Did you know that AP style requires "Book Titles" in quotations? It also eschews underlines, italics and any kind of accent marks or extraneous punctuation.
What Is a Style Guide and Which Style Guide Should I Use? will help you to understand the different styles that you'll encounter as a freelance writer, and determine which one(s) you should learn. Happy punctuating!
Smart writers use their spell check, a thesaurus, grammer check, dictionary and other tools to do their job well. A style guide should be on the list, too. Simply knowing when a person’s title should be capitalized, how to write a college degree, and whether or not to use digits or spell out numbers are extremely useful – and these seemingly unimportant nuances just might be important to someone you wish to impress. It’s akin to manners: Knowing which fork to use may be no big deal until you’re dining with your prospective in-laws for the first time. As the saying goes, it’s the little things that can make all the difference.
You are right on, Jay. Except, the editor side of me does want to say that sometimes I want the writers to focus on content and etc, and not get hung up on itty bitty details–let me do my job.
I’m not saying I want my writers to turn in crappy stuff, but…
You’re right–a lot of those little nuances will eventually become second nature for you …
Thanks for the comment Jay.