'E-mail' or 'email'--and the big picture.

In an interview in the August-Sept. issue of Copy Editor, the author of The Gregg Reference Manual, William A. Sabin, laid out his "guiding philosophy for writing about language."

"I strive for a unified perspective on the isolated rules and guidelines. Rather than make ad hoc decisions about individual words or phrases, I try to consider whole categories of related words. To me, that's what style is all about: treating like things the same way....

"For example, I acknowledge in GRM that email as a solid word is gaining acceptance and will probably become the established form--and I do view it as a valid option, but at the moment I'm reluctant to give it precedence as long as all the other e words retain a hyphen. If I make some e words hyphenated and some solid, then I no longer have a coherent style."

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