1. About this Author Guide 2. Author and Publisher responsibilities 3. Planning your work 4. Structuring your work 5. Writing your work: 6. Writing for electronic media 7. Saving your work 8. Style 9. Production process 10. Updating an existing manuscript 11. Coding 12. Sample Chapter 13. Manuscript 14. Marketing 15. Checking procedures Author Guide Thomson Legal & Regulatory 1
1 About this Author Guide This Author Guide explains various publishing and editorial processes for both new and established authors. Our aim is to publish your work quickly and efficiently, thereby providing the marketplace with a top quality finished product that is as accurate and up-todate as possible. Timely delivery of manuscript maximises sales. If delivery is late, competition may reach the market first, potential customers may buy an existing alternative work and advance promotion loses immediacy and effectiveness. We use the contractual delivery date to prepare budgets for revenue and expenditure on production and marketing. Late delivery of the manuscript will affect these estimates. So, when agreeing to your delivery date, please ensure that it is realistic. Take work, family and other commitments into account. Do not underestimate the time it takes to structure, research, draft and polish a text. If you encounter problems, or if you would like some help or advice to keep delivery on schedule, please contact us. Good planning can ensure timely delivery and publication. The following tips may help: 1. Set yourself realistic goals. 2. Agree a realistic schedule with your publisher. 3. Set aside time to write. Enter it in your diary. 4. Set deadlines for completion of sections (use the writing schedule template included). 5. Monitor your progress and tell your publisher if the agreed delivery date looks unachievable. Consistency of style throughout any manuscript is essential. Spelling conventions, hyphenation and the use of numerals and case references should be agreed before work begins. If you have any technical queries that are not covered or would like help in any way, please contact your publisher, product developer or editor. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 2
2 Author and Publisher responsibilities The AUTHOR is responsible for: 1 The factual content of the manuscript (including checking statutory material and citations). It is the author s responsibility to check the spelling and accuracy of judge s names, place names, case names, references, etc. 2 Basic coding as required. 3 Bibliographies and tables of abbreviations. 4 Completing cross-references. 5 Obtaining necessary copyright permission. 6 Supplying accurate information for author accreditation, including degrees, honorifics etc. 7 Providing electronic copy and matching hard copy and maintaining backup files. 8 Proofreading and correcting all proof pages. The PUBLISHER will: 1 Prepare a Publishing Agreement. 2 Edit and style the manuscript, and generally prepare it for publication. This includes correcting spelling and obvious grammatical errors, marking typesetting instructions, checking page proofs, raising editor s queries, adding running heads and page numbers. 3 Style preliminary and end pages, insert page references in contents list and finalise details of imprint pages etc (which includes obtaining the CIP, ISBN etc). 4 Code the manuscript. 5 Prepare the cover or equivalent. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 3
3 Planning your work Planning is an essential element of a successful publication. Before starting to write: 3.1 Plan the structure of the publication What is the subject matter of the publication? What does the publication aim to do? Who is the target audience? Why do they need the information? How will they use the information? How is the publication likely to be available (eg Paper, Online, CD)? Read the section on writing for electronic media below. Please keep the reader in mind at all times. Think about getting your message across in the clearest, simplest way possible. 3.2 Prepare a draft table of contents What is most important for the readers to know? What is the most logical way to structure the information? Is there information the reader needs to understand first? What are the relationships between information units? What cross-references need to be included, so that the information flows logically? What is the logical format of the introductory chapter (this must introduce the work and tell the reader where relevant information can be found)? How many levels of heading should be used? (Discuss this with your editor.) 3.3 Prepare a writing schedule Try to make your writing schedule as realistic as possible. Take into account work and family commitments, Public holidays, etc. Discuss the writing schedule with your publisher, product developer or editor. 3.4 Inform us if you wish to include primary materials If you need to include primary materials, eg legislation, judgments, etc, or would like any other help or assistance, please advise your publisher, product developer or editor. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 4
