Q. I’m copyediting a book that’s using endnotes with no bibliography. For multiple
authors, should I use the rule in CMOS and list up to ten authors in the first endnote? What if each chapter in the book I’m copyediting is
written by a different author, and these authors differ in the number of authors they list in the endnotes? Does the copyeditor
then have a role in imposing consistency?
A. In note citations of works with four or more authors, Chicago recommends naming only one author and adding et al. to stand for the rest, but that’s assuming there’s a bibliography. If there isn’t
one, it’s up to the writer how many names to include. In a multiauthor work, the copyeditor should decide
(or ask) at the start whether chapters need to be consistent only within themselves or across the entire book.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. If a number of references are given in the same endnote, should they be given in any particular order (e.g., alphabetically)?
A. References are usually given in the order that they apply to the text or in order of importance. If neither is relevant,
then alphabetical (or chronological) order is fine.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]