Manuscript Preparation
Q. I write and edit a quarterly newsletter. There was no summer issue this year, as I was out with a medical emergency. Our volumes start with the fall issue. Does the numbering of the next issue continue as if nothing happened? Answer »
Q. Is it more common to indent or not indent paragraphs? In my writing, I no longer indent and find it old-fashioned. To me, it seems more common now to not indent a paragraph, regardless of whether it is the second paragraph. Is there a rule or style preference nowadays? Answer »
Q. In a text on philosophy of language, I encountered these two sentences: “From these lofty heights, I’ll now bring the discussion down to earth a bit. To be precise, I’ll place it firmly in the head.” I want to know whether the last sentence has idiomatic meaning or whether I should interpret it literally and translate it word for word. Thanks. Answer »
Q. I am writing a short essay using Chicago style for the first time and I seem to remember that I need to put a heading or title at the beginning of each paragraph or point. Is this right? Would I need to title my intro/thesis and conclusion paragraphs as well? Answer »
Q. I’m preparing the fifth edition of a book. Each edition has had a preface, and all will be included. Should the old prefaces be reproduced verbatim, or should mechanical changes (e.g., a reference to chapter 12 which is now chapter 11) be made? Answer »
Q. I have four different levels of headers. What should be the format (font, bold vs. italic, centered, etc.)? Thanks for your help! Answer »
Q. I have written a book with twelve other authors. One of the authors is also the editor of the book. He has listed himself first as author/editor. I am thinking the authors should be listed first in alphabetical order and then the editor. Is this correct? Answer »
Q. I am proofreading a book that has numbered endnotes for each chapter. The numbered endnotes begin at and include the epigraphs for each chapter. The preface uses arabic numerals for the two epigraph citations. There are two epigraphs for the afterword, and these are referenced in the endnotes with roman numerals (i, ii). Is this correct? Should the references in the preface also be cited with roman numerals? Should references, including epigraphs, in front and back matter be cited with roman numerals or arabic numerals? Answer »
Q. Stacked headings: no-no or no problem? My employer issued new rules for published products that often result in an A-heading immediately followed by a B-heading—that is, no text separating them. Granted, some design-savvy publications may be able to get away with this. But ours are far from design savvy; the headings are large and in the margin, leaving several lines of white space where the first paragraph should be. Can you point to anything to make a case against stacked headings? Answer »
Q. Does the font size of the footnotes need to be reduced in comparison to the main text font size? Answer »
Q. Where should a list of abbreviations be placed in the organization of a book? Before the text? At the back of the book before the index? Answer »
Q. How many underlines ( _ ) should be used to indicate a blank line to be filled in? Answer »
Q. I was wondering what your thoughts were concerning using the words “above” and “below” in the text to refer to different sections (“as mentioned above”). Our editorial director insists we alter any such uses of the words, but I’ve had several authors become quite annoyed when we change them. Thanks! Answer »
Q. In an index with subentries, does every locator have to be assigned to a subentry? Answer »
Q. For a book manuscript, does one indent the beginning of a new paragraph? Answer »
Q. We are editing a scientific book. We have to follow UK spelling. Per the dictionary, sulfur is the US spelling and sulphur is the UK spelling. But in one chapter the author has used sulfur and in another chapter sulphur. Since we are following UK spelling, can we change sulfur to sulphur? Or, per CMOS, since the IUPAC recommended spelling is sulfur irrespective of UK or US spelling, can we change sulphur to sulfur? Answer »
Q. I thought at one point it was considered bad taste to include an author’s title on the front cover of a book (Steve Smith, PhD). But now I am wondering if that is the case. Any input? Is it just an individual decision? Answer »
Q. I use Microsoft Word and it has a “reference” feature that does part of the work of endnotes/footnotes for the author. The reference feature uses a smaller font than regular and doesn’t indent the information in the endnote. Should I use the reference feature, or should I do this manually, keyboarding in the information the same way I do the rest of the manuscript? Answer »
Q. Microsoft Word says that I need to put an apostrophe in the word students in the following sentence. Why? Where is the possessive? “We will be enrolling new students right up to the day school starts.” Answer »
Q. I am editing a festschrift, and the authors have asked to include a dedication to the person whom the festschrift is honoring. However, there is already a preface that discusses the person being honored (as well as a foreword), and I’m wondering if this may be overkill. Answer »
Q. In unpublished scholarly works, which are of course double-spaced according to Chicago style, should block quotations be double-spaced also, or should (or can) they be single-spaced? Answer »
Q. My author’s manuscript has already been stamped with page numbers and she’d like to insert a seven-page comment without renumbering the rest of the pages. She’d like to just number the insertion 116a–116g, or something similar. Do you think this will be acceptable? Answer »
Q. In a document of two or more volumes, where should the index go? At the end of each volume or at the end of the last volume? Answer »
Q. Hello—I’m wondering if you might provide a little guidance with respect to book indexing. A colleague of mine has been asked by the author to do indexing for a coffee-table physics book to be published by a major publisher. As she has never done this before, and graphic arts is actually her field, I’ve advised her to defer to a professional, as indexing is actually quite a complex art form. Do you agree? I’m hoping to provide her with some expert advice that can back up her stance. Answer »
Q. One of our books scheduled for fall 2007 was changed to spring 2008. The author’s preface is dated 2007. Should this be changed to reflect the new publication year? Answer »
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