Manuscript Guidelines

Style

Acorda Press recognizes the unique linguistic characteristics of the English speaking world, especially in our primary market of North America. For books destined uniquely for the Canadian market, we use The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing, and the Canadian Oxford Dictionary for spelling and division of words. For most purposes, Canadian spelling and idiomatic style is also appropriate for the U.K. and Australian markets.

Unless the book is uniquely destined for the Canadian market, our default style reference is The Chicago Manual of Style, and we use the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (Red Kivar Binding with Jacket) for spelling and division of words. We recommend that all Canadian authors familiarize themselves with the Manual of Style even if they are primarily focused on a Canadian audience, as it contains very useful information on the publishing process and the preparation of manuscripts.

With some works, especially with research monographs and other works destined uniquely for the academic market, we will accept APA or MLA structure, annotation and citation style (parenthetical references). In the case of academic works, we strongly urge authors to consider adapting their work to reach a wider audience and recommend the following books for academically oriented authors:

The Thesis and the Book: A Guide for First-Time Academic Authors

Getting It Published, 2nd Edition: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Books

Scientists Must Write: A Guide to Better Writing for Scientists, Engineers and Students

In all cases, perhaps the best guide to writing clearly is Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. We also highly recommend Plain English Please: A Rhetoric by Elisabeth McPherson and Gregory Cowan (note that this book can be difficult to find in the US). As an author, these two books are perhaps the best investment you can make in your writing career.

Being consistent in word usage is essential in all writing, specifically with the application of terminology. Any given word or term should be presented consistently with regards to capitalization, abbreviation, etc. Even though it is the editor’s job to check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc., it is still your responsibility to ensure that your writing achieves a level consistent with professional authorship. Our editors are instructed to not waste valuable time on sloppy writing and to return manuscripts for rewrite if necessary.

Format

A manuscript is made up from the following list (keeping in mind not all elements are required or necessary)

Title page
Dedication
Contents
List of contributors
List of illustrations (figures)
List of tables
List of abbreviations
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Text
Appendices
Footnotes or endnotes
Glossary
Bibliography
List of index entries

A manuscript production package includes the manuscript and all other elements needed to publish, including:

Artwork (figures)
Figure captions
Tables, plus titles
Text files
Artwork files
Style sheet with correct spellings of special words and terms, acronyms, unusual units of measure, etc.
Author short and long bio
Author portrait
Permission forms

As a publisher committed to the environment, Acorda Press strives to work electronically as much as possible during all phases of pre-production and production. Our editors use both Microsoft Word (any version up to 2007) and Open Office Writer (version 3 and above). We make full use of revision tracking in both programs and our authors should be familiar with using these features.

In all cases graphics (figures and illustrations) and tables can be included in-line in your documents during the revision cycle, but we will require separate files for any non-text items with the production package. Your editor will inform you as to how non-text items should be prepared for submission.

Quotations

Enclose all quotations in quotation marks, regardless of length. Keep in mind that you may need to get permission to quote. If in doubt, consult the Chicago Manual of Style about fair use.

Footnotes and Endnotes

Footnotes and endnotes are places that are used for clarifying material that could be disruptive or confusing if included in the text. You can use either footnotes or endnotes but not both. Discuss with your editor which format you think is the most appropriate for your work.

Reference Citations

Our default citation style is the one described in the Chicago Manual of Style, in which can be found an extensive list of source materials and how to cite them. You may use a reference list at the end of each chapter or a bibliography at the end of the book (our preferred format)…but not both.

As stated above you may use the citation style from the APA or MLA style manuals as long as it is used consistently.

Measurement System

Our primary market is North America, which uses both the U.S. Customary System and the S.I. metric systems of measurement. We recommend that you use the system you are most comfortable with to write your book, and put the equivalent measurement in parentheses.

Cultural Diversity

Acorda Press strongly believes in equality of individuals regardless of gender, race, religion or cultural background, and we strive to produce books that reflect the diversity of our audience. The use of gender and other stereotypes in text and artwork should be avoided as much as possible.