Manuscript Preparation, Copyediting, and Proofreading

A. The Chicago Manual of Style does not include guidelines for submitting manuscripts of works of fiction. Following a long tradition, the manual provides guidelines for editing and writing and publishing works of nonfiction. Most of our rules on punctuation and capitalization apply to all writing, and we do include recommendations for styling such things as direct and indirect discourse, but the “nuts and bolts” information about publishing and editing is primarily geared toward nonfiction articles and books.

A. The Chicago Manual of Style has general guidelines for manuscript preparation. See chapter 2 of the sixteenth edition, which includes an extensive discussion of this topic.

But you should check with your publisher for any other requirements specific to that press.

A. For most of the twentieth century, typewriters ensured that manuscripts were typically prepared in a fixed-width typeface resembling, for example, Courier New. (A typeface is a collection of all the characters—letters, numbers, etc.—and styles—roman, italic, boldface, etc.—of a given design of type like Courier New or Caslon; such typefaces are, however, often spoken of as fonts.) Lots of people became used to reading such typewritten manuscripts. As word processors and computer-generated printouts began to take over, it became possible to use proportional typefaces like Times New Roman. Today, many word processors can produce type that approaches the quality of published materials, and fonts like Times New Roman have become dominant. But because some people still prefer a typewriter-style font, it’s best to ask your publisher. Whatever you choose, avoid overly stylized fonts, and, if possible, stick to one typeface.

A. In manuscripts prepared in a word-processing program for print publication, it’s best not to break URLs. The line breaks in your manuscript will not match the ones in the printed product. Moreover, such characters as hard (nonbreaking) hyphens and optional line breaks (also called discretionary line breaks) inserted using a program like Microsoft Word will likely not convert properly to other software platforms like page-layout or typesetting programs. Just make sure that your publisher and compositor are aware of the rules for breaking URLs (see paragraph 14.12 in CMOS 16). Whoever composes pages, then, will use discretionary line breaks and nonbreaking hyphens, as necessary, to ensure that URLs break properly at the ends of lines.

A. One special thing about books is that they are, once published, considered to live on eternally. This condition is reflected in the use of the “literary present” tense: for example, Vladimir Nabokov published his novel Pnin in 1953; but in that book he writes about a misunderstood Russian émigré. In that spirit, birth and death dates are almost never added next to authors, editors, or translators on the title pages of books or with bylines to individual essays. (An exception might be made, for example, for a collection of works by authors from an earlier historical period where birth and death dates accompanying each article may help to contextualize the pieces). The Library of Congress may include birth and/or death dates for authors in its cataloging information for a book, which you will want to reproduce faithfully on the copyright page. And in author biographies (on back covers or near the beginning or end of a book) or lists of contributors it may be appropriate to include birth and death dates as part of a biographical profile. Such more or less promotional information is entirely subject to editorial discretion.

A. According to the Abbreviations Dictionary (9th ed., 1995), by Ralph De Sola, Dean Stahl, and Karen Kerchelich, tk (only this lowercase form is listed) means to kum and is “a printer’s expression meaning material is to come.” I remember using the abbreviation in the composing and stripping rooms of a print shop (in the 1980s), and I always liked that it was tk and not tc—as if the initials were some sort of trade secret known only to printers. I’ve since learned, as a manuscript editor who must communicate on various drafts of manuscript or proof to authors, book designers, typesetters, and others, not to use tk. It’s best to be more straightforward and specific. For example, use bullets or boldface zeros (••• or 000) to stand in for page numbers that cannot be determined until a manuscript is paginated as a book (but see paragraph 2.32 in CMOS). For items like missing figures, describe exactly what’s missing. In electronic environments, you have recourse to comment features—like the <!--comment--> syntax of XML and HTML, which allows for descriptive instructions that will not interfere with the final version of a document. Make sure that whatever you do stops the project in its tracks at some point before publication.

A. Samples of Chicago-style citations are just a couple of clicks away at our Citation Quick Guide.

A. Sometimes authors don’t really want their work to be edited. At this point you might write her a note about “loose ends,” or “things that still bother me,” saying that you wonder whether you didn’t explain your editing clearly enough the first time and that you’d like to try again. If the author still won’t make changes, then at least you’ve done your job. (Save the evidence!) The author’s name goes on the title page, so she’s right to defend her manner of expression. But if her writing is ungrammatical, and you feel that your publication’s reputation is at stake, you might have to be more firm and tell her, “Sorry—we don’t feel that these corrections are negotiable.” (Check the author’s contract first to make sure she is obliged to accept the editing.) Ultimately, you have the last say, since you’re the one in control of the manuscript. But it doesn’t do to alienate your writers. In the worst cases, it’s better to compromise on minor points and focus on the more important ones.

A. I typed “preparing an index Chicago” (without the quotation marks) into Google and found many sites that offer guidelines. Here are a couple, from University of Nebraska Press and Penn State University Press.

And of course CMOS 16, chapter 16, tells you all you need to know and more.

A. CMOS doesn’t offer advice on this subject, so I would advise you to keep the reader in mind and phrase running feet or heads in a way that will be most helpful. Acronyms are fine, as is the elimination of less important words. And the editor should specify rather than leave the chopping to the typesetter.