A Pragmatic Approach to Editorial Style

Editorial style guides are invaluable in the long-term maintenance of content. They can also serve as pilot programs that lead to more extensive content strategy work. But as helpful as style guides can be, it's sometimes difficult to get content producers and editors to use them after the adrenaline rush of launch has subsided. We'll discuss how to build flexible style guides, how to convert everyone who uses them into an evangelist, how to pull them out of their dusty corners and into places where they are more relevant, and how to make sure that they maintain consistency while still allowing people to be authentic, no matter what communication channel they're using. Attendees will leave with a solid understanding of what style guides can accomplish and a set of good practices for making them relevant and getting people to use them.

About the presenters

Mandy Brown is co-founder and editor for A Book Apart (http://books.alistapart.com/), contributing editor for A List Apart (http://www.alistapart.com/), and community and support manager at Typekit (http://typekit.com/). A veteran of the publishing industry, she was previously Creative Director at W. W. Norton & Company (http://www.wwnorton.com/), an independent and employee-owned publisher, where her work involved everything from book design to web design to writing about design. She lives in Brooklyn and blogs about the reading experience at aworkinglibrary.com (http://aworkinglibrary.com/).

Erin Kissane is an independent content strategist and editor based in NYC and Portland, Oregon. She was an editor at A List Apart magazine for nearly ten years, and has also been a freelance book editor and the editorial director of Happy Cog Studios (http://happycog.com/). When not working, she indulges her greed for books and writes about speculative fiction from the 1920s and 30s. She blogs at Incisive.nu (http://incisive.nu/).

Cost
We're charging a nominal fee for this event to help cover travel costs for Mandy and Erin. It's worth it for great content. Plus, free food! If possible, please pay in advance using PayPal. Otherwise, we'll accept cash at the door.