The Book Doctor, Bobbie Christmas is in:
Q: What are the rules for capitalizing government and military titles? For instance, would I write “Hold him,” the general said, or would this be correct: “Hold him,” the General said.
What about when using the characters name? “Hold him,” General Smith said.
The same would apply for senators, representatives, etc.
Also, what is a good book on Chicago style?
A: Chicago Style, preferred by most book publishers, dictates that a business or military title be capitalized only when it precedes the name, as in General Smith. When using only the title, it is not capitalized. The correct usages are as follows:
“Hold him,” the general said.
“Hold him,” General Smith said.
“Hold him,” the senator said.
“Hold him,” Senator Smith said.
The best and only official book on Chicago Style is The Chicago Manual of Style produced by the University of Chicago Press. A new copy costs as much as forty dollars, though, and the sixteenth edition is going to be released in the fall of 2010. You may want to wait to purchase the newest edition then. See more writer tools at Bobbie's website.
Q: Please give general guidelines of word counts for short stories, novellas, novelettes, and novels. What is the minimum length for a short story? I have several that are only a few hundred words long. Are they short shorts?
Also, what is “dark fiction?”
A: Short stories have no minimum or maximum, but some publishers or contests have preferred lengths or maximums, so check with the publications or competitions where you plan to send your stories. A few hundred words may be considered a short-short, yes. Flash fiction might be even fewer than a hundred words.
The recommended length for a novel is between 50,000 and 100,000 words; anything under that word count might be considered a novella or a novelette; the two terms mean the same thing. Anything over that length might get a manuscript rejected, or a publisher might request that the manuscript be cut down to 100,000 words or under, to save on printing costs, unless you already have a strong following.
When you think of dark fiction, think of vampires, werewolves, serial killers, things that go bump in the night, Stephen King, horror, skinheads, Bram Stoker, zombies, evil, bloodthirsty beings, and the like.
Q: When I send my manuscript to readers or agents, should I put the copyright c in a circle on the title page, on every page, or anywhere at all? Should a date be there also?
A: I tend to trust people and therefore do not put a copyright mark on my manuscripts, because the laws of copyright protect us—that is, we own the rights to all our intellectual property the moment we create it. Also, agents and publishers who see a copyright mark may think the person who sent the manuscript is unknowledgeable or paranoid, because it is not necessary to officially register the copyright until the work is laid out and ready to be published in book form.
If, however, you feel more comfortable marking your manuscripts with a copyright mark, the traditional method for showing a copyright is to use the symbol c in a circle or write the word “Copyright.” Either form should then be followed by the year and your first and last name, all on one line. It should appear on the title page only, and because it is not standard to have a copyright mark on a manuscript, there is no standard for where on the title page to put it. I would probably put it two lines below the name of the author on the title page.
Do not, however, go to the trouble of registering the copyright with the government until the book is about to be published. The content will no doubt change between the time you write it and it gets published, so wait until the book is in its final form before paying to register the copyright.
Q: Where can I find the guidelines about how formal or informal the narrative should be?
A: I cannot point to one specific source for formal versus informal writing, except that slang, contractions, dialect, and clichés are informal, whereas most narrative should be formal. That said, I used an informal narrative style in my own book, Write In Style, including contractions, because I wanted the book to reflect my personality and be upbeat, friendly, and not too textbook-like. It’s important to know the guidelines and break them only for a specific reason, such as when the narrative intentionally reflects the voice of a specific narrator.
Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Read more “Ask the Book Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.
