Preparing Your Manuscript for the Book
Designer
©
2007 by Janice Phelps Williams All
rights reserved.
Return to http://www.JanicePhelps.com
for book design, illustration, and editing
How manuscript files should be set up to submit to the
designer and ensure the most accurate design:
All
type should be in Times New Roman, 12 pt.
Returns
(a.k.a. “paragraph marks”) should only be used at the end of paragraphs (not at
the end of lines). Let the computer flow the text naturally. If you are cutting
and pasting information from the Internet, ensure that there are not forced
returns at the end of each line. You can go in Word under “tools” >
“Options” > “View” > “Formatting Marks” and click on “All.” In this way
you will be able to clearly see if returns have been inserted at the end of lines,
rather than simply at the end of paragraphs.
Insert
one tab at the start of each paragraph to indent. Or (but not both), use the
paragraph feature in Word to indent the first line of each paragraph .25 or
24 pixels.
Do
not put TWO returns at the end of each paragraph. Put only one.
If
there is a section break, indicate with 3 asterisks placed in the center of the
page.
If
there is text that needs to be indented, use Tools > paragraph > and
indent right and left .5.
If
there are a lot of footnotes, it’s best to number them by chapter and call them
endnotes. Endnotes can be at the end of each chapter or at the end of the book,
listed by chapter.
Be
sure all footnotes are in Arabic numbers, not Roman numerals.
Graphic
images that appear in your Word doc do not go along with the text when the
document is imported into QuarkXpress. Therefore, you must tag where these graphics
go. Graphics must be numbered as follows: 001-subject.jpg and placement is
shown as follows, i.e., [insert 001-bridge.jpg]. BRACKETS are used to indicate
special notes to the designer. The designer can search for brackets to know
where things need to be placed.
Do
no type in ALL CAPS UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR BOOK’S TEXT TO BE IN ALL CAPS.
Typically,
editors indicate italics by underlining text. If you have text that is
underlined, it will likely be italicized by the designer. If what you want to
be in italics is currently in italics, this should be fine. Query the designer
if you have any concerns.
Number
your Word documents by chapter, see below. Or, keep it all as one doc.
00-Frontmatter.doc
01.doc
02.doc
03.doc
Designers
cannot be expected to know the order of your chapters by their name.
On
your Table of Contents, do not put page numbers.
Don’t
forget the copyright page, dedication page, acknowledgments.
The
“About the Author” should come after the text of the book.
The
designer should be given the style sheet from the editor for the book. Style
sheets will indicate the level of headings to be in the book, for instance: H
means headings.
H1:
all caps
H2:
upper and lowercase, bold
H3:
upper and lowercase, bold, italics
H4:
italics
Indicate
long dashes (aka “em dashes”) with two hyphens -- or the em dash — . Do not indicate a long
dash with one hyphen. If you do, they will all have to be corrected, one at a
time.
BULLETS
AND NUMBERING
Before
a bulleted or numbered list, type in as follows: [begin bulleted list] or
[begin numbered list]
After
a bulleted or numbered list, type in: [end bulleted list] or [end numbered
list]
By
preparing your manuscript correctly, as is standard in publishing, you will
ensure a better result in the finished book.
I
hope you will consider my book design services!
All
the best,
Janice
Phelps Williams