Q. I am end-noting and fact-checking a book manuscript. I know that after providing a full citation for each quote, I can abbreviate the citation in subsequent endnotes. My question is: does every quote from the same interview need an endnote? There are several quotes in a row, some occupying only a couple of lines. It seems giving each an endnote is a bit redundant, not to mention tedious. May I say something like this in the note: “12. This and subsequent citations: Mike Jones (president, ABC company), in discussion with the author, January 1, 2012”?
A. Yes. In fact, if you mention the person’s title and the date in the text, you don’t need an endnote with duplicate information. If you mention everything but the date in the text, your note can contain just the missing information: “12. Interview, January 1, 2012.” The point in creating notes isn’t to follow a rule of frequency or placement but to make sure readers know at all times what the source is.