4 Structuring Your Work As well as the language you use, the way you structure your work can help you to get your message across clearly. 4.1 Headings Headings should be used to break up the text as much as possible and to direct the reader s eye quickly to the relevant information. Index quality is improved by good use of headings. Avoid the use of more than four levels of heading. The same system of headings must be used in each chapter throughout the book this is particularly important if there is more than one author. The manuscript must also include a table of contents. This helps to provide the in-house editor with a guide to the heading levels. All headings, at any level from chapter to paragraph, should: be short; never have full stops at the end; not start with The or other undirected word, unless required for sense, eg The Crown; have an initial capital letter only for the first word and proper nouns. (The published style can be automatically adjusted eg to all capitals.) A subheading covers all subsequent material until a heading of at least equal importance occurs. Ensure the hierarchy of headings is clear to the editor. A final check of equivalence of heading levels throughout the publication is recommended. 4.2 Keywords Keywords at the top of each Chapter and page may be used to identify the major themes covered. 4.3 Lists Where items in a list need to be numbered, the hierarchy should run: 1 2 (a) (b) (i) (ii) (A) (B) Numbered items can be inappropriate, eg for lists of examples. Use bullets as follows: Thomson Legal & Regulatory 5
4.4 Tables It may be that the information is best presented visually, for example: Do use everyday language try to keep sentences short break text up with short paragraphs put your key points at the beginning of the paragraph Don t use unnecessary foreign or obscure words use long and convoluted sentences write in page-long paragraphs without a break make readers wade through lots of text to get to your key point Tables can pose difficulties for typesetting or electronic presentation, so please set out the tables very clearly, carefully aligning items exactly as they are to appear. Manuscript will be used to confirm layout. 4.5 Checklists, Precedents and sample documents The use of Checklists, Precedents and sample documents is to be encouraged. Examples of where Checklists, Precedents and sample documents are useful include: the elements which the prosecution must prove in a particular offence; the steps necessary to file a matter before a particular court. 4.6 Summaries Include a summary outlining the key points to be covered at the beginning of a chapter with cross references to related material. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 6
5 Writing your work Please keep the reader in mind at all times when writing your work. 5.1 Plain language Plain language: is expressed clearly; uses only necessary words; avoids obscurity, inflated vocabulary and convoluted sentence construction; lets the audience concentrate on the message, rather than the language; is based on the need to adapt language and structure according to the composition of the audience; can still contain technical language. Plain language techniques include: using short sentences; using the active rather than the passive voice ( you should do rather than should be done ); writing directly to the audience; writing positively (that is, avoiding negative questions and multiple negatives); using words familiar to the audience; using technical words carefully, so that it is clear what the technical words mean; using headings to break up the text. 5.2 Gender neutral language It is ATP and LBC policy to avoid the use of gender-specific language (the use of masculinegender words to refer to members of both genders, for example using man to mean all people, or referring to all lawyers as him ). To avoid using gender-specific language use a combination of these techniques: use the plural form delete the pronoun replace the pronoun with a noun, or with an article recast the sentence use the imperative or you or one use the passive voice substitute gender neutral words and phrases use the double pronoun : he or she, he she. See further, Fact Sheet 1 Gender Neutral Language. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 7
6 Writing for electronic media People access information differently in paper and digital format: People tend to read paper publications in a linear, sequential way. It can be assumed that information in an earlier part of the publication has been read and understood. People tend to read all or most of the information on the page. People tend to read digital publications in a spatial, non-sequential way. Search tools are used to access information within a document and jump into part of the text without knowledge of what has come before. Links may lead to other unrelated parts of the document, moving forward and back. In electronic media, people tend to scan material looking for information they are interested in. People read information approximately 25% more slowly on computer screens. Most users will not scroll through and read long chunks of text on-screen. For these reasons, the author writing for the electronic media has to ensure that material is capable of being quickly scanned. Information should be organised in shorter chunks with hypertext links, graphics and colour allowing access to related material. Paragraphs must stand alone. Each chunk of information must be able to be understood without having to go to another page or paragraph for context. Each paragraph should be numbered and deal with one point. Each paragraph should not be longer than one page. Cross-references to related information should be included. Lots of headings must be used. Headings help people to find the information they are looking for quickly. They are also useful for hypertext linking. The first sentence should summarise the information contained in the rest of the paragraph. Readers will then be able to decide whether to continue reading or move on. Provide keywords at the top of each Chapter.and page identifying major themes covered. 