Publish with MDP

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After your book has been accepted, please adhere to the following procedures:

Checking Your Manuscript

Before submitting your book, please carefully proofread for spelling errors. Headings must consistently be capitalized, references must be formatted consistently from chapter to chapter, and treatment of like elements must be consistent throughout your book.

Any lengthy additions should be incorporated into the book prior to submission. Please also submit an electronic copy through the internet or on an Windows or Macintosh-compatible disk. An exact hard copy must accompany online versions.

Illustrations & Photographs

All illustrations, photographs, and so on, should be submitted in Photoshop format, or at least as a jpg, tiff, or ai format. Please don’t embed your graphics in the word-processing program. If electronic submission is impossible, please provide all illustrations in duplicate in a form suitable for reproduction, preferably of such a size that the same degree of reduction (for example, seventy-five percent of the original size) can be applied to all of them. Illustrations should not exceed 8- 1/2 x 11 inches.

Illustrations reprinted from other publications must be credited. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain permission to reprint such illustrations.

Identification, Names, & Addresses

Include your (and your coauthor’s) full name(s) (for publication) and the complete address of the author to whom proofs and correspondence are to be sent.

Organizing Your Book

Front Matter

Abstract – Include a concise one-paragraph abstract of no more than 500 words describing the general thesis and conclusion of the book.

Title Page – The title page should include the suggested title of the book and the names of the authors or editors. (In the case of collected works, only the names of the editors usually appear.)

Dedication – If the book is to include a dedication, it should appear after the copyright page. You might want to include a quotation at the beginning of the book. It should appear here. If the epigraph is lengthy or if the possibility of copyright violation exists, you must obtain permission to use the quotation.

Table of Contents—Also known as the Contents page, this page lists all the major divisions of the book including parts, if used, and chapters. Depending on the length of the book, a greater level of detail may be provided to help the reader navigate the book. History records that the Table of Contents was invented by Quintus Valerius Soranus before 82 bce.

List of Figures—In books with numerous figures (or illustrations) it can be helpful to include a list of all figures, their titles and the page numbers on which they occur.

List of Tables—Similar to the List of Figures above, a list of tables occurring in the book may be helpful for readers.

Foreword (be sure you spell this word correctly) – A foreword, usually written by a person other than the author, is a short (usually no more than four book pages in length) statement about the book or the field.

Preface – The preface, written by the author or editor, contains the research methods, the reasons for undertaking the work, and permissions granted for the use of copyrighted materials. Also included should be thanks to colleagues, associates, and others who assisted in creating the book as well as persons and institutions who provided financial support.

Acknowledgments—The author expresses their gratitude for help in the creation of the book.

Introduction – A substantive introduction that includes information about the field and, in the case of collective works, about the papers included can also be included. An introduction should portray the broad significance of the book.

 Prologue—In a work of fiction, the Prologue sets the scene for the story and is told in the voice of a character from the book, not the author’s voice.

Second Half Title—If the frontmatter is particularly extensive, a second half title identical to the first, can be added before the beginning of the text. The page following is usually blank but may contain an illustration or an epigraph. When the book design calls for double-page chapter opening spreads, the second half title can be used to force the chapter opening to a left-hand page.

Body

This is the main portion or body of the book.

Part Opening page—Both fiction and nonfiction books are often divided into parts when there is a large conceptual, historical or structural logic that suggests these divisions, and the belief that reader will benefit from a meta-organization.

Chapter Opening page—Most fiction and almost all nonfiction books are divided into chapters for the sake of organizing the material to be covered. Chapter Opening pages and Part Opening pages may be a single right-hand page, or in some cases a spread consisting of a left- and right-hand page, (or a verso and a recto). Statistically, if a spread opening is used, half the chapters (or parts) will generate a blank right hand page, and the author or publisher will have to work with the book designer to decide how to resolve these right-hand page blanks.

Epilogue—An ending piece, either in the voice of the author or as a continuation of the main narrative, meant to bring closure of some kind to the work.

Afterword—May be written by the author or another, and might deal with the origin of the book or seek to situate the work in some wider context.

Conclusion—A brief summary of the salient arguments of the main work that attempts to give a sense of completeness to the work.

Backmatter

At the end of the book various citations, notes and ancillary material are gathered together into the backmatter.

Postscript—From the latin post scriptum, “after the writing” meaning anything added as an addition or afterthought to the main body of the work.

Appendix or Addendum—A supplement of some kind to the main work. An Appendix might include source documents cited in the text, material that arose too late to be included in the main body of the work, or any of a number of other insertions.

Chronology—In some works, particularly histories, a chronological list of events may be helpful for the reader. It may appear as an appendix, but can also appear in the frontmatter if the author considers it critical to the reader’s understanding of the work.

Notes—Endnotes come after any appendices, and before the bibliography or list of references. The notes are typically divided by chapter to make them easier to locate.

Glossary—An alphabetical list of terms and their definitions, usually restricted to some specific area.

Bibliography—A systematic list of books or other works such as articles in periodicals, usually used as a list of works that have been cited in the main body of the work, although not necessarily limited to those works.

List of Contributors—A work by many authors may demand a list of contributors, which should appear immediately before the index, although it is sometimes moved to the front matter. Contributor’s names should be listed alphabetically by last name, but appear in the form “First Name Last Name.” Information about each contributor may include brief biographical notes, academic affiliations, or previous publications.

Index—An alphabetical listing of people, places, events, concepts, and works cited along with page numbers indicating where they can be found within the main body of the work.

Errata—A notice from the publisher of an error in the book, usually caused in the production process.

Colophon—A brief notice at the end of a book usually describing the text typography, identifying the typeface by name along with a brief history. It may also credit the book’s designer and other persons or companies involved in its physical production.

The Publication Process

In the desire to reach a broad readership and ensure high standards of accuracy, quality, and consistency, books that have been accepted for publication by MDP are carefully read for vague or ambiguous statements, inner contradictions, faulty sentences, style, capitalization, organization, correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, textual clarity, appropriate use of figures and tables, correct use of abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols and other lapses that sometimes creep into the best of manuscripts. Depending on how carefully the manuscript has been prepared, the editor can spend from three to five weeks or even longer on one manuscript. It is here that the author’s care in the preparation of the manuscript will contribute materially to speeding this work and keeping costs down.

Once submitted, most manuscripts will be copyedited or proofread and sent to the author and the editor (where applicable) for review. Most manuscripts include a number of queries from the copyeditor regarding items that are unclear or incomplete or need further attention. These queries must be answered and the original copyedited manuscript returned before the book can be turned over to production. It is important that the author answer all queries and that unapproved changes be challenged now. By doing so, later alteration expenses (that might be charged to the author) can be avoided.

After all copyediting questions have been resolved, the manuscript is turned over to the typesetter for preparation of galley or page proofs. Rewriting and making extensive changes other than correcting typesetting errors will incur significant cost. These costs are passed on to the author. In addition, such corrections cause a delay in publication.