Manuscript Formatting Guidelines

All of our publishing packages include having our professional designers typeset your manuscript. When you submit your manuscript to us, you must make sure that it adheres to our formatting guidelines. These guidelines are in place so that our designers can easily work with your material. When you submit your manuscript to us in the correct format, it saves you time and money--you won’t have to go back and forth making changes, clarifying image placement, etc. It’s important that you take the time to read these instructions carefully, and apply them to your manuscript prior to submitting it to MCP.

Format of Manuscript

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically and as part of one file (e.g., all chapters of the book and any front matter must be part of a single file). You may submit your manuscript to us in one of the following formats:

• Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)
• Rich Text Format (.rtf)

Do Not Format Your Text

We will not accept manuscripts that have extensive formatting already applied to the text. (Italicized and bolded words are allowed.) If you have special formatting requests, you’ll need to tag your manuscript accordingly. Any text that requires special treatment (i.e., is not structured as a continuous paragraph with standard formatting) must be tagged. This includes block quotations, centered text (or any other text that isn’t in line with the rest), numbered and/or bulleted lists, etc.

All tags should begin with “FORMATTER” to ensure that, when your manuscript is being typeset, your formatter can easily locate the tags. Please write, in brackets, what type of formatting you require at the top of the relevant text. For example:

[FORMATTER_begin bullet points here]

Step 1 is to do ABC

Step 2 is to do EFG

Then you do HIJ

[FORMATTER_end bullet points here]

[FORMATTER_create text box here]

Inside this text box you see that I am writing stuff and it’s in a text box. Neat.

[FORMATTER_end text box here]

Chapter Headings

Your chapters must be clearly defined and marked (i.e., “Chapter One: The Beginning,” “2,” “Chapter Three,” etc.).

Body Formatting

You must use the tab key to indent all paragraphs. NEVER use the space bar to indent. You must not use a hard return (i.e., hit the return/enter button on your keyboard) to move continuous text to the next line. (Word processing programs will automatically carry continuous text to the subsequent line.)

All periods ending sentences must be followed by one space, not two.

Special Instructions

If you have any special formatting requests, they must be clearly indicated in the final Word document that you upload for layout. You must tag every special request using the format [FORMATTER_special instructionXYZ]. If you would like for a header, or any other text, to appear in a font that is different from the rest of the manuscript, you must indicate so with a formatting tag. Varying fonts must be tagged because, when translating interiors to the design program, fonts do not get transferred over. Thus, it is very important that you clearly indicate your formatting instructions.

Please tag the formatting you require next to the appropriate text (see below for an example).

[FORMATTER_start Arial font]Here is a sentence. Here is another sentence.[FORMATTER_end Arial font]

If you have a list of requests that will apply to the entire manuscript, you may note them in a “Formatter’s Instructions” page at the beginning of the Word document. For example, “Please make all chapter headings in xxx font, at 14pt.”

No Spaces between Paragraphs

Your paragraphs cannot have spaces between them, unless the space is a line break used to indicate a transition in theme, plot, or setting. If you would like a line break in a particular location, please use the tag [FORMATTER_insert line break here]. Spaces between continuous paragraphs are not permitted.

Double Spacing Only

Your manuscript must be double spaced using plain text (Times New Roman 12pt is preferred).

Submission of Interior Images

All image files must be submitted separately, and may not be embedded in your manuscript. They must be submitted separately (you’ll be prompted to submit them through your author account), and the files must be clearly labeled to correspond with tags in your manuscript. Please place tags in your manuscript to indicate where images should be placed, using the following protocol: [FORMATTER_insert “image_file_name”.jpg here].

If you have a caption for a particular image, you’ll need to place a tag for that as well. The tag should immediately follow the image tag, and should be written as follows: [FORMATTER_image caption: Susie and Ronald at the beach, 2007.]. Caption tags should include the text exactly as you’d like it to appear below the associated image.

All images must be submitted to us as either TIF, JPG, or PDF files (JPG or PDF is preferred), and must be at a resolution of 300 dpi or higher.

Images include graphs, pictures, charts, etc. (anything that is not primarily text).

Permissions

Permissions may be required if you are using an image that you did not create, if you are citing work that is not the public domain, etc. It is your responsibility to decide whether or not permissions are required, and to obtain permissions as soon as possible. Mill City Press is not responsible for any delays to the production process caused by outstanding permissions.

Index

If you think that your book requires an index, you must indicate such on the interior layout questionnaire (submitted through your author account) before the layout commences. If you have already created a list of terms to be indexed, it should be supplied when you submit your manuscript to us. The indexing process cannot commence until you have approved your final interior layout, and will be scheduled after said approval. Your interior layout must be final and approved to ensure that your page count is final (so that your index is accurate).

If you requested (per the interior layout questionnaire) that MCP create the index for you, we will request an indexing quote after you approve the final interior. Our indexers price their work per page, and the price is based on the complexity of the manuscript, the word and page count, and the number of items to be indexed. The quote will also include the number of business days that our indexer will require to complete the project. You can indicate that you agree to the quoted amount, and charge your credit card accordingly, through the indexing step in your author account. If you decide not to proceed with the index, you can indicate such through your author account so that you can move on to the next steps.

There is an additional layout fee of $100 for any book that contains an index (in addition to the cost of the indexing). This fee applies whether we create the index for you, or whether you supply your own index.

Footnotes/Endnotes

Footnotes and/or endnotes are permissible, so long as they do not refer to specific page numbers within the book (as page numbers will shift when your book is typeset). Footnotes and endnotes must be included in the manuscript that you submit to us for layout.

Front and Back Matter

Some books contain a foreword, acknowledgements page, introduction, preface, and author biography. All of these elements should be considered part of the manuscript itself and be submitted as such. If you wish to include one or more of these elements, but cannot supply them when the rest of the manuscript is submitted, additional layout fees may be incurred.

If your book has already been formatted and you decide to include one or more of these elements, there will be an additional fee of $50 per hour to repaginate and reformat the layout.

Description of front and back matter terms:

• Foreword: A foreword (not “forward”) is optional, and is typically written by a noted figure who has a credible background relating to your subject matter. The purpose of the foreword is to help position and sell the book. If you wish to include a foreword, please include it when the manuscript is submitted. If the foreword is forthcoming, please let us know, and submit it to us as soon as possible.
• Acknowledgments: Acknowledgments by the author are optional and typically appear in the front matter or back matter of the book. If you are going to have an acknowledgments page, please indicate this to us and include it in your manuscript.
• Introduction and Preface: An introduction and/or preface are often helpful if there isn’t a foreword, or if the subject matter is complex and a preliminary explanation of the book is required.
• Author Biography: A one to two paragraph author biography is optional (but recommended), and is commonly placed in the back matter. A brief author bio can also be included on your back cover, but should be restricted to a few concise, informative sentences. An author photo is optional. If you do decide to include an author photo, make sure that it is professional quality.