Version 3.0 · latest

Editor Style Guide

The Editor Style Guide is the ruleset that governs the optional editor pass (Phase 10 of the article workflow). It is not the same as your writing style guide — that’s the one you configure per article (Voice, Formatting, Structure, Context). The Editor Style Guide is fixed; it ships with the skill and defines what the editor pass checks.

Two categories of checks: User Style Calibrated (the editor adapts to your style settings) and Always Applied (the editor runs them regardless of style).

Citations are untouched

Before anything else: the editor pass does not modify citation markers ([^1], [^2], etc.) or the References section. Those live in the writing layer (Phase 7) and are finalized at export (Phase 12). The editor pass only touches prose, structure, and formatting.

User Style Calibrated

These five checks read your writing style guide’s settings and apply differently for different styles.

Visual Breaks — calibrated by `structure.visual_breaks`

Setting	Editor action
`minimal`	Allow longer paragraphs (6–8 sentences acceptable). Fewer section breaks. Dense prose preferred.
`moderate`	Standard paragraph lengths (3–5 sentences). Regular section breaks. Balanced white space.
`generous`	Shorter paragraphs (2–4 sentences). Frequent section breaks. Liberal use of single-sentence paragraphs for impact.

Blockquotes — calibrated by `formatting.blockquotes`

Setting	Editor action
`never`	Don’t suggest any blockquotes.
`rare`	Suggest only for truly exceptional insights — quotes that earn their visual weight.
`occasional`	Suggest 1–2 blockquotes per article where they add emphasis.
`frequent`	Actively look for opportunities (2–4 per article).

Pull quotes are always pulled from the article’s own prose, not external citations.

EM Dashes — calibrated by `formatting.em_dashes`

Setting	Editor action
0–2	Replace em dashes with commas, parentheses, or periods.
3–5	Use sparingly (max 1–2 per article).
6–10	Acceptable to use where appropriate.

The low end of this scale is the AI-tell defense — see Formatting for the rationale.

Emojis — calibrated by `formatting.emojis`

Setting	Editor action
0	Remove all emojis.
1–3	Max 1–2 emojis in the entire article.
4–6	Occasional use in headers or key points.
7–10	Liberal use throughout.

Tone Consistency — calibrated by `voice.tone`

Setting	Editor action
0–3 (Casual)	Conversational, contractions okay, “you” and “I” used freely.
4–6 (Balanced)	Professional but approachable.
7–10 (Professional)	Formal, minimal contractions, third person acceptable.

The editor flags sections where tone drifts unexpectedly from the style’s intended level.

Always Applied

These four checks run regardless of style settings.

AI Tell Removal

The editor scans for common AI writing patterns and removes or rephrases them.

Filler phrases to remove:

“It’s important to note that…”
“It’s worth mentioning that…”
“Interestingly enough…”
“In today’s world…”
“In this article, we will…”

Transition words to reduce:

“Additionally” → vary with “Also,” “Beyond this,” or restructure
“Furthermore” → often unnecessary, delete or restructure
“Moreover” → same as above
“However” → fine occasionally, but vary with “But,” “Yet,” “Still”
“Therefore” → vary with “So,” “This means,” or restructure

Overused structures:

Starting multiple paragraphs with “This…”
“When it comes to [X]…”
“[X] is a [Y] that [Z]” (weak opener pattern)

Prose Tightening

Remove:

Redundant words (“very unique” → “unique”)
Weasel words (“somewhat,” “quite,” “rather”)
Unnecessary qualifiers (“I think,” “I believe” — unless voice settings call for them)
Repeated words in close proximity

Improve:

Passive voice → active voice (where appropriate)
Long sentences → break into shorter ones
Weak verbs → stronger alternatives

Spelling & Grammar

Fix typos
Correct grammar errors
Ensure consistent punctuation style

Flow & Transitions

Ensure smooth transitions between sections
Check that each section connects logically to the next
Break up walls of text (no paragraphs > 5–6 sentences)

Content Enhancement Suggestions

In addition to the calibrated and always-applied checks above, the editor suggests content enhancements based on your style guide. These are proactive suggestions, not silent edits — the editor proposes, you approve or skip.

Examples & Illustrations (driven by `structure.examples` and `structure.example_types`)

For each section, the editor assesses whether adding an example would clarify the concept, based on your examples preference:

none — no proactive example suggestions.
some — suggestions where examples genuinely clarify.
many — actively look for opportunities to add examples.

Example types come from example_types:

Lists → “Would a bulleted/numbered list make this clearer?”
Tables → “Would a comparison table help readers see the differences?”
Diagrams → “Would a flowchart or sequence diagram clarify this process?” (generated as Mermaid, falls back to ASCII art).
Code Snippets → “Would a code example make this concrete?”
Quotes → “Is there a standout insight worth highlighting as a pull quote?”
Case Studies → “Would a brief real-world example help ground this concept?” (2–4 paragraphs, embedded inline, not as a separate section).

Text Emphasis (Bold and Italic)

The editor adds bold for:

Key terms on first mention or definition
Critical takeaways or action items
Important warnings or caveats
Emphasizing the core point in a section

The editor adds italics for:

Subtle emphasis or inflection
Technical terms, product names, or foreign words
Book/article/product titles
Vocal stress (“I didn’t say he stole the money”)

Neither is applied liberally — both lose impact when overused.

Output

After the editor pass runs, you get a summary in chat that itemizes every change:

Editorial pass complete! Here's what I updated:

Content Enhancements:
- Added comparison table in Section 2 (based on style guide: examples="some")
- Added code snippet example in Section 4
- Added 1 blockquote in Section 1 to emphasize key insight (based on style guide: blockquotes="occasional")

Formatting:
- Added 2 bulleted lists
- Bolded 5 key terms at first mention
- Applied moderate visual breaks (standard paragraph lengths per style guide)

Tightening:
- Removed 3 instances of "Additionally"
- Replaced 2 em dashes with commas
- Shortened 4 long sentences

Fixes:
- Corrected 2 typos
- Fixed 1 grammar issue

📄 Review the edited version: cody-projects/article-writer/drafts/<id>-editorpass.md
📄 Original preserved at: cody-projects/article-writer/drafts/<id>.md

Approve the changes, or let me know what to adjust.

The editor never overwrites the original — <id>.md stays as a backup, and the edited version saves as <id>-editorpass.md. If you reject the editor pass entirely, the original is what flows forward to metadata and export.

Iteration

If you request changes to the editor pass, Cody updates <id>-editorpass.md directly and shows a fresh summary. Iterate as many times as needed.

Editor Pass & Export — the workflow phases where the editor runs.
Formatting — the user-side formatting fields that calibrate the editor pass.
Structure — the structure fields that calibrate example suggestions and visual breaks.
Voice — the voice fields that calibrate tone consistency.