Deadlines
Your deadline is nearly always flexible and controlled by you—but you do need to let us know if you need more time. In all but the most unusual circumstances, we will extend your deadline. Don’t worry about missing a deadline by just a few days. If you have almost everything ready, but are waiting on a few final things, do not send your manuscript yet. Wait until you can send an absolutely complete manuscript. We can’t begin any work here until all pieces are in place.
The Manuscript Package
Manuscripts (and their accompanying delivery elements) should be uploaded to our FTP site. We’ll need the following:
- (1) ) the final and complete electronic copy (all sections and parts)—all pages double-spaced, numbered continuously;
- (2) digital image files of all illustrations, numbered in sequence and sent along with a matching caption/credit list (if you have any original illustrations we need to scan at our end, discuss this with your editor prior to delivery);
- (3) electronic copies of all necessary permissions, named in accordance to their relevance to the manuscript. You must retain hard copies and originals of all permissions and releases for your own records;
- (4) the checklist for manuscript delivery;
- (5) a cover letter with comments on anything we may need to know, plus your full thoughts about a title and any cover suggestions you might have.
There is ordinarily no need to follow up on the manuscript delivery. Please allow two to three weeks for an editor to check in your manuscript. We will write you as soon as we have completed the initial inspection.
Electronic Files
We work on both Macs and PCs, so files from either are acceptable. Save your file(s) in word processing software (MS Word is the most popular), not a layout program such as Quark or InDesign, or in a non-text format such as PDF. If you are using Microsoft Works, please save your file(s) in rich text format (rtf).
Please use Times New Roman, 11 or 12 points, throughout the manuscript. If you did not originally create the manuscript using this font and utilize any foreign characters or diacritical marks, please carefully review your manuscript to ensure these characters appear correctly.
Authors must not imbed images in files (consult our guidelines for photos).
