The Default and Author Stylesheets are where you can note any preferences you have regarding our treatment of your manuscript during the Copyediting and Design stages. You can find them in the Editorial Section of your book’s Production page.
Specify here whether you want the final text to use English or American spelling. Select one of the two options:
- UK Stylesheet
- US Stylesheet
For more detailed specifications, use the Author Stylesheet.
You can add specific copyediting, style and design requests to your Author Stylesheet, such as:
- the type of quotation marks you need
- notes on how certain words need to be spelt. For example, you may be concerned that the copyeditor will change "systemic" to "systematic" because the latter is more familiar
- heading size – specify in pts
- phrases you have chosen that you don’t want edited out
- specific design features, for example, making sure all new chapters start on a right-hand page, or half-way down the page, or particular type faces, or heading designs
- if you feel your manuscript is perfect, and you've already had it copyedited elsewhere, you can mention this and specify that you only want obvious typos fixed. Our copyeditor will see it and keep it in mind. This is done at our cost
The most important thing is to be clear and consistent in your specifications. The more specific you can be, the better a job the Copyeditor can probably do. Otherwise, they may make some judgments that you disagree with. It’s a very subjective area. Words and styles change. For some authors today, it’s important to have “Nature” with a capital “N,” for others (and for most style conventions) it’s an error. It doesn’t matter how long your comments are, better to flag these points up before the copyediting starts, rather than having to change them when the copyedited manuscript comes back to you.
If you don't mention anything, the Editor and Designer will treat the book as standard and design it conventionally, and edit it according to our default House Style.
Author Stylesheet from Acts of Kindness from Your Armchair, Ayni Books
- Copyediting is compulsory: It is very difficult for an author to be aware of all possible faults
- Copyediting level: Our copyeditors do not research and check foreign, specialist or ancient words, accents or spellings that are not in common use. If you have to use these, get them right in the beginning, make a reference to them in the style notes.
- Assume that the copyeditor does not know your subject area. We tend to send academic books to academically minded copyeditors, popular ones to more popularly minded, and so on, but they may still not be familiar with your particular specialty. We use editors as far as we can consistently within the different imprints, but those can still range widely. If there are key terms in your manuscript that are important to the case being made (e.g. "panentheism" rather than "pantheism") do make a note of them in the Author Stylesheet, and double-check that copyeditors in their benighted ignorance haven’t changed them to something they are more familiar with.
- Avoid special typefaces and symbols as far as possible. We may have to ask for a payment on these, along with charts, diagrams and tables. If you do need to use them, anything at all out of the ordinary (it might be for Greek lettering, Sanskrit, symbols, or whatever…) make a note of the typeface and source. The designer may need to find it. They probably won’t have it on their computer. If you can’t do that, don’t use them.
- Some points you make will need to be read by the designer as well as the copyeditor. Make this clear, head them: “Notes for the designer.” If there is to be an index, mention that, so that room can be left for it. Cover how you want diagrams, charts and other illustrated material treated. Where, for instance, you want the captions placed.
- Style of previous book: Please do not assume that if you have published with us before, the style conventions you have marked for a previous book will be followed on a new one. The copyeditor will almost certainly be different. Copy the comments that you made in your first Author Stylesheet to the new one.
- Copyright page and last page: Our copyright page is standard. The Copyeditor and Designer will put in the correct details as regards author, publication date, ISBN etc. If you have any other copyright details that you would like to add, please make a note of them. On the last page of the text we put a note about the imprint. If your title is more academic or for some similar reason this wording is not suitable, make a note in the Stylesheet.
Please note: We will endeavour to follow your instructions where appropriate, but sometimes design requests aren't feasible, or may not translate to print as well as you think. Our designers are experts and will have the final say.
Below: sample copyright page.
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