AMA Book Editor - Melanie Saxton Media AMA Book Editor

As an AMA book editor (a rarity), I enjoy working within the editing guidelines of the American Medical Association Manual of Style. While most books — fiction and nonfiction — are written according to Chicago Manual of Style guidelines, there are times when authors of medical reference books and manuals prefer to use AMA style. Again, rare.

These medical authors may simply be comfortable using AMA to cite references and case studies. They may be writing to an audience familiar with AMA. Whatever the reason, it’s good for book editors to be familiar with AMA guidelines.

How to Format AMA Citations in a Word Document

Although medical professionals hire me to do the AMA formatting for them, some prefer to do it themselves. This YouTube video (with more than 17,000 views) is helpful for DIY authors.

Medical Writing and Editing Style Guides

In my experience, three of the most useful style guides in the world of medicine are:

There are more, of course, such as The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Style Guide and the American Psychological Association Style Guide (APA).

In fact, there are dozens upon dozens of style guides for every type of writing discipline, shared below.

AMA Book Editor, Medical Editor, and More

In 2017, I put together a listing of the various style manuals I keep handy for common writing and editing projects, and also for a unique and specific type of projects.

I’m reprinting a portion of the blog post here for reference and context — although I haven’t double-checked to see if any of the URLs have changed.