Writing Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for the craft of professional writing, including fiction, non-fiction, technical, scholarly, and commercial writing. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
The sentence is:
“Where do you want these?” Jon’s publisher asked, bobbling a box with the word books scrawled across the side.
What do I do with the word, "books"?
Do I quote it (as above)?
Should I italicize it?
Is there a rule here or is it predominantly an issue of style and/or author preference?
What do you think?
I think it's author preference. Either of these would be okay:
“Where do you want these?” Jon’s publisher asked, bobbling a box with the word “books” scrawled across the side.
“Where do you want these?” Jon’s publisher asked, bobbling a box with the word books scrawled across the side.
I would use the italics, but it's purely a preference, not a rule.
I agree with @Lauren Ipsum that it is a matter of preference/style, but I disagree with her preference. I prefer the quotes:
“Where do you want these?” Jon’s publisher asked, bobbling a box with the word “books” scrawled across the side.
I feel that it is comparable to quoting what the box has said:
The senator said, “guilty.”
The box said, “books.”
