Style guide for book writing?

Write it however you feel it needs to be written...there are no rules to telling a story, fiction or non-fiction.

Gatita said:

I'm a reporter and have used AP style forever. I know it's different from Chicago style -- for example, we don't include a comma after the "and" in "this, this and that."

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Short answer; it doesn't matter. Just be consistent. Seriously, consistency is huge and will make your editors love you.

Long answer; different publishers use different style manuals as the basis of their "house" style. So don't worry about it. Your editor will let you know when the book has been bought, and the publisher will have a copy editor.

Strunk and White is not the kind of thing you're looking for; it's a short very basic guide written for undergraduates writing papers for English classes.

The serial comma is a tricky thing to begin with, and it depends on the house style anyway. Go with what the publisher's editor says.

I would humbly suggest Stephen King's "On Writing". He gives great comments on dialogue, pacing, plot, 'purple prose', description techniques, everything. It's really great reading.

The funny thing is, when you read the blogs of successful fiction writers in all genres, as well as here on this forum, you'll find a lot of the same advice King gives.