Q. In a book manuscript, the levels of the subheads look a little confusing. For instance, in chapter 1, all the subheads appear to be H1, and then under an H1, there is a run-in head, which would be H3, but there’s no intervening H2. In chapter 2, there’s an H1 (bold, roman type), then what appears to be an H2 (italic type), and then two stacked heads (H2 and H3? but the H3 is not run in). Should I just query and then fix the coding at cleanup?
A. Yes. Remember too that it sometimes makes sense to skip a level, if the author wants similar content to reflect the same level of importance or organization in all the chapters. In your cover letter, ask the writer to confirm that her heads reflect the hierarchy she intended and that you have coded them correctly.