I have been hired to do some editing for a third party publisher and I was wondering if there is a style guide to help me out. I don't want trade secrets like colors and fonts, I just want a reference for formats things like how spell names should be done and do you write 10' or 10-feet or 10-ft. I've been doing a lot of searching through adventure paths I have to but having a reference would be a lot easier. If this should be a private discussion then please PM me. Thanks.
Some publishers have a specific style guide; I'd ask the one you're working for if they have one. Otherwise, referencing how those things are done in official products (either Paizo's or those of the publisher you're working for) is probably your best bet.
Your specific points:
Spell names are italicized and lower-case.
Whether you spell out "feet" or not is based on the context; as far as I know, it's abbreviated in the "Range"/"Area" part of spells but not otherwise, usually.
For example:
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area 10-ft.-radius burst
Thanks, Meraki. I'll ask my publisher but I suspect he will say he trusts me. *sigh*
My current style question is dimensions in a description. 10' x 10'? 10-ft. x 10-ft.? Or something else?
I had to check out some spell examples for this one, but it seems to be: "10-foot-by-10-foot." (create pit)
Looking up examples is probably going to be your best bet.
Also, for a good general guide, I recommend Kobold's Writing with Style. It's not specific to any publisher, but gives some good general tips.
Thank you again, Meraki, for your help. I do a lot of searching for examples and started putting things in my own style guide but I could not find anything for dimensions. And I will be buying a copy of the Writing with Style, I'm sure it will be a huge help.
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Owen KC Stephens, the Starfinder Design lead, has an unofficial style guide for Rogue Genius Games here. It's not the exact style guide used by Paizo, but it's darn close and will give you a good idea of how to format your work.
Thank you, donato, that will help me also.
Also, for a good general guide, I recommend Kobold's Writing with Style. It's not specific to any publisher, but gives some good general tips.
Correction, because I apparently failed to proofread: the linked guide is also by Rogue Genius, not Kobold. That'll teach me to quickly type out posts on my lunch break.