We wanted to get to know Mark Allen (NAIWE’s AP Stylebook Expert) better, so last month we sat down with him. Here is what he shared with us.

 

Does this edition have more changes than in past editions?

There are fewer changes this time around and not as many big changes as we’ve had in the past. The AP Stylebook editors want their usage advice to reflect what’s going on in the world, and sometimes that means changing long-standing quirks to reflect reality. Changing the way things have always been done is what causes an uproar each year on social media, as with accepting “over” for numerical differences in 2018.

For 2020, there are many significant changes that didn’t cause a stir on Twitter. Some of the changes come in the area of conscious language and dehumanizing terms: gender neutrality, older adults, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, disabilities and addiction, homelessness. I count 83 new entries and 69 updated entries for this edition.

 

Did the COVID-19 pandemic play any part in what was changed?

The thing AP Stylebook does better than other reference sources is keep up with the news of the day. The coronaviruses entry was added online on February 3 and expanded to 368 words for the print edition. The Stylebook has had usage advice on pandemic since 2007, and the editors saw no need to update it.

 

What change were you most surprised to see?

The most surprising change was not a new entry but a business decision to publish the book in physical form every two years instead of every year. That was surprising because physical books still tend to make more money than online subscriptions, but there are many reasons that the online edition is superior. Some other surprises came in updates to entries that had only recently being updated, proving if nothing else that the editors of the AP Stylebook are listening to feedback.

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Changes are plentiful if not dramatic in this year’s Associated Press Stylebook, published in May. The growing reference tome offers advice on gender-neutral language and language dealing with sexual assault. It cautions against the “senior citizen” label. And it says “mistress” is not a very useful term. AP Stylebook Expert Mark Allen will run down all the updates in the new edition and talk about moves away from the paper book and toward doing more online.

You can join in this conversation on June 29, at 7 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on the 2020 updates of the AP Stylebook. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Non-members can join for $30. Register today!

We wanted to get to know Mark Allen (NAIWE’s AP Stylebook Expert) better, so last month we sat down with him. Here are some things he shared.

What is one thing that you learned about style manuals the hard way, and what benefits have you received from it?

Style manuals keep changing because language keeps changing. There was a time when I felt that I knew all the quirks of the Associated Press Stylebook, and then I found my convictions were no longer valid because they changed the book! There are plenty of shibboleths in the AP Stylebook—things that only AP adherents really care about but that cause consternation when AP makes a change. “More than” and “over” are now mostly interchangeable. The word “collide” no longer assumes that both things are in motion. These are minor things, but no one wants to be enforcing a usage guideline long after it’s dead.

What do you associate with style guide proficiency?

Proficiency with using a style guide is a bit like proficiency with editing in general. We can’t know everything, and we shouldn’t tell ourselves otherwise. Proficiency with a style guide means knowing what we need to look up and sometimes even looking up things we know we are right about. Proficiency is a bit of a false concept. There are many guidelines, many exceptions, and many gray areas where we need to look elsewhere for guidance and ultimately apply common sense. It’s possible to memorize most key points in a style guide, but our memories sometimes fail us, and guidelines do change.

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You can join in this conversation on July 24, at 7 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion some of the most important changes of 2019.

The Associated Press Stylebook, the essential guide to style and usage for news, PR, marketing, and corporate communication, is now updated for 2019 with its most substantive changes in years. NAIWE AP Stylebook Expert Mark Allen will discuss the important changes in a 90-minute webinar complete with humor and handouts.

The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! To register, send an email with your name and telephone number.

Mark Allen is an editor, writer, and teacher focused on helping people communicate with clarity and honesty. He has trained hundreds of editors and writers on a variety of topics, including the latest and most important elements in the Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style. Mark has led conversations about copyediting and writing at conferences and workshops in Detroit, St. Louis, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Portland, Columbus, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York City, and York, England. He was the first freelancer elected to the executive board of ACES: The Society for Editing, and Mark currently teaches advanced copyediting for UC San Diego Extension’s copyediting certificate program.