6.1 Checklist Always provide context. For example, when referring to a piece of legislation refer to the full title (and relevant provisions) at the start of every new paragraph or logical section. When referring to a number of Acts within a paragraph, be absolutely clear which you are referring to. (This also applies to cases and other citations.) Divide information into small logical chunks, including ample cross-references to related sections of text. Limit chunks of information to one A4 page if possible. Include tables of contents and paragraph numbers. Never refer to page numbers. Use specific cross-references, use see [1010], do not use on the following page. Avoid the use of capitals and bold. Headings: make them brief use an initial cap only (unless the word needs to be capitalised) do not include full stops at the end do not include italics. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 8
7 Saving your work Important LBC Authors should italicise case names and underline legislation Please save material as Word files. Please avoid PostScript and PDF files, Framemaker, Quark Xpress, PageMaker or Ventura as these do not provide text in easily editable form. You should supply your script as a standard word processing document presented in a single typeface and double spaced. You may: G use automatic page numbering G embolden and italicise text, and G use a different typesize for headings. Please avoid: G headers and footers G underlining text (apart from legislation for LBC authors) G locked capital letters G formatting commands (such as centreing, justifying and indenting) G hard returns (except at the end of paragraphs) G multiple spaces, and G tabbing. Create a new file for: G every major subdivision of text (Chapter, etc) G graphics and other non-text elements Identify files with clear filenames eg INTRO, CHAP 1or as instructed by the editor. Keep a backup copy of all files. It may be a good idea to use the autotext feature in the footer field to keep track of when the file was last updated. Delivery of manuscript Manuscript (preferably in Word) should be submitted on disk, as well as paper Please supply: a copy on disk in a format agreed with the editor; and a copy via email in a format agreed with the editor; and a paper copy with the disk. Keep a copy of the manuscript and have backup disks available if required. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 9
8 Style All publishing houses have their own style covering such areas as: spelling capitalisation use of italics and other emphasis abbreviations modes of citation. Do not style primary source material (such as legislation). 8.1 Spelling Macquarie Dictionary recommendations are preferred. Avoid use of American spelling eg organisation not organization; sceptical not skeptical. inquiry not enquiry. interstate not inter-state. moneys not monies. federal not Federal (but Federal Court). judgment, acknowledgment, lodgment not judgement, acknowledgement, lodgement. connection not connexion. subject matter not subject-matter. first, second not firstly, secondly. 8.2 Capitalisation Use sparingly. Never use for emphasis; use italics. Standard uses are acceptable: proper names, nationalities, place names and proprietary names, etc. Use where the lower-case version of a word has a different and possibly confusing meaning eg Bill, Act, Cabinet, Crown, State. Type all headings in lower case, except opening word and proper nouns. Use for titles of legislation. Use for references to judges or courts where specific, eg a reference to a particular court or judge (such as the Federal Court, or Needham J) is capitalised whereas a reference to a court (meaning any court) or a judge (meaning any judge) is not. Use for names of people or institutions (eg the Commonwealth Bank, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Parliament, etc). Use for days of the week, months, feasts, ceremonies, etc. Use for titles and forms of address (eg the Lady Mayoress). Use for names of States, or the word State when used as a proper noun. Do not use small capitals. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 10
8.3 Italics The following will be formatted to appear in italics: legislation titles (where referred to by the full title); eg Acts, Codes, Regulations, Rules, Ordinances, etc. titles of publications: eg books, newspapers and periodicals, looseleaf services, journals, Government publications and Gazettes and CD ROMs (Note that articles contained in a publication should be enclosed within double quotation marks.) movies and television shows case titles names of ships 8.4 Emphasis Never use bold for emphasis; use italics. Never use CAPITALS for emphasis. Restrict use of italics for emphasis. 8.5 Abbreviations Do not to use points in abbreviations. 