| The Stuart Rossiter Trust Fund |
| Registered Charity Number 292076 |
| GUIDELINES FOR INTENDING AUTHORS |
It is assumed that authors will have a modern computer with the equivalent of Microsoft Word as their standard software for the text work.
The following are not written in 'tablets of stone’; they are the Trust’s preferred format to preserve some form of house style.
Books are now printed by Bath Press Ltd. at Bath (formerly Bookcraft) who have printed all but two of our books and these guidelines are based on their method of working.
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| Format |
The published book will most probably be A4 size (297 x 210mm) as this is a sensible format for any book containing postal history to avoid the illustrations being reduced to the point of absurdity.
Printed on good quality art paper that will 'take’ ink text and colour illustrations, with stitched sections; with a cover in white gloss-laminated card printed back and front in four colour printing with title etc. in black type. Or hardback with dust jacket which increases the cover price of a book by about £5.00. (which includes post and packing)
The text, including preliminary pages, are stitched in sections of 32, so bear this in mind when the whole text, index etc. is completed. Some juggling is possible on the preliminary pages.
The front cover illustration should be one eye-catching piece of (preferably) postal history allied to the subject of the book. The back cover can either be two pieces of postal history with minimal captions or a colourful map/illustration linking in the text. The back cover illustrations could repeat in colour an illustration in the text which is in black or white, but it is best to use original material for the cover - better value for money.
The front cover’s illustration caption should be on the reverse of the inside title-page (see page 2 for preliminary pages layout and page 6 of this); the back cover captions can either be under the relevant illustration on the back page, or with the front cover’s caption on the reverse of the title-page.
The ISBN is also on the back cover (no need to have it bar-coded as none of our stockists use such sophisticated systems).
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| Margins |
1" all round, i.e. top, bottom and both sides to allow for pagination and left-hand binding. If US size paper is used for the master copy, the printer will still print in UK A4 size as the US equivalent is only slightly shorter and slightly wider.
It is best to programme your computer to type text in justified margins as this is (i.e. right hand edge is uniform). It looks neater and more professional.
One-line spacing is recommended, except for chapter headings and chapter sub-headings where it is recommended to use 1.5 line headings.
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Paragraphing
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Best to programme the computer to indent 3 spaces at the start of every paragraph. A blank line after each paragraph is up to the writer . It can look a bit ‘cramped’ otherwise.
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| Typefont |
The body of the text should be printed on a modern computer in either 11 or 12 point.
The best typefont is Garamond or Times Roman, both of which are serif. Courier is not proportionally spaced and is thus not a good type to use, it is also exceedingly profligate on space; neither is modern open-faced type such as Arial or Univers which, although best for reading text on a computer screen, is hard to read for extended periods when on the printed page.
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| Chapter headings |
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Should be in 11 or 12 point emboldened UPPER CASE. Most computers can now cope with bold, and italic, or bold italic and underline.
However, when using UPPER CASE in the body of the text, suggest reduced down one point size - it does avoid the upper case text being too obtrusive.
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| Captions |
Under illustrations and look best in 10 or 11 point italic in the same typefont as the main text.
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| Pagination |
Preliminary pages and any pages after main body of text (and that includes the Index) should be in Roman numerals: i, ii, iii etc.
Body of the text in Arabic numerals: 1, 2, 3 etc.
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| Page Numbering |
Either top right or middle bottom, whichever you prefer. Unless you are using running headers which must go at the top.
NB: The left-hand facing page is ALWAYS even-numbered: i.e. 2, 4, 6, 8, 14, 82 etc. Therefore the right-hand facing pages are ALWAYS odd numbered: 1, 3, 5, 13, 51 etc.
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| Running headers |
These are the page headings if felt necessary. Some authors prefer them, some don’t. The trust has no fixed thoughts on the matter. But if used, must not appear on chapter start pages.
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| Preliminary pages |
These are most important and are often printed in the wrong sequence. The pages quoted below are taken from Philatelic Literature Compilation Techniques & Reference Sources by James Negus, published by James Bendon, PO Box 6484, Limassol 3307, Cyprus @ £27.50 and worth every penny to authors and editors.
