Buddhist-Christian Studies

Manuscript Submission Guidelines

With very few exceptions, manuscripts are copyedited and composed electronically from disk files supplied by authors. If your manuscript is accepted for publication, you will be asked to submit a disk file that exactly matches the hardcopy printout of your contribution. Guidelines for preparing the copy follow. It is hoped that they will aid you in preparing your materials for the best possible results with electronic type.

Software

Most standard word-processing software programs from either Windows or Macintosh systems are acceptable, but MS Word is likely to be easier to convert than WordPerfect. In most cases, it is best to include a second version of your file in RTF (Rich Text Format), which preserves italics and footnotes, or plain text (ASCII) as a worst-case backup.

Submit 3.5" disks or Zip disks, labeling each disk with the name of the word-processing program used (e.g., "MS Word 6.0/95") along with short versions of the author(s) and title(s). Erase all extraneous or backup files. Be sure to retain copies of the final files for your reference. Do not revise and resubmit those files in response to copyediting changes. The copyeditor or compositor will already have converted the miscellaneous files from various authors to a common standard.

Hardcopy printout

The hardcopy printout submitted with your disk should be double-spaced throughout, including tables, references, and notes. The printout should exactly match the disk submitted. Last-minute additions, corrections, and unprintable characters or symbols can be marked on the printout in colored ink. Make no further changes to the disk files once they have been submitted.

Special characters and fonts

Many of our authors use either Asian-language word-processing software or various add-on programs (such as Twinbridge) that allow Asian characters to be entered and edited in (Eurocentric) standard Mac or Windows word-processing programs. Many also rely on specially purchased or customized fonts, or WordPerfect "compose" codes, to enter unusual characters or diacritics. None of these can be easily converted. They will all have to be rekeyed by the copyeditor and/or compositor from the hardcopy printout. The most reliable alternative is to replace each such special character with a spelled-out substitute enclosed in angle brackets, such as <acute-s> or <subdot-t>. Be sure to submit a hardcopy list of all such codes used. Or, if you prefer, you may mark the diacritics (colored ink) directly on your hardcopy printout.

Disk and Hardcopy Preparation

Keep formatting to a minimum:

• Run all text flush left and ragged right; do not justify the right margin
• Do not run headers or footers on text pages
• Do not use hanging indents
• Use upper/lower case letters in plain type throughout. You may use centering or enlarged type to show titles and subheads if you wish, but do not use underscoring, boldface, all caps, small caps, or other displays
• Do not create extra space between paragraphs; one extra space (only) above subheads is OK

Keep the following in mind when inputting:

• Use type to show italics (not underlining) and sub- and superscripts
• Use type for letters with diacritics only when the symbols are standard in your software program; never access type from a special chart or from another software program. See Special Characters and Fonts.
• Never use all caps (acronyms excepted), either as displays or in text; avoid small caps (exceptions: B.C., A.D., B.P.).
• Use the tab key to indent (not the spacebar).
• Do not use "soft" hyphens or hyphenation programs; avoid end-of-the-line word breaks.
• Use the numeral "1" for one (never the letter "l"), the numeral "0" for zero (never the letter "O").
• Show a dash with two hyphens (no extra space either side).
• Use only one space after a period or semicolon.

Figures and Tables (Illustrations)

Submit figure and plate captions as a separate file--all captions in one file. Tables are often too complex to convert from electronic manuscripts and will be typeset from hardcopy; be sure that each table is on a separate page of the hard copy and is double-spaced.

In the text, indicate approximate placements of tables and figures (within angle brackets), each on a separate line as follows: