Introduction

Your book will follow one of 4 production workflows

• XML workflow
• LaTeX workflows
• Direct workflow
• Conventional workflow

The majority of books follow the XML workflow.

Whichever route we take in producing your book, your manuscript is the key component. The better your manuscript is prepared, the fewer errors, misunderstanding and delays will occur during production.

The length of time taken to produce your book will vary between workflows and according to the extent of the book, however, it can take 7 to 10 months from receipt of manuscript to printed book.

The workflows are explained below. Note that approximate times are given for each stage but these may differ substantially for very long or complex books.

Communicating with your Production editor

Via email

Please ensure you put the surname of the book author and shortened title prominently in the Subject line - remember that each Production editor at CUP handles many dozens of books (often with anything from 20 to 80 individual chapter authors) so if the book concerned is prominently identified, it avoids emails being overlooked.

Attachments - Please try to name your files in a way that identifies the book author/s and title. Please do not use generic names such as 'index.doc', 'preface.doc'etc.

Via post

Please ensure you put the author names and title of the book prominently on any correspondence. This is particularly important if individual chapter authors send in correspondence to CUP staff. If material is sent in which does not identify the book involved, it is quite possible that they may never be identified.

The XML Workflow

• Technical evaluation and XML
• Transmittal meeting
• Copy editing
• Indexing
• Typesetting
• Design
• Page proofs
• Proofreading
• The cover and/or jacket
• Final stages
• Advance copies, publication and publicity

Technical evaluation and XML

When you submit your final manuscript (with files) and it has been approved by your Press editor, your book enters a technical evaluation stage.

Your manuscript is assessed by the Copy Editorial Controller who identifies any stylistic or copy-editorial quality issues.

At the same time your files are sent to the typesetter to be encoded in XML and your figure files are tested to identify any problems.

When the technical evaluation is complete, you may be contacted to discuss any issues which have arisen.

We allow approximately 4 weeks for this stage to be completed.

What is XML?

XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language and is a simple, very flexible text format. At Cambridge University Press we capture the entire content of your manuscript in XML. The fully XML-coded master files enable us to repurpose the material for whatever publishing needs Cambridge and you may have for the content in the future. This could be just the book, or web material, e-books and smartpdfs (which are a sort of simple e-book) for display on the web, CDs, new editions or marketing material.

When your files are sent to our typesetters for XML capture, all the elements of the files (eg paragraphs, levels of headings and lists) are coded and links are added, eg reference citations are linked to the reference list; equations/tables/boxes/figure citations are linked to the appropriate equation/table/box/figure, etc.

The typesetters produce an XML typescript which is sent to you and your copy editor. The typescript is formatted into a plain, consistent layout - each page has wide margins and each line is numbered to make it easier for you and the copy editor to communicate during the copy editing. The XML codes are not visible in the typescript.

See figure 1a and b

Fig 1a Original manuscript page

Fig 1b Equivalent XML typescript page

Please note that this format is NOT the way your book will appear when printed, it is just a convenient and easy way for you and the copy editor to work on your text during the copy editing stage.

Transmittal meeting

When any issues which have arisen from the technical evaluation have been resolved, your book will be submitted to our transmittal meeting. This is where the strategy for your book is discussed and publication schedule planned. Your book formally passes into the production phase and a Production Editor is assigned.

The Production Editor will contact you and any co-authors to introduce him/herself and let you know what date to expect the XML typescript and the date that we require copy editing to finish.

Deadlines

It is vital that you meet the deadlines which you are given so that we can achieve the publication date agreed at the transmittal meeting. Failure to meet our planned publication date will jeopardise marketing plans, critical selling dates or conferences.

Please ensure you keep your Production Editor and copy editor informed of any changes to your contact details throughout production.

The stages which your book passes through in production are designed to maximise quality control of your book. We try to be flexible and accommodate some corrections/changes, however, as your book progresses through production it can become increasingly difficult to accept corrections which jeopardise publication dates or incur costs.

Copy editing

You (any co-authors) and your copy editor will each be sent a copy of the XML typescript. It is important to note that at this stage no corrections or changes have been made to your content: we assume that you have thoroughly proofed your manuscript before it was submitted to us, so there is no need for you to proofread the XML typescript. However, we advise that you carefully check equations or any unusual fonts (eg Greek, Arabic, etc).

