Have you ever ever cleaned home earlier than the home cleaner arrived? Carried out your hair up properly earlier than going to the hairdresser? Run your automotive via the automotive wash earlier than sending it for detailing?

Once we rent somebody to maintain one thing we predict we must have taken care of ourselves, or who we predict may cross judgment on us based mostly on the dilapidated state of our residence, hair, automotive, or no matter, we are likely to make that last-minute push to make issues look higher.

Properly, in relation to getting ready a manuscript for the guide designer, you don’t must make it look fairly. Actually, we don’t thoughts that your manuscript doesn’t but appear like a guide; in spite of everything, that’s our job!

There are some issues you are able to do (and never do), nevertheless, to make your intentions clearer and your manuscript simpler to navigate for each the guide designer and editor. Right here’s an inventory of do’s and don’ts—suggestions for the way to put together a manuscript. We’re assuming that you’re utilizing Phrase or Google Docs to sort your manuscript.

Do’s for Getting ready Your Manuscript

• Use descending ranges of font sizes to point the hierarchy of chapter titles, main headings, and subheadings, and make them daring. If applicable, quantity the sections and subsections. This fashion, the logical movement of your manuscript will probably be apparent to your guide designer. Your designer will perceive the way to format the headings appropriately. Your editor will thanks, too.
• Provide the high-resolution picture information individually out of your manuscript file. Remember to talk about the right file format along with your designer. Insert the file identify of every picture in crimson on the right location in your manuscript, making your photos straightforward for the designer to identify.
• Ship your photos to the editor as effectively, who will verify illustrations, tables and different figures for typos and cross-reference terminology to your manuscript to verify for consistency.
• Embody the captions on your photos, for instance, Determine 1-1: My Determine, or Desk 2-3: My Desk. Examine for consistency in labeling.
• Use double line-spacing and not less than a 12-point font. Please: Don’t get fancy with the font! A serif font (i.e., Occasions Roman) is preferable to a sans-serif font comparable to Helvetica, as this will probably be a better font on your editor to learn. Through the design stage, your designer will supply examples of fonts that present optimum readability in print.
• Daring or italicize phrases that you really want the designer to focus on. Be constant but stingy with highlighted phrases; your editor may need one thing to say if you happen to emphasize too many phrases.
• Press Enter as soon as solely on the finish of a paragraph. Point out a brand new paragraph by utilizing the indent operate; don’t use the Tab key to indent the primary line.
• If you need textual content to look in a sidebar or pull quote, sort ***start sidebar*** and ***finish sidebar*** and your designer will maintain it.
• Embody a desk of contents if the chapters have titles. Don’t embody the web page numbers, because the designer will do this after format.

Don’ts for Getting ready Your Manuscript

The overarching theme of the “don’ts” is to keep away from doing any pointless formatting that the guide designer might want to unravel. With that in thoughts:

• Don’t add textual content containers.
• Don’t attempt to create your most popular format; you and your guide designer may have agreed on a web page format and the guide designer will replicate that format for you.
• Don’t import your photos into Phrase, or copy and paste them into the doc. Provide the high-res picture information individually out of your manuscript file.
• Don’t press the Tab key or the area bar to indent the primary line of a paragraph. Use the paragraph indentation operate. (In Phrase, that’s within the Indents and Spacing tab of the Paragraph operate.)
• Don’t create tables or columns by urgent the Tab key or the area bar to maneuver phrases over and align them. Discuss to your guide designer beforehand about how they want your desk information provided to them.
• Don’t press the area bar twice after the interval that ends a sentence. It is a holdover from typewriters and is now not crucial. The additional areas simply should be deleted.

As a rule of thumb, ask your guide designer and/or editor if you happen to aren’t positive. Examine with them beforehand to see if they’ve any of their very own do’s and don’ts for getting ready your manuscript.

If you find yourself prepared to debate the subsequent steps on your guide, contact us. 1106 Design gives cowl design, guide design and format, and enhancing companies for indie authors, along with eBook formatting, audiobook manufacturing, writer advertising teaching, writer web site design, and extra! No matter your publishing wants, now we have you lined.