I read the thread about house numbers, but I have a slightly different query. My MC has a cheque for over £200,000 in his pocket. Should I write it in words or figures? And is there a difference between text and dialogue?

Writing it as over two hundred K or around two hundred thousand pounds sounds clunky to me, but over £200,000 leaps off the page. While, quoting the exact amount: £201,076 just looks anal.

And when referred to in dialogue should I say 200K or two hundred K.

Thanks,

- NaomiM

I'm not sure it matters, but would personally write such a large number in figures. If your editor doesn't like it it's simple to change.

When I worked on a technical magazine (a bit different, I know) we'd use words for numbers up to nine, and figures for numbers 10 and over. Seemed a good compromise, because the small numbers are nice in words, but much larger and putting it in words gets unwieldy and harder to read accurately.

Deb

You could also use two hundred grand but I would think that would depend on what words your character would use. Would they say grand?

I wouldn't really sweat over it though if it's not right an editor will surely change it.

Eve.

Thanks, I'll stick with the numbers then

Every publisher will have its own, consistent house style. Similarly about dates and times, and things like capitalisation and spelling where there are alternatives. The copy editor will change your m/s to match 'house rules' - so for now, be consistent because that looks professional, but otherwise I'd say don't worry.

Rosy..

Thanks Rosy. I think I'm going to stick that on my wall:
Be consistant - the editor will just change it all anyway.

I agree with Rosy that consistency is a real virtue. For instance, I don't like the convention of using dashes to denote speech instead of speech marks, but if it's consistent at least it makes sense. If you alternated without a good (consistent ) reason you'd look very unprofessional.

Deb