8.6 Hyphenation Use hyphens sparingly. Hyphens should be used: to avoid confusion where there are two distinct uses of a word, eg recover and re-cover for adjectival uses of words, eg an icy-cold drink. to avoid misconception where words are linked, eg green-looking glass and green looking-glass to join a prefix to a word, eg non-, pre-, etc in fractions and compound numbers when joining spans of subsections or numbers, eg 1-9, 21-29, 121-129. Many compound words begin as two distinct words, become hyphenated as the term gains acceptance in everyday usage, then become one word. An example of this would be the term childcare centre. 8.7 Dates 30 September 1991 not 30 th September, 1991 or variations. 1971-1972 not 1971-72 or 1971-2. 1990s not 1990 s. 20th century not twentieth century (except at the beginning of a sentence) 1.6.2000 8.8 Numbers LBC: Numbers one to nine spelt out unless in a unit of measurement. Numbers 10 or larger in numerals. Use words at the start of a sentence. ATP: All numbers (including one to nine) are numerals unless at the start of a sentence. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 11
8.9 Fractions Spell fractions out when they stand alone, eg, three-quarters. Vulgar fractions are not acceptable in metric statements of quantity, eg, use 1.25 km instead of 1¼ km. 8.10 Per cent LBC: Spell out per cent in text. LBC: Use % in tables and footnotes. ATP: Use % always. 8.11 Quoted material The source of all quoted material should be accurately identified. Quoted material in the text is enclosed within double curly quotation marks. For quotes within quotes, single quotation marks are used to contain the inner quote. Further quotes within quotes are double, then single, etc. Short extracts up to two typed lines may be included in the main body of the text. Longer extracts should be separated from the text, typed as indented blocks, with an extra line space above and below. Omissions from quoted material should be indicated by the use of ellipsis (three full stops). Author s additions within the original quote should be enclosed in square brackets. 8.12 References Refer first to any appropriate ATP or LBC publication. 8.13 Case citations The author is responsible for ensuring that case references are correct. Cases names should be italic, the year and reference roman, ie Smith v Jones (1989) 57 FCR 78. Authorised references should be used. A case cited in the text should have the best reference. Authorised Australian references CLR (High Court), FCR (Federal Court). NSWLR, VR, SASR, WAR, etc (authorised State reports). Tax cases Pre 1969: Authorised; AITR; ATD* Post 1969: Authorised; ATR; ATC* Preferred Australian references FLR, A Crim R, LGERA, IR etc (specialist reports as appropriate) Preferred references (English reports) AC, QB, P, Ch WLR All ER Thomson Legal & Regulatory 12
Nominate reports also require an ER reference. Unreported cases The media neutral citation should be cited: Black v White [1999] FCA 36. Unreported cases that do not have a media neutral citation should be cited: Jones v Smith (unreported, court, judge, date). Use of round and square brackets If the Report can be located by volume number alone, then round brackets are used. If the year is necessary (where there is more than one volume in a year), square brackets are used, eg (1983) 127 S.J. 483; [1983] 2 All E.R. 1031. Case names Case names are to be consistent and should follow House style: deletion of The where it begins a case name; deletion of and Anor/and others/and another; use of Re not In re; use of Co, Co-op, Corp, Inc, Ltd, Pty, NL, (in liq); use of Attorney-General (Vic) not Attorney-General of Victoria. 8.14 Citation of Articles Author, Title of Article (1991) 65 ALJ 265 at 272. If the journal name is not abbreviated it is to be in italic. 8.15 Citation of Books Author, Title (2nd ed, 1984), Vol 1, p 25 (or para 49) Author s initials are not necessary but if they are supplied they should be supplied in every instance. The place of publication and publisher are not required except in a bibliography and/or when citing books of a general nature. If required it should be cited thus: Author, Title (ed, publisher, place of publication, year). 8.16 Citation of Statutes All legislation titles are to be in italics. The jurisdiction is in parenthesis after the year. Do not use a comma before the year. Use s 3(1)(a) not subs 3(1)(a) or para 3(1)(a). 8.17 Citation of Rulings, Determinations and Guidelines Rulings, Determinations and Guidelines are normally indicated by the type of Ruling, followed by the year and number in sequence eg, Determination SGD 96/1 stands for the first Superannuation Guarantee Determination issued in 1996. Draft Determinations are indicated by D after the year. The word Taxation and Superannuation are omitted when citing the ruling, but the words Ruling, Guideline, Determination or Draft are included. Do not italicise. eg Ruling IT 2112 or Ruling TR 96/12 Draft Ruling TR 96/D4 or Draft SGR 94/3 Thomson Legal & Regulatory 13
Determination TD 96/12 Draft Determination TD 96/D4 8.18 Footnotes and endnotes ATP: do not use footnotes and endnotes. All references appear within the text of the material. Any difficulties with this requirement should be discussed with the editor. LBC: use footnotes in books. 8.19 Cross-references Cross-references within the work (paragraph numbers) are the responsibility of the author. Where material is delivered progressively, cross-references to as yet incomplete sections should be sufficiently specified to allow easy insertion on proofs. You may be required to review cross-references once the work has been edited. A colon precedes cross-references at the end of a sentence, while those within the text are enclosed in parentheses (round brackets). 8.20 Multiculture Please include names from other cultures in worked examples. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 14
