Preparing Your Manuscript for Publication
When submitting your manuscript for peer review, it is not necessary to have formatting elements finalized, though anticipating our requirements may save you time later if we move forward with the project and ask you to prepare the manuscript text, art, and permissions for final submission. In many cases, these details are finalized once the peer review process has concluded and the project has received approval from the UT Press Faculty Advisory Committee. For books under contract, final submissions should adhere to the contractual word count and image specifications. Art submitted with your final manuscript should be limited in scope, should add significant editorial value, and must be reviewed in consultation with your editor.
Text Submission Guidelines
Text
Please make sure you have included the final version of your manuscript in the form of a Word file or files, including, as appropriate, title page, epigraph, dedication, table of contents, list of illustrations and tables, preface, acknowledgments, introduction, all chapters, conclusion, appendices, glossary, notes, bibliography, contributor notes, and captions.
Notes
All notes should be embedded and should run at the end of each section. We rarely include footnotes in our printed books but can accommodate them in some cases.
Bibliography
Consult with your sponsoring editor as to whether a bibliography is essential. If not, notes should include full citations on first usage. If you plan to include a bibliography, it must be included with the final manuscript submission; the word count of the bibliography counts toward your contractual word count.
Formatting
Please make sure that extracts, epigraphs, and all headers are set off from the main text in a consistent fashion. If there are multiple levels of headers, make sure to consistently distinguish between A-, B-, and C-heads (we employ the tags <A>, <B>, <C>). Insert tabs to indicate the start of new paragraphs; do not make use of Word’s first-line indent function.
Illustrations and tables
Charts, tables, and all illustrations must be numbered, separated from the text, and saved as separate files. A callout must be inserted between complete paragraphs in the text to indicate placement of each illustration or table. Please number the illustrations and tables by chapter (Figure 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2; Table 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, etc.) and insert corresponding callouts within curly brackets ({Figure 1.1 here}, {Table 1.1 here}, {Map 1.1 here}, etc.). For heavily illustrated texts, please indicate the relative importance of images with the callouts ({Figure 1.1 here–A, B, or C}, representing a full-, half-, or quarter-page images).
Please avoid using Word styles or the indent first-line function; adding a line space between paragraphs with paragraphs beginning flush left; linking page numbers to the table of contents; or formatting extracts with hard returns and tabs
Art Submission Guidelines
Image File Types:
Photos should be submitted as .tif, .jpg, or .eps files. (See also Resolution and Sizes section.)
For charts and graphs, original Word, PowerPoint, or Illustrator application files are preferred for optimal results.
Please note that any final art intended for publication that is embedded in a Word document is unusable and will be rejected. This often includes photos, charts, and graphs created in other programs and then imported into Word. Please supply the original inserted files as final art (.tif, .jpg, or .eps).
Resolution and Sizes
Grayscale or color .tifs must have a resolution of 300 dpi at print size. Print size is considered 5 x 7 inches for a book with a 6 x 9-inch trim size; larger trim sizes will require images with proportionally larger print sizes.
Black-and-white line art (bitmap) .tifs should be supplied at 1200 dpi for best reproduction; 600 dpi is the minimum acceptable resolution.
Vector graphics (for example, Adobe Illustrator .eps files) that contain text should be sized so that text is not smaller than 8-point type at print size.
Please note that we will adjust files not meeting these specifications and that you will be notified if this process makes any art too small to use
Quality
All art goes through an internal evaluation process. Art that is poor quality for printing will be rejected. If suitable replacement art can’t be obtained, the illustration will not be used. UT Press will adjust files as necessary for best reproduction.
Miscellaneous File Requirements
- Please keep file names under thirty characters, including the file type extension.
- Do not create composites for multipart figures. Separate files provide designers more flexibility. Indicate the files by name (01a, 01b; 02a, 02b; etc.). In some cases, a list of images that should be grouped can be provided as an alternative. Please note that all individual files count toward the contractual image count.
- If art uses fonts, submit the font files with the art. Helvetica is the best universal font choice.
Original (Non-Electronic) Art
If you would like your book to include art that is not currently available in an electronic file format, please provide originals (photographs, slides, transparencies, realia) whenever possible; UT Press will have them scanned. Color originals for books that will print in black and white will be scanned as grayscale files. Please note that amateur photos or snapshots are often unusable; the same is true for muddy, blurry, or damaged originals. Original artwork of a previously printed image (e.g., from books, magazines, newspapers) must be scanned using a “de-screen” function to prevent a visible moiré pattern across the image (though this does not guarantee a usable file).
Art to Print in Color
For projects with color images, we may require a set of match prints (hard copy that displays the colors as they are meant to appear) to be used for color accuracy.
Permissions Submission Guidelines
In addition to submitting your manuscript file(s) and complete art program, you will also need to provide permissions for the art and text in your book. We require documentation to reproduce all copyrighted materials, which includes images, previously published materials, unpublished materials, and quotations from interviews. Copyright can be complex and nuanced, so please consult the Permissions Guidelines for more detailed information on fair use and guidance on common permissions situations.
Author Log
Be prepared to submit an author permission log with the permissions you’ve received to use copyrighted material in your book. The log should include key details from the permissions documentation you’ve received, and it is also where you should note where any use of copyrighted material falls under fair use.
File Naming
Permissions documentation should be clearly labeled when submitted to the press. File names should clearly indicate the name of the rightsholder or entity granting permission. For art, permissions file names should include the illustration number.
Permissions Templates and Forms
Author Log (Microsoft Excel)
Text Permission Form (PDF) | Microsoft Word
Image Permission Form (PDF) | Microsoft Word
Interview Release (PDF) | Microsoft Word
Work Made-for-Hire Agreement (PDF) | Microsoft Word
Guidelines Document (PDF) | Microsoft Word
