U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual/Advice to Authors and Editors

by United States Government Printing Office

1. Advice to Authors and Editors

The GPO Style Manual is intended to facilitate Government printing. Careful observance of the following suggestions will aid in expediting your publication and also reduce printing costs.

1.1.

Making changes after submission of copy delays the production of the publication and adds to the expense of the work; therefore, copy must be carefully edited before being submitted to the Government Printing Office.

1.2.

Legible copy, not faint reproductions, must be furnished.

1.3.

Copy should be on one side only with each sheet numbered consecutively. If both sides of copy are to be used, a duplicate set of copy must be furnished.

1.4.

To avoid unnecessary expense, it is advisable to have each page begin with a new paragraph.

1.5.

Proper names, signatures, figures, foreign words, and technical terms should be written plainly.

1.6.

Chemical symbols, such as Al, CI, Tl are sometimes mistaken for A1, C1, T1. Editors must indicate whether the second character is a letter or a figure.

1.7.

Footnote reference marks in text and tables should be arranged consecutively from left to right across each page of copy.

1.8.

Photographs, drawings, and legends being used for illustrations should be placed in the manuscript where they are to appear in the publication. They should be on individual sheets, as they are handled separately during typesetting.

1.9.

If a publication is composed of several parts, a scheme of the desired arrangement must accompany the first installment of copy.

1.10.

To reduce the possibility of costly blank pages, avoid use of new odd pages and halftitles whenever possible. Generally these refinements should be limited to quality bookwork.

1.11.

Samples should be furnished if possible. They should be plainly marked showing the desired type, size of type page, illustrations if any, paper, trim, lettering, and binding.

1.12.

In looseleaf or perforated-on-fold work, indicate folio sequence, including blank pages, by circling in blue. Begin with first text page (title). Do not folio separate covers or dividers.

1.13.

Indicate on copy if separate or self-cover. When reverse printing in whole or in part is required, indicate if solid or tone.

1.14.

Avoid use of oversize fold-ins wherever possible. This can be done by splitting a would-be fold-in and arranging the material to appear as facing pages in the text. Where fold-ins are numerous and cannot be split, consideration should be given to folding and inserting these

into an envelope pasted to the inside back cover.

1.15.

Every effort should be made to keep complete jobs of over 4 pages to signatures (folded units) of 8, 12, 16, 24, or 32 pages. Where possible, avoid having more than two blank pages at the end.

1.16.

Indicate alternative choice of paper on the requisition. Where possible, confine choice of paper to general use items carried in inventory as shown in the GPO Paper Catalog.

1.17.

If non-standard trim sizes and/or type areas are used, indicate head and back margins. Otherwise, GPO will determine the margins.

1.18.

Customers should submit copy for running heads and indicate the numbering sequence for folios, including the preliminary pages.

1.19.

Corrections should be made on first proofs returned, as later proofs are intended for verification only. All corrections must be indicated on the "R" (revise) set of proofs, and only that set should be returned to GPO.

1.20.

Corrections should be marked in the margins of a proof opposite the indicated errors, not by writing over the print or between the lines. All queries on proofs must be answered.

1.21.

The following GPO publications relate to material included in this Manual. They may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

Word Division: Supplement to the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual

This publication serves as a quick reference guide for finding correct word divisions, as well as a spelling and pronunciation guide. In addition to the list of words with divisions, it also contains wordbreak rules and line-ending rules. Prepared especially for GPO printers and proofreaders, this supplement is equally useful for keyboarding. 1987.

Government Paper Specifications

The purpose of these standards is to achieve compliance with relevant statutes regarding printing papers; address environmental, workplace safety, and paper longevity issues; and achieve maximum savings in the Government's paper purchases. 2008.

GPO Paper Samples

This publication is a supplement to Government Paper Specification Standards. It includes samples of papers used by GPO. Used as a planning aid and guide in selecting an adequate grade, weight, and color of paper for a job of printing. 2008.

For the latest information about the availability of these and other such publications, go to: http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

1.22.

Corrections made to proofs should be indicated as follows:

ʘ Insert period

,+∧ Insert comma

: Insert colon

; Insert semicolon

? Insert question mark

! Insert exclamation mark

-/ Insert hyphen

∨+' Insert apostrophe

∨+" ∨+" Insert

1/N Insert 1-en dash

1/M Insert 1-em dash

# Insert space

ls> Insert ( ) points of space

shill Insert shilling

∨ Superior

∧ Inferior

(/) Parentheses

[/] Brackets

□ Indent 1 em

□□ Indent 2 ems

¶ Paragraph

no ¶ No paragraph

tr Transpose^[1]—used in margin

◜◝◟◞ Transpose^[2]—used in text

sp Spell out

ital Italic—used in margin

__ Italic—used in text

b.f. Boldface—used in margin

◜◝◟◞◜◝◟◞◜◝◟◞◜◝◟◞ Boldface—used in text

s.c. Small caps—used in margin

===== Small caps—used in text

rom. Roman type

caps. Caps—used in margin

≡ Caps—used in text

c+sc Caps & small caps—used in text

==== Caps & small caps—used in text

l.c. Lowercase—used in margin

/ Used— in text to show deletion or substitution

₰ Delete

₰+⁐ Delete and close up

w.f. Wrong font

⁐ Close up

⊐ Move right

⊏ Move left

∏ Move up

∐ Move down

‖ Align vertically

＝ Align horizontally

⊐⊏ Center horizontally

∏+∐ Center vertically

eq.# Equalize space—used in margin

✓✓✓ Equalize space—used in text

……… Let it stand—used in text

stet. Let it stand—used in margin

⊗ Letter(s) not clear

run over Carry over to next line

run back Carry back to preceding line

out, see copy Something omitted—see copy

₰/? Question author to delete^[3]

∧ Caret—General indicator used to mark position of error.

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Note.—The system of marking proofs can be made easier by the use of an imaginary vertical line through the center of the type area. The placement of corrections in the left-hand margin for those errors found in the left-hand portion of the proof and in the right-hand margin for right-side errors prevents overcrowding of marks and facilitates corrections.

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1. In lieu of the traditional mark "tr" used to indicate letter or number transpositions, the striking out of the incorrect letters or numbers and the placement of the correct matter in the margin of the proof is the preferred method of indicating transposition corrections.
2. Corrections involving more than two characters should be marked by striking out the entire word or number and placing the correct form in the margin. This mark should be reserved to show transposition of words.
3. The form of any query carried should be such that an answer may be given simply by crossing out the complete query if a negative decision is made or the right-hand (question mark) portion to indicate an affirmative answer.