9 Production process Author Publisher Concept Planning Preliminary Proposal Publication planned Writingschedulewritten Formal market investigation Initial agreement Financial evaluation Formal Business Case approved Negotiation of terms Writing schedule agreed Contract signed Draft Production schedule prepared Sample Chapter prepared Review and design of sample manuscript Manuscript written Permissions obtained Delivery and handover of Manuscript Progress monitored Production schedule finalised Thomson Legal & Regulatory 15
Steps in publishing process Manuscript edited by In-house Editor: Designs, edits and codes manuscript Arranges preparation of Tables and Index Manuscript typeset and output as page proofs Page proofs checked by in-house Editor Proofread Checked by Editor Headers and footers checked or inserted Cross-references checked or inserted Final page proofs checked and corrected Author and in-house Editor s corrections done Page proofs output in print, online and/or CD ROM Thomson Legal & Regulatory 16
10 Updating an existing manuscript Discuss the best process to be followed for updating an existing manuscript with the editor as early as possible. The process will vary depending on the extent of changes since the previous edition and how the work is currently stored. The editor may provide you with a copy of the existing publication on disk or as a template. Riders A rider is a segment of material to be inserted into existing material. All riders should be numbered according to the page or paragraph where they will be inserted. The place where the rider is to go should be clearly indicated. 11 Coding Basic coding instructions can be provided by your editor. These include codes for riders, for headings and chapters as well as indicating quoted material. 12 Sample chapter The sample chapter should be representative of the entire manuscript in terms of headings and structure. The introduction and conclusion are not good sample chapters because they are usually structured differently to the rest of the publication. You should provide a list of legislation you will refer to in the publication as early as possible. We will then be able to include this list in any author templates. The sample chapter will be reviewed and feedback given on design and structure and technical accuracy. The sample chapter will be typeset and a copy shown to you for your feedback. 13 Manuscript LBC: Manuscript, including quotations and footnotes, should be double-spaced and typed on one side of the page only. ATP: Manuscript, including quotations and footnotes, should be single-spaced and typed on one side of the page only. It is the author s responsibility to check the spelling and accuracy of judge s names, place names, case names, references, etc. The manuscript should be in its final form, not a draft. Extensive corrections to proofs are expensive and give rise to new sources of error. Bibliographies and tables of abbreviations are to be presented with the manuscript. A consistent system of headings should be used. Number or code the headings to indicate the level. What happens next Upon delivery of a completed manuscript, it will be reviewed internally and/or externally. An in-house Editor assigned to the publication will assume day-to-day responsibility for seeing it through the production process, from editing the manuscript to final output. Indexes and Tables (cases, statutes, etc) and Preliminary and End pages will be organised by the inhouse Editor. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 17
14 Marketing At this stage, the publication s promotion and marketing campaign will commence. New Product Development will brief Marketing on the project. Marketing will get a copy of the Proposal form. Please send us any additional information you feel will help to market the product or resubmit the Proposal form provided with updated information. 15 Checking procedures Corrections to proofs are expensive and time-consuming and a potential source of error. Corrections to proofs should be limited to: literal errors (spelling mistakes, typing errors, factual errors) the insertion of cross-references essential changes necessitated by legislative developments. There should be no rewriting to clarify sense or improve expression as this can significantly delay publication and increase costs. If substantial changes are necessary (eg where there is significant legislative change), this should be discussed with the in-house Editor to ensure that the production schedule is not affected. Substantial changes can affect pagination, which in turn has an effect on internal cross-references, Tables and the Index. You must ensure that all queries have been answered. All amendments to page proofs should be clear and in house style. If you notice a large number of typesetting errors please alert the in-house Editor. If a substantial amendment is unavoidable, it should be typed on a separate piece of paper (called a Rider ) and attached to the necessary page. Clear indication of the exact position it is to be inserted must be given. Thomson Legal & Regulatory 18