While your manuscript is out for peer review, we encourage you to prepare for upcoming requirements and lay the groundwork for a smooth publication process.
Documentation
- Review the Documentation section in the Manuscript Requirements
- Confirm your documentation style with your editor and consult the stylebook
- Confirm that you have followed one style consistently throughout your manuscript, notes, and bibliography or refrences
Illustrations & Alternative Text (Alt-Text)
If your book is approved for publication by the editorial board, you will need to submit high-resolution files of the illustrations with your final manuscript for launch to editorial, design, and production. Illustrations reproduced in a book can never look better than the original, so it is essential that the material you provide be of the best possible quality.
All of the illustrations will also require alt-text, which is used by e-readers to describe visual content of an image for readers who may not be able to see the image.
What you can do now:
- If your project is under contract, check the number of illustrations you can include
- Prepare a list of illustrations you would like to include
- Begin to gather illustrations. At this stage, do not purchase illustrations or pay reproduction fees, as the materials included in your project may change
- Read the Illustration Requirements to determine whether your illustrations meet the required specifications. If you have questions, you may submit sample illustrations to your acquisitions editor and/or their assistant for evaluation.
- You can also read about alt-text in the Illustration Requirements and best practices for writing effective alt-text.
- Draft captions and alt-text for all the illustrations you plan to include in your manuscript.
Permissions
As outlined in your contract, you are legally responsible for obtaining permissions for copyrighted materials, paying permissions fees, and providing copies of the book to rights holders. While the Press cannot offer legal advice, our Permission Guidelines contains advice and suggestions. There is no need to secure permission or pay permission fees at this stage, as the materials included in your project may change.
However, you can do the following tasks now:
- Review the Permission Guidelines, Rights Log, and Permission Request Templates
- Create a list of materials you plan to include that may require permission
- Carefully consider whether each item is integral to the book
- Investigate whom you should contact to acquire reproduction rights
- Discuss any questions or concerns with your acquiring editor
- Consult an attorney, preferrably one with a background in copyright law, with any legal questions
After your project has been peer reviewed and approved by our editorial board, your acquiring editor will ask you to obtain necessary permissions.
Funding
As outlined in the publishing agreement, you are responsible for the cost of permission fees, proofreading, and indexing. Publishing a book incurs many other costs, and while the Press does not require a subvention, we encourage you to look for funding to offset these costs.
What you can do now:
- Investigate whether your institution has publication funding available
- Consult colleagues about available funding from outside institutions
- Gather information about the application process and schedules for funding and grants
Promoting Your Book
While promoting your book may seem far in the future, we encourage you to read our information on how to Promote Your Book. This document may give you ideas for ways you can build a foundation for promoting your book.