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Left-hand page
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ii blank
v reverse title-page
vi blank
viii Contents continued if necessary
x Foreword continued if necessary
xii Preface & Acknowledgements continued if necessary
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Right-hand page
i Half-title
iii Title-page
v Dedication *
vii Contents **
ix Foreword
xi Preface & Acknowledgements
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* If not appropriate, the SRT pages (4) should be inserted here instead, otherwise the SRT pages go preferably somewhere in the prelim.pages, probably after the Preface, but before Contents.
** This is not the Index, but the Chapter headings with their relevant pagination.
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| Quoting of Dates |
The trust prefers the English style: day/month/year. The US style of month/day/year can be confusing.
However, when quoting a specific datestamp it should always be quoted as it appears struck: i.e. JY 20; not 20 JY if it is struck month/day. If month is in roman numerals, i.e. XII - quote in roman numerals, do not transcribe to Arabic or letters.
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| Quoted passages |
If using more than a couple of lines of quoted material from other works, probably one of the most satisfactory ways of delineating the quote is to indent the left and right margins by about two spaces and start and finish with ".........".
You can, if the quoted text needs highlighting or bringing especially to the reader’s attention, indent both margins and type in italic, but in that case do not use " " at the beginning and end as " " and italic typefont both mean the same thing: a quoted passage.
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| Index |
A good index is an essential to any worth-while book, but it is time-consuming if to be of any use. It is the last task to do before final proof-reading of text and checking of index. Beware in text of saying "on page 000" and forgetting to fill in the page number when the pagination is completed.
The index is probably best in two columns unless numerical references are very long; in which case double-check the references cannot be split into more helpful constitutents: i.e. De La Rue, and instead of just listing every time De La Rue are mentioned in the text, sub-section the references into Essays, Proofs, Printing numbers, Specimen overprints etc.etc. It takes time, but a really good index is a vital tool in the reader’s arsenal.
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| Bibliography |
Usually placed at the end of the text, but before the index. Should be typed thus:
Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. The Stamp Atlas. London: Macdonald, 1986.
[i.e. author’s surname, initials or full christian name. Title in italics. Place of publication: by whom, date of publication.]
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| Footnotes |
A lot of controversy here. Footnotes on the page on which they appear can be intrusive and sometimes, if quite long, take up more space than the text to which they refer. Suggest if they are lengthy to put at the end of each chapter. Or, if many footnotes, they can go at the end of the body of the text, chapter by chapter.
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| Abbreviations |
Writers should be aware that some of their readers will not have the overall knowledge the writer has, therefore it is best to avoid the use of ‘P & O’ for Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company.
However, it is laborious to keep typing the company name in full and suggest the first time you use Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, type (P & O) in brackets after it, then use P & O throughout the rest of the text.
The same with TPO, APO, FPO etc. put Travelling Post Office (TPO) etc., or Travelling Post Office (T.P.O.) with stops after each letter. Whichever way you decide - with or without stops, please be consistent.
It is also a good idea to have a page of working Notes for Readers in your prelim.pages and incorporate into these a list of abbreviations used in the text. I hesitate to quote Seychelles by Sue Hopson & Brian McCloy (2002) which has two pages of working Notes, a quick look at the prelim.pages may enable you to make up your own mind what method to adopt.
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| Title of Book |
It is absolutely essential to choose a precise and accurate title: ‘arty-arty’ titles are a nightmare for indexers and bibliographers. They may well not be picked up in a reference works by a potential buyer. For instance: Seychelles : Postal History & Postage Stamps to 1976 is more precise, informative and accurate than say: Mail To & From an Island which tells one very little - it could well be a novel not a philatelic book.
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| Copyright |
Please do ensure that you have obtained written permission from Museums, Institutions, publishers or from previously published works etc. to enable you to incorporate into your work any illustrative or textual material, i.e. maps, charts, lithographs, prints, auction catalogues/illustrations etc.etc. This is most important as the use of non-authorised material can end up as a matter of dispute. The law of Copyright is fraught in the extreme.
Acknowledgement should be made for each item, either under the relevant item or in the Acknowledgements in the prelim.pages, or in both places.
If using other collector’s items, do please ensure you get their permission to so use, and whether they want their name specially mentioned as being the owner of the item, or in the general Acknowledgements section, or maybe not at all.
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| Master copy print out for printers |
The text must have its final proof-read before it is passed over to the printers, galley proofs are now a thing of the past and astronomically expensive to produce.
The text should be printed off at a minimum: from a laser printer at 600dpi* on laser paper. The combination of 600 dpi print on laser paper gives an excellent print out for camera-ready printing. * dpi = dots per square inch (tabloid newspapers screen around 80dpi, quality papers at around 140dpi.).
