CAMERA-READY BOOKS: THE EDITOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES

The Editor of an APS PRESS camera-ready book is responsible for refereeing and editing the papers, for ensuring the quality of the final typewritten copy, for collecting and forwarding to APS PRESS copyright transfer forms and letters of permission to reprint any previously copyrighted material, and for scheduling and meeting deadlines. Except for the cover and the title and copyright pages, your book must be complete and ready for the printer when it is submitted to APS PRESS.

The following checklist summarizes many of the Editor’s responsibilities.

• Send suggestions for the book’s cover as soon as possible to APS PRESS. The graphics staff at APS PRESS designs the cover, but we prefer to work from suggestions from the book’s Editor. If possible, include photos that might be used on the cover. Because the cover is used to promote sales of the book and because the ads must be planned long before the book appears in print, APS PRESS needs cover ideas early.
  
  
• Let all authors know how long their manuscripts should be, either in draft or final form. Send each author a copy of Instructions for Authors of Chapters in APS PRESS Camera-Ready Books. Let each author know your requirement for the draft copy. For example, you might ask for drafts prepared on diskette or to be typed double-spaced on 8-1/2 × 11-inch line-numbered paper to provide an initial measure of length.
  
  
• Camera-ready books are most uniform and attractive if the final pages are formatted and printed at one location.
  
  
• Determine style guidelines and send them to the authors. Sample pages illustrating a recommended format are included with this material, but if the book requires a different format, APS PRESS will work with you to design one. The instructions to authors contain style guides for tables and figures.
  
  
• Set specific due dates by which authors are to submit their manuscripts. Editors are encouraged to establish a definite agreement with each author about the timeliness of submission. An Editor may consider omitting chapters not submitted in time, either in the draft stage or in revision after review, to avoid the risk of delaying the entire book.
  
  
• Answer questions from authors and act as the authors’ liaison with APS PRESS.
  
  
• Collect manuscripts, edit them as necessary, and submit them to the Senior Editor assigned by APS PRESS, who arranges for a formal review.
  
  
• After the review is completed, return the manuscripts to the authors and set a specific date for them to be returned.
  
  
• Collect copyright transfer forms from at least one author of each chapter and forward them to APS PRESS with the final manuscripts.
  
  
• Check manuscripts to see that each author has credited the sources of all published materials, as explained in Instructions for Authors of Chapters in APS PRESS Camera-Ready Books. Check permission letters submitted by authors to see that permission has been obtained to reprint all previously published material. Remind authors, if necessary, until these are submitted. Send all permissions to APS PRESS with the final manuscript.
  
  
• When diskettes containing final versions of all chapters have been collected and the final formatting is taking place, assign page numbers as they are to actually appear when printed (usually centered 1/2” below the last line of a full page). The page number should be aligned on the same spot on each page. The first page of the first chapter or introduction (not preface or foreword) is page 1, and numbering should continue from there without interruption.
  
  
• Prepare the preface or foreword, if any. The preface is the appropriate place to acknowledge support from institutions or individuals. You need not number these pages.
  
  
• Prepare a title page; this page will be typeset at APS PRESS, but APS PRESS needs to know the exact title of the book and the preferred style of the name of the Editor (full name or initials, for example). If affiliations are desired under the Editors’ names, please indicate so on the page.
  
  
• Prepare information about the cover: a caption, if needed; the name and affiliation of the artist or photographer; and a credit line, if needed. APS PRESS will use this on the copyright page.
  
  
• Prepare the table of contents. Check the typed table of contents against the final copy to be sure that the titles and authors’ names in the contents correspond exactly with those on the first page of each chapter and that the correct page numbers have been listed.
  
  
• Prepare the index (if any).
  
  
• Send the finished camera-ready book to the APS PRESS Senior Editor.
  
  
• Send to APS PRESS a list of all authors’ mailing addresses if authors are to receive complimentary copies of the book.