Manuscript and Art Check
When your manuscript arrives in production, it is assigned to a production editor. Your production editor will introduce themselves and get to work, confirming that your manuscript is ready for copyediting. They will familiarize themselves with your manuscript and make sure certain components are available, such as:
- All necessary files, including any figure captions, alt text, tables, and illustration files
- All permissions information
- Any footnotes or endnotes
Once the project’s components are accounted for, your production editor will prepare the text by inserting the book’s front matter (e.g., half title page, title page, copyright page). Depending on your book’s production path, your text may be styled in a technical format that can be used during subsequent production stages by the designer and typesetter. If your project has art, the production editor will begin an art check. They will hire an appropriate freelance copyeditor to manage copyediting, and they will discuss the indexing plans with you.
Art Check
The production editor will prepare your book’s art program for the illustration manager, who will perform the formal art check. You may have already submitted a few samples of your art program for a preliminary art review. At this later stage, every figure in your art program will be examined for image quality and how well it will print. The production editor will contact you to confirm that the art program is final and complete. Your production editor will also consult with you about any preferences you may have concerning the general sizing and cropping of your figures.
The illustration manager will complete an evaluation log of your art program, marking each figure as “Pass,” “Fail,” or “Conditional.” Passed figures will print with no problems. Failed figures will need to be replaced or redrawn, depending on the figure type. Conditional figures can be printed with restrictions. For example, a conditional figure may appear visibly less crisp than the rest of the figures in your art program or it may only be used at a small size. The production editor will explain the results of your art check to you and communicate any next steps if needed and any deadlines. Your book’s art check will be complete once all the figures are considered either pass or conditional with mutually agreed upon restrictions.
Books with extremely large art programs, such as art books, natural history books, or textbooks, may undergo a slightly different process where the art check is done at a different stage or by other specialized PUP staff members. Additional steps may be needed to assess an art program’s suitability for printing.
Copyediting
Your production editor will communicate the copyediting schedule to you and introduce you to your copyeditor. The copyeditor will edit your manuscript in accordance with PUP style guidelines, checking for errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and clarity as well as internal consistency. The copyeditor then sends the edited manuscript to you.
When you review the editing, please bear in mind that it will be your last opportunity to make any substantive changes to your text. We ask that you read the entire manuscript carefully and reply to all the copyeditor’s queries. Your responses, and any alterations to the text, will be incorporated directly into the manuscript after you return it to the copyeditor.
Once you have completed your review and returned the manuscript, the copyeditor will “clean up” the text by accepting all Track Changes (for MS Word manuscripts) and making sure all problems are resolved. The copyeditor then returns the manuscript to the production editor. (Author-compositor projects do not include this last step. You will make the copyeditor’s alterations to the text yourself, communicating with the production editor if you encounter any problems or have any questions.)
Page Proof Review
Page proof review gives you a last chance to proofread the text and any illustrations and tables, and to make any small corrections and adjustments necessary before publication. Press policy dictates that changes at this stage be limited to corrections of typos and errors of fact, as even minor alterations are expensive to accomplish. You might incur a fee should your changes exceed your contractually stipulated alterations allowance.
Depending on your book’s schedule, you will have roughly three to four weeks to review the proofs, which are in a PDF format. Your production editor will communicate the deadlines to you.
According to the needs of your book, your production editor will send you resources to assist you with your review of the page proofs.
If a freelance indexer is compiling an index, they will email you an index manuscript to review toward the end of your page proof review. Once everything is returned to the Press, the production editor reviews final proof corrections and copyedits the index manuscript. The compositor makes further adjustments and typesets the index.
Indexing
At the start of the book’s production, your production editor will confirm whether your project will need an index. We encourage you to think about the options for constructing an index early in the production process.
- Will you need PUP to hire a professional indexer on your behalf?
- Do you prefer to hire an indexer yourself?
- Will you be compiling the index?
- Do you need a general index, or will you require a specialized index, such as an index locorum?
The Press maintains a list of highly skilled indexers who have expertise in a range of subjects and index formats. If you would like the production editor to hire an indexer on your behalf, we are more than happy to do so. If you choose this option, it is best to let your production editor know as soon as possible, as indexers book jobs in advance and schedules fill up.
Cost is a consideration. Indexers charge by the page and rates vary. You may want to investigate whether your institution has funding available to cover the fee or whether you will pay the cost yourself.
You may decide that you would like to compile the index yourself. Some questions to ask:
- Have you indexed before?
- Will you have the time to handle this task during page proof review?
The Chicago Manual of Style contains an informative section on the rules of indexing, and your production editor can provide you with in-house resources as well.
Cover Design and Book Description
At the time you were preparing your manuscript for submission, you provided suggestions for the cover design for your book. These suggestions will now be considered by the Creative Media and Marketing & Sales Teams and we will will share with you one or more recommended cover designs for your book.
The capsule description that you provided for your book will also be used by our copywriters to craft marketing copy for your book. This book description will appear on the book jacket, the website, and will be used as the basis for other promotional materials as we work with you to develop a marketing and sales plan for your book.
Printing
Your book is almost at the production finish line! Once final corrections to the page proofs have been made and reviewed, files for the exterior and interior of the book are sent to the assigned printer. The printer, book paper, and other printing materials will have been selected by Press staff earlier in the production process. The printer prepares a (usually digital) proof of both the text and jacket/cover, and this is sent to PUP for a final check. PUP manages this final review in-house, and once it is complete, PUP gives approval for the book to begin printing. Printing and binding the book and then shipping the book from the printer to our warehouses can take months depending on the book’s print plan.
When advance copies of your book are sent to the Press, a copy will be mailed to you. The full print run will be delivered to our warehouses later.
ebook Production
Princeton University Press is committed to making your title accessible to all readers, which includes creating an ebook edition of your work. Creating an ebook makes your content available to readers with physical, visual, and cognitive disabilities.
While the Digital Production Team strives to match the design of the ebook’s print counterpart, your ebook might be slightly restructured to support a reflowable format enabling it to display on a multitude of platforms and devices.
Up Next: Marketing Your Book and How You Can Help
Even while your project is moving from manuscript to book, our Creative Media and Marketing & Sales Team is working hard to develop an integrated marking plan for your book so that it can reach the widest possible audience. Learn more about the kinds of things we will be doing to promote your book and some suggestions about the ways you can help.