In almost all cases, the “check of edit” or author review of the copyedited manuscript in the production process is not needed and is omitted in order to expedite publication of your book. To avoid costly production delays, a complete and final manuscript must be submitted to your Wiley Acquisitions Editor. No further changes should be made once the manuscript is officially submitted to Wiley.
Note: Edited manuscript for contributed volumes is not returned to chapter authors for check of edit, except in the rarest of circumstances.
A common reason to return a copyedited manuscript to an author for a check is the need to supply missing vital text elements such as illustrations, figure legends, tables, sections or chapters of text, and numerous references.
In some cases a copyedited manuscript will be returned to the author to verify that the manuscript Wiley has edited is final and correct because the electronic files submitted with the printed version of the manuscript do not match. It is vitally important that electronic files exactly match the printed version of the manuscript and that all special characters are printed in that version.
Of equal importance is receipt of a complete illustration manuscript including a printed version of every illustration in the text.
In the unlikely event that it becomes necessary to return your copyedited manuscript for review before typesetting, refer to the following instructions for guidance.
Copyediting
The Copyeditor
Copyediting is the first step in transforming a manuscript into a published book. The copyeditor’s responsibilities are numerous and varied. One responsibility is to ensure the mechanical accuracy of spelling, punctuation, and grammar as well as consistency of writing style.
Copyeditors are selected based on the subject area being edited; however, they are not experts and therefore may inadvertently alter your meaning. It is important that you check the copyeditor’s work carefully. The copyeditor makes marginal queries when your meaning seems unclear, when information seems to be missing, and when there are discrepancies between text citations and the reference list. The copyeditor checks illustrations against legends and text discussion for consistency. The copyeditor normally does not question technical accuracy unless the error is obvious. You have the sole responsibility for accuracy of the content.
The copyeditor also checks that all required permission credit lines have been inserted into the correct location, as required by the copyright holder in the permission release letter. Of course, this task can only be performed if all permission letters are on hand at the time of editing. The copyeditor may query the need for permission of certain elements.
If permission letters are not available at the time of editing, you will need to resolve such queries quickly in order to avoid a delay in publication (see Copyrights and Permissions).
The copyeditor also marks the manuscript for typesetting by adding codes at the occurrence of individual text elements such as headings, quotations, displayed equations, tabular material, etc. The copyeditor will also note the first citation of figures, tables, and footnotes in the manuscript’s margins, in order to aid the typesetter with placement in pages.
Because these markings are important to the typesetting process, all changes during check of edit must be made to the existing copyedited manuscript. Submission of a new manuscript causes production delays and increases production costs because of the need to re-edit new material. Minor changes made to the copyedited manuscript are preferred and have no effect on cost. Later on in the production process, however, alterations become very expensive and can also cause serious delays in publication.
Reviewing the Copyedited Manuscript and Illustrations
When copyediting is complete and an assessment of the edited manuscript by the Wiley Production Editor indicates that a check is necessary because page makeup cannot proceed without it, the copyedited manuscript is returned to the author for review. You will need to answer all marginal text queries and supply missing materials at this time. A style sheet listing the copyeditor’s decisions regarding spelling, word usage, capitalization and so on, is also included for your reference.
Guidelines for Reviewing Copyediting
The following checklist is included as a guideline for checking editing.
- To understand and become familiar with the copyeditor’s markings, refer to the Copyeditor’s Marks found in this document while reviewing the editing.
- Be sure all corrections and changes are exactly as you want them to appear in the text.
- Respond to all the copyeditor’s questions. Mark all changes and inserts directly onto the copyedited manuscript. Print neatly (do not use block capital letters). Use the margins or additional sheets of paper to made additions. Keep in mind that what you are writing will be set into type.
- Use pencil, not ink, to mark corrections. Use a different color than that used to edit the manuscript.
- If updates or additions are extensive, insert a new manuscript page and number that new page as an addendum to the page being updated (e.g., page 24a). Note clearly on the existing page where the new material is to be inserted.
- To delete a word or sentence cross out the material with a single line.
- To change or add a word or phrase, neatly print the new material in upper or lowercase letters above the crossed out text.
- If the copyeditor has made a change you wish to restore to its original version, underscore the original with dots and write “stet,” which means “let it stand” as originally written, in the margin.
- Do not write vertically on the manuscript.
- Do not write on the other side of the manuscript page.
- Check that all illustrations and tables are cited in the text and called out at that citation. Provide missing citations and ensure that all illustrations and tables are in proper order.
- Check all illustrations for labeling and correctness. Submit any missing, revised, or new artwork at this time.
- To avoid delays in the production schedule and publication of your book, return the copyedited manuscript to your Production Editor in the designated timeframe.
In some cases, copyediting is implemented to the electronic files of the text supplied by the author. Instead of reading and marking changes to a printed version of the manuscript, the copyeditor reads and makes changes directly to the electronic files.
If your manuscript’s files have been edited and a check is required before typesetting, specific instructions for checking electronic editing will be supplied by your Production Editor when the files are returned for check.
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