You should also check the XML for completeness - ie if you see that anything is missing in the XML typescript you must tell your copy editor and Production Editor.

After your files have been XML coded, it is not possible for us to accept large additions or rewrites to your text. For this reason, it is very important that the manuscript you submit to CUP is final and complete.

When the copy editor receives the XML typescript he/she will contact you to introduce themselves and you can discuss the most convenient method for you both to communicate - generally by email or telephone.

It may be 2-3 weeks after you receive the XML typescript before the copy editor sends any substantial queries. This is because they require some time to work through the XML and gather together their queries for you.

If you see any errors in the XML typescript, you must tell your copy editor so that he/she can mark the correction required onto their XML typescript. Do not mark anything on your XML typescript as we do not require this back from you unless you are indexing your book, see Indexing.

The level of copy editing will vary from book to book, but in general the copy editor makes minimal changes to effect internal consistency of style and usage, to remove ambiguity or contradiction and to ensure references are complete.

You are expected to respond promptly to all copy editorial queries. Please tell your Production Editor and copy editor if there will be times when you are not contactable.

Contributory books - Only the volume editor/s will receive XML typescripts. The main volume editor is responsible for handling all copy editorial queries arising from the XML typescript and confers with chapter authors at their discretion. The copy editor does not send queries direct to individual chapter authors. (Note that the first-named chapter author will receive a pdf proof of their chapter at page proofs stage, see Page proofs.)

Indexing

If you are indexing your book you will be provided with full instructions and a completion date by your Production Editor. The index is compiled from your copy of the XML typescript. Please note that the indexing must be carried out on the XML typescript; we cannot use any index which you may have compiled while writing your book.

The basic principle of indexing from the XML typescript is very simple. Each index entry is 'anchored' by underlining or highlighting the relevant word on the XML typescript and writing a unique number for the term in the margin.

We recommend that you use the chapter as the first part of the number then add a decimal point followed by sequential numbers for all index terms in each chapter. This avoids having very lengthy numbers to manage as you approach the last chapters in your book.

For example, the term 'pulex irritans' occurs twice in this XML typescript. Both occur in chapter 16 and are given the numbers 16.48 and 16.801.

The XML typescript is marked as in figure 2a

Fig 2a XML index terms in chapter 16

As you create your index typescript in the usual way, you refer, for each entry, to the appropriate unique number you have given it. So in your index typescript you would type:

Pulex irritans 16.48, 16.801

Assigning unique numbers in this way enables the typesetter to build a coding structure which attaches the word to its index entry and produces the correct page number for the entry automatically when the page proofs are created, see fig 2b.

Fig 2b Terms in the index page proof

For a full explanation of XML indexing instructions see XML Indexing Version2 (PDF) and XML tsv Version (PDF) and Guide on indexing (PDF). See also Indexing downloads.

The great advantage of this system is that, since each index entry is anchored to its position in the electronic XML file rather than to its place on the page, this anchor remains constant even if the book or electronic product is repaginated.

When you have compiled the index by this process, you send your index as alphabetical typescript and electronic file, together with your indexed XML typescript to your Production Editor.

Your copy editor will tell you when to return the indexed XML typescript and index file to your Production Editor. Do not return it until they tell you to, otherwise you will have nothing to refer to when you discuss issues with the copy editor.

Your copy editor will edit your index manuscript before it is sent for setting.

The typesetter will create the index and send you the index proofs at the same time as the page proofs.

If a freelance indexer is indexing your book you will have the opportunity to comment on the index when you receive your page proofs.

We allow from 2 to 3 months for the copy editing stage depending on the extent of the manuscript.

Typesetting

Once both copy-editing and indexing are complete, the Production Editor sends the XML typescript and index files to the typesetter to create the page and index proofs.

When the Production Editor has a date confirmed for these you will be sent an email with a full explanation of what you will receive, what you must return to the Production Editor and by what date.

We allow from 4 to 6 weeks for this stage to be completed, depending on whether your book has elements which need to be assessed by a designer before it is sent to the typesetter.

Design

Your Press editor will allocate your book to follow one of our standard or series designs. In exceptional cases we may commission a one-off design for your book but your Press editor will discuss this with you at the outset.

Page proofs

The page proofs show you the results of the copy editor's work and the final layout of your book with all figures incorporated at the correct size and in the final position.

