to CMOS Online or not, you can go there to view a list of some of the most significant changes to the Manual. Although there are many more changes than those listed, here’s an insider tip for finding a few more: search the online edition for the word “departure” (yes, even nonsubscribers can do this), then go to the paragraphs you find in the search results to read about what has changed. (If you don’t subscribe, you can read them in your print copy.)

—Take a moment to calm down and think about how you will gradually learn the new edition, and consider what will happen if you don’t. The way it works for me is that I continue to look things up when I need to, and if I run into a new rule, I try to make a mental note of it. It’s true that if I’m confident of something—say hyphenation rules—I won’t feel the need to visit that section, and I won’t learn what’s new. But so what? If I’m reasonable and consistent, readers won’t be troubled by my choices. (And just between you and me, they’ll probably never know the difference.)

One last encouragement: I believe that the sixteenth edition of CMOS will make copyediting easier. The guidelines are more streamlined and less waffly. Navigation is easier both in print and online. New users will especially benefit from the more intuitive and logical organization of chapters.

I just hope we can all relax and enjoy it.

Comments

[Darrell Young]

I am a relatively new author (six technical photography books, so far) and CMOS 16 is my first copy. I love it! However, my publishing company's proofreader uses version 15, and refers to it from time to time. I guess I need to subscribe to your online edition so that I can have both versions immediately available. Thanks for such a fine resource. Love your blog.

[Michele]

In the spirit of taking it 'bird-by-bird' we calculated that we'd have to read 0.7xxx pages per day in our 4-day work week over 7 years (the gap between 15 and 16) to see it all... But, in reality, we're going to digest it item by item, as questions arise. I like the departures.

[Jane Steen]

I just took a look at the significant changes. This post should be entitled "Be Afraid. . .Be Very Afraid."

[Sue Campbell]

I just wanna know, why the picture shows the back of the book, and why you're phone is off the hook!

[Sue Campbell]

Opps. ... why YOUR phone is off the hook. It won't help with my typing or proofreading will it?

[Carol Saller]

Sue, don't worry - it's not actually my phone. It's an old-fashioned telephone receiver I rescued from the trash and use as a paperweight.