The Publication Process
Whether a new edition of a best-seller, or an author's very first work, all Elgar books are produced to the highest standards.
Your dedicated desk editor will oversee every stage of the production process and will keep you informed at each stage.
Elgar is increasingly unusual among academic and professional publishers in not offshoring book production work. In addition to our in-house team, we use a network of experienced freelancers, to ensure we maintain the highest level of quality and control.
Every project is unique. We aim to publish your book 6-9 months after completing our preliminary checks. Your book will be printed in the UK and the US to avoid any delays in it being released for sale across the world.
Cover and blurb
The blurb and cover design brief will be completed at an early stage. We will ask for your suggestions on key points to be included in the blurb, as part of the Submission Checklist that you complete and submit with your manuscript files.
The blurb and cover design form essential parts of the metadata for your book and will be disseminated well in advance of publication. Finalizing these promptly will maximize advance publicity and early sales.
Manuscript submission and preliminary check
Following submission of your manuscript and the submission checklist, a preliminary check will be made by a member of our editorial team, who will ensure that all relevant information and material has been supplied. You will receive a detailed email asking you to confirm or supply any additional outstanding material. It is essential that we have these issues clarified before your manuscript can proceed to the production stage, so please ensure that you are available to respond to this email as promptly as possible.
We may arrange for your book to be peer reviewed at this stage. If your book is in a series it will be sent to the series editor(s) for approval. We need to receive this approval before we commence production. You should refer to your commissioning editor for clarification on this.
Editorial processing schedule
Once we are satisfied that the material is complete we will assess the complexity and subject matter of the book, assign a desk editor to manage the publication process, appoint a copy editor and produce a schedule that we will share with you.
Copy editing and typesetting
We will copy edit the text and code the manuscript files for typesetting. We will determine the typeface, page layout and artwork positioning.
The copy editing will be undertaken by one of our freelance copy editors, under the desk editor’s guidance; and the complete manuscript will be read through carefully for clarity and consistency and coded for typesetting. The grammar and spelling will be checked and the references cross-checked. Please note that our copy editors are not necessarily experts in the subject area of your book and so, while they can improve grammar, the original meaning needs to be clear. The copy editor will email you with any queries. Please reply promptly as our copy editors are working to deadlines and any delays will affect the scheduled publication of your book.
Once copy editing is complete, the text will be typeset. As soon as a proof date is arranged we will inform you and provide a date by which you will need to notify us of corrections. If these dates are not convenient please let us know immediately so that the schedule can be reorganized. Delays in approving proofs often mean that publication is delayed and so it is important to avoid these where possible.
Proofing
Page proofs in PDF format will be sent to you via dropbox, email or Adobe Cloud. The purpose of the proofs is for you to check that the text has been set correctly. Two weeks are usually allowed for the approval of proofs.
Proofs should not be regarded as more than an opportunity to check that the typesetter has set the manuscript files accurately. Alterations at this stage are extremely expensive and time consuming and could lead to an escalation in the price and a delay in the publication date of your book.
Your contract draws attention to your liability for cost of excess corrections. Very few corrections can be made before the ‘excess’ level is reached. Only typographical errors should therefore be corrected at this point.
Proofs should be checked carefully to ensure that no text has been omitted and corrections should be marked clearly.
If you are sent your proofs via Adobe Cloud please see the file below for instructions on using this software:
Printing and eBook
Our books are printed in the UK and in the US. We use paper sourced responsibly.
We will upload the eBook for sale via our various channels. All our books are available in print and as eBooks.