The first-named author (main author) will be sent 2 sets of page proofs and the XML typescript showing the copy-editorial changes. One of the sets of page proofs is to be treated as the master which is to be returned (with the marked XML typescript) to your Production Editor; the other set is a duplicate and you may wish to mark it as a record of your corrections.

Co-authors, if any, are sent one set of page proofs each and must send their comments/corrections to the main author to collate onto the master set which they will return to the Production Editor.

If there are still any errors that have been missed, you have the opportunity to pick them up at this stage but please remember that this is not the time to rewrite large parts of your book or make extensive changes. The press reserves the right to refuse to make corrections, either for reasons of cost or because they would affect the timing of publication.

It is essential that you follow your Production Editor's instructions and return the master proof and the XML typescript by the deadline you are given.

The turnaround time for checking proofs is usually a maximum of 28 days but may be less depending on the individual book schedule.

Contributory volumes

All first-named chapter authors will receive a pdf proof of their chapter to check.

The Production Editor will send them an email telling them how they will receive their proof - we generally send pdf proofs either directly by email or via a web page.

Only one pdf per chapter will be sent. If the first-named chapter author is not proofing their chapter then one of the other chapter authors can be nominated to check it, but you must have made this arrangement with your Press editor right at the start of production.

Contributors will be asked to check their proofs within 7-10 days of receipt and to return any corrections or comments direct to the main volume editor who then incorporates them onto the master set of proofs.

Note that web proofs are only available for a limited time so it is imperative that contributors download their chapter immediately after receiving notification.

Proofreading

On most books we also employ a separate professional proofreader who will check through the page proofs at the same time as you to catch any missed errors. The freelance proofreader performs a cold reading, ie, they read only the typeset pages, searching for typographical and grammatical errors and inconsistencies (they do not read the proofs against manuscript).

When a book contains a large amount of maths setting or is otherwise too technical for a cold reading, the author is the sole proofreader.

The cover and/or jacket

Cover image

You may be asked to provide an image for the cover of your book. This might be a high resolution electronic file you already have or just some suggestion of what you would like to see on the cover. CUP branding and series design governs the look of the cover, so please consult your Press editor before you begin searching. Please also let us know if you feel you do not have a suitable image for the cover.

We welcome your ideas, but please note that the Design department will have the final say on cover design.

Your Press editor will send you a cover visual for comment.

Once your book is fully in production, your Production editor will email you a pdf proof of the front and back cover of your book. You will be asked to check this carefully and let your Production editor know if there are any problems.

If everything is correct, then simply email your approval to your Production editor. If you need to mark corrections, please print out the pdf and send a marked hardcopy back to your Production editor.

Your Production editor will send the pdf to all co-authors, but the main author will be asked to coordinate the comments so that only one response is provided back.

See images for the jacket or cover

Final stages

After you have returned your page proofs, your work on production is largely complete. All checking after this stage is provided by CUP staff.

Your Production Editor forwards the master set of proofs to your copy editor to check the typesetting and anything you have queried (at this stage the copy editor also incorporates the proofreader's comments onto the master).

If the proofreader's work raises any queries that the copy editor cannot resolve, he or she will contact you to discuss these.

The designer will also check the proofs before the Production Editor returns them to the typesetter for correction.

The corrected proofs are called revised proofs and these are checked inhouse by CUP staff. If problems/errors persist we may have several proofs to check but you will not be involved in this. Our turnaround times for these stages are very tight and there is no time or requirement for revises to be sent to you to check.

When we have completed all final checks on your proofs your Production Editor orders the printing pdfs and your book will go to press. Generally it takes from 2 to 3 months from the time that we receive your page proofs from you to ordering the printing pdfs.

Advance copies, publication and publicity

Stock will come into our warehouse approximately 5 weeks after your book is sent to press. Copies will then be distributed to relevant areas of the world in batches. Your Press editor will send you your advance copies at this time.

The advertised publication date for your book may be up to 6 weeks after we receive copies from our printer. This allows time for stock to reach our warehouses and then be sent on to accounts who have purchased copies so they have stock in advance of the publication date. We need to allow a few weeks from stock date to publication date also so that we are able to cover any contingencies and unexpected delays and be well organised to promote your book on its publication date.

Your Press editor will have notified you about the price of your book and your Production Editor will keep you informed of the expected stock date. As the time of your book's projected publication date approaches, you will be sent an outline of the marketing plans for your book by your Marketing Controller.