Book manuscript and book captions

Book manuscript and book captions.

Book manuscript and book captions … it is important to note that a novel can easily be flowed into a pre-made Word template. Unless it is a more complicated layout, Word will suffice. But
most other books need to be set-up in InDesign. It is the industry standard.

WRITING THE MANUSCRIPT

If writing the manuscript, the easiest thing to do is to start with a free Microsoft Word template specifically set-up for a book manuscript. Open Word on your device, click “New” in the left column. Type “manuscript” in the search line. A Book Manuscript appears that may be downloaded for free.

When writing, there may be a need to place images. Since images should not be embedded in the InDesign file for printing, add only the name of the image in the manuscript, and not the image itself. Captions and credits may be added along with the name of the photo, or they may be set up on a separate file. But there must be some sort of indication as to where the photos and captions are to go.

This is a good time to make a note for the designer about a full page with bleed or any other instruction. It is up to the author to provide photographs or illustrations that are the correct size. The author needs to verify that the dimensions and resolution are correct for the space they will occupy. See the following pages in this chapter for more on dimensions and resolution.

If the author does not supply the image size required or larger, it is standard that the extra time involved for the designer be charged to the author at the designer’s hourly rate. It is an extra charge and falls under Author’s Corrections, also known as Author’s Alternations, (ACs or AAs).
Designers should have this and the hourly rate clearly stated on their quote.

PLACING THE WORD MANUSCRIPT IN INDESIGN

It is assumed that a Basic Paragraph is created in InDesign. Use the “Place” command instead of copying and pasting. This will preserve the format of the text, such as italics. Autoflow the document from page to page. Since this is not a book about InDesign, if you are unsure of how to do this, see Adobe InDesign Help.

DESIGNING CAPTIONS

Captions can be the size of the text, or most often smaller. They may also be in all bold uppercase letters, or in a small-size delicate lowercase font. Be careful not to apply a process color to delicate caption fonts. You might have to change the color on proof. The dot pattern of the rosette may become apparent, especially if they are set in a medium to light color.

Most often, captions are in blacK, made from CMYK. They can also be a tint of black; not less than 50 percent, or another solid spot color. Just remember that if you add a spot ink to a process color job, it adds another ink tray on press and increases the cost of printing.

If using heavy block fonts, this is usually not a problem, but check for this on a physical proof, either digitally output or on a press proof.