All illustrations should be neatly stuck in the relevant place with ‘Pritt’ stick as it doesn’t cockle the page, whereas stronger glue does. A good clear not-too-dark xerox is far better than a screened piece of postal history.
The colour cover illustrations will be screened by the printers and the title etc. will be put together by them to the author’s instructions. The printers usually send a proof of the cover and any agreed colour pages to the author for proofing.
It is very helpful indeed for the printers to also have a correct mock up of the text showing where the illustrations have to go and the correct page sequence, even if done as a very rough paste up. It is their back-up to work from should any illustrations fall off a page that has more than one illustration.
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Please be aware that the printers are not philatelists or postal historians
and what is perfectly obvious to you may not be obvious to them!
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| Text guide line |
One of the most common anomalies that writers in any sphere seem prey to is the correct way of typing for instance: ‘nineteen-thirties’ in figures. Nine people out of ten type: 1930’s - this is incorrect; it should be 1930s (note no apostrophe after the last digit). A good reference book for the pitfalls of punctuation is a One Step Ahead publication
Punctuation by
Robert Allen and John Seely Price: £7.99 (Paperback) Oxford University Press 0-19-860439-4 Publication date: 25 July 2002.
Two good reference books for the anomalies of writing: Hart’s Rules for Compositors & Readers at the University Press Oxford. London: Oxford University Press. I use Stuart Rossiter’s 37th edition of 1967 which he used for editing the Royal Philatelic Society’s The London Philatelist and Benns Blue Guides.
Update: The 39th edition was printed in 2000 and is still available on order from good booksellers.
A very useful book with a self-explanatory title: Publishing Books Using your PC by Peter Domanski & Philip Irvine, available from Coldwell Farm, Stretfordbury, Leominster, Hereford HR6 0QL at £12.99 post free (in 1999 : UK only). Some of the contents are not entirely relevant to SR Trust publications, but it is a very useful and sensible book in understandable language and with Hart’s Rules ... and Negus’s Philatelic Literature .. as previously mentioned, a budding author should then have three good sensible books at their elbow to help them on their way to publication.
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| REFEREES |
The Trust appoints two referees: A Special: most probably nominated by the author, who is a specialist on the subject of the proposed publication. A General: who is an all round postal historian who takes a general overview of the written work, but does not have to have detailed knowledge of the subject.
Both referees submit a detailed critique to the trustees. The Special in particular advises the author as he/she goes through the text on any anomalies/inconsistencies/missing information/new information etc. the author may not be aware of.
We have found that the referees in quite a few cases do add considerably to the standard of the works published by the Trust. They do their refereeing for free and only receive a free copy of the book from the Trust and their expenses. Their contribution is invaluable and should be acknowledged.
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| PRINT RUN |
This is agreed with the author and trustees and is dependant upon the subject. The author is entitled to 5 gratis copies of the work. The author guarantees to despatch as soon as possible after delivery the mandatory free and review copies as per the list supplied by the trustees.
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| ISBN (International Standard Book Number) |
An International Standard Book Number will be allocated at the appropriate time by the trustee in charge of the block of numbers. This is the penultimate thing to do as the books will be allocated their ISBNs in sequential order of printing.
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| AUTHOR’S AGREEMENT WITH THE TRUST |
A standard legal agreement which is tailored to suit each author, in which he/she is asked to sign as the basis of the Contract between the author and the Trust and outlines the funding arrangements, print run and other relevant aspects.
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| ISBN CIP |
(Catalogue in Publication form). An essential as the book is then on Whitakers (the UK authority on books in print, who also issue UK ISBN numbers) who compile comprehensive listing of all books in print which booksellers use. Apply to the trustee who issues you with the ISBN number for the form, fill in only when book is printed and in front of you, complete the form and then send to address quoted.
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Sue Hopson: updated March 2004
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THE STAMPS AND POSTAL HISTORY
OF ANY LAND
A survey of ................
A.N. AUTHOR
First published 2002
© A.N. Author 2002
ISBN 0 0000000 00 0
Published by the Stuart Rossiter Trust Fund
c/o OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Cover illustration: ..............................................
........................................................................
Back cover illustration/s: ....................................
.......................................................................
Printed by Bath Press Ltd., BAth BA2 3BC, UK.
[reverse of title-page]
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