Barnes &
Noble.com Bookstore Submitting your Manuscript in WORD
Please read all of this important information:
Bill Gates wants you to believe that you can publish your book using Microsoft WORD. He's right, of course. You can. But why would you want to? WORD is designed as a word-processing programme. I wouldn't dream of writing a book or long article using any other type of programme because of the built-in spelling utility and other tools that make correspondence, documents, and manuscripts a whiz on WORD. But when it comes to designing a book for printing, WORD just doesn't cut it.
Printing today is done by computer. Instead of making heavy metal plates based on photographs of the pages we send them, book printers transfer the digital files into the printing equipment and output proof pages and the final book. Today much of our printing is sent to the printer as an Adobe PDF (or Portable Document Format) file that greatly simplifies the transfer of the completed book.
Microsoft has come up with routines that make it possible to save a WORD document as a PDF file so your printer can accept your book in WORD and print it just as you provided it. However, printers tell me there are still numerous problems working with a non-native word-processing programme in the production of books, and some book printers will not accept a PDF file with origins in WORD. Especially problematic is the new Word 2007 file extension, [.docx] which uses font imbedding and encryption.
All of this is a long way of saying that at we are obliged to use a software programme that was developed from the beginning as a publishing program. FrameMaker, Quark and PageMaker are publishing software programmes that produce files compatible with the postscript language of the printing industry. The main advantage of a publishing software programme rather than a WORD processing programme to produce your book is the ability of dedicated software to meet your typesetting needs.
For this reason we request, ask, plead, urge, implore, beg, beseech, entreat, exhort, encourage and strongly persuade you that the text for your book, if sent in WORD should not be formatted into columns, or laid out like a book
(nor use extensions such as .docx). This only creates headaches for our typesetter when s/he transfers it to the publishing programme. Let me illustrate it this way. Submitting a formatted text in WORD is like sending us a photo of what you want your book to look like. This is great for giving us your ideas. We can use your text but to make a book to industry standards we have to laboriously 'touch-up the photo'. We welcome your ideas, but really need the text (also) in an un-formatted state - i.e. plain text. This is like sending us a piece of potter's clay and your personalised pattern, which we can then put in the skilled hands of our crafts-persons to work at creating a professional product, using your raw materials.What about if I use MS Publisher?
Once again this is a great programme for home or office use, but is not Industry Standard, and text needs to laboriously transferred into the Industry Standard Publishing Programme. The same apples to PressWriter, MasterPublisher, Corel products, etc.
What about the fancy fonts I have on my computer?
The Industry Standard recommends no more than 3 fonts per book. Fonts should be easily readable to the first-time reader. You know what the text is supposed to say. It could be printed using pictures of clothes pegs and you would still know what it is supposed to say. But what about the first-time reader - can s/he understand what you have written? What you have written is important enough for us to make it easy for your reader to read it. It is of no value (except maybe as a picture) if it cannot be easily read. Remember too, that readers from a non-English-speaking background usually have difficulty reading highly decorative fonts. There are also industry standards regarding the use and mix of capital and lowercase letters, special captioning fonts and the use of bold, italics, strike-through and underlining.
Furthermore, most computer fonts have copyright restrictions. Some cannot be used for commercial purposes, such as in a book or magazine without approval. If you have a font that you really want to use, contact us and we will see if we can use it without breaching copyright or perhaps we may be able to purchase the copyrighting.
What about the cover I have designed?
We value your input. However, our book-covers are all designed using Industry Standard publishing and design programmes compatible with the postscript language of the printing industry. For this reason, any designs you submit (and we welcome them) may be re-designed using this special software. We also use a special colour-matching (Pantone) system compatible with the inks that printers use, not with what looks good on a computer screen. We also need to be aware of colour saturation that can occur when using certain types of paper and cover-card. Fonts also need to be readable when printed using printer's inks and this is often quite different to the way it looks on a computer screen. We will happily accept your suggestions in PDF or WORD formats but please be aware that your cover may be re-designed to the Industry Standard. Industry standard book cover design is important because most readers, book-sellers and reviewers may only glance at a book for a few seconds before they make their choice. We try to maximise the possibility that it's your book they're choosing.
I have some illustrations I wish to use. Can I include these?
In order for us to use commercial clipart in our publications, we must personally own a copy of the original clipart package. We have a large selection of commercial clipart in stock, but as much of this is in general circulation, it is best reserved for promotional material and magazines use only. Your book deserves a distinctive touch. For this reason we contract artists to create original artwork. Photographs can be included under certain circumstances bearing in mind copyright, printing technique, type of paper to be used and whether the photo aggravates (makes worse) or ameliorates (makes better) the final product.
See also the
Q&A page on submitting photographs and illustrations.Finally,
We want your ideas along with your manuscript. We also want for you a professional product representative of all the hard work you have put into your submission. If we accept your manuscript for publication the finished product is a combination of your skills as a writer and our almost 40 years of publishing experience. It is our aim to provide as the end result, a book proudly sharing your words, bearing your name and wearing your personality.
© Lionel Hartley, Principal, L&R Hartley, Publishers
For your information…
Here are some of the marks of careful typesetting:
1. Selection of a font (set of letters with a given "family" look or style) that is easy to read, not too cute, clever or fancy.
2. Use of the same font throughout the book (no more than three is the rule of thumb)
3. No orphans or widows (a single indented line at the top or bottom of the page)
4. No paragraphs ending with a very short word on the last line.
5. Paragraphs marked by indenting or spacing between paragraphs--but not both.
6. No "rivers of white" running down the text from spaced-out words.
7. No more than two consecutive lines ending with a hyphen.
8. Generous and consistent margins and vertical spacing.
9. Even numbered pages on left, odd numbered pages on right.
10. Commencement book chapter placement.
11. Simplified processes in indexing and content tables.
12. Measurements in point size, ems, picas, mm or inches as determined by the chosen book format and certain printing requirements.
13. Simplified processes in changing page sequencing for saddle-stitching.
14. Running "headers" and "footers" with appropriate chapter titles and accurate page numbers.
15. Proper ruled lines (in point-sizes or hairlines) rather than a continuum of under-score lines or dashes
16. Uniformity in text size, lay-out, chapters, sections, etc..
Additionally, the typesetter will probably suggest unusual treatment of the first letter (e.g. drop capital, base-line-shift, or raised capital) or the first few words of each paragraph (e.g. small capitals), interesting chapter headings, and other touches (e.g. white-space) that may be subtle, but will add to the readability, saleability and interest of your book.