Our contract provides that you will deliver to the Press one hard copy of your manuscript along with the electronic files (to be sent as e-mail attachments to manuscripts@fordham.edu) from which they were printed. Observing the following guidelines while preparing your manuscript can save valuable time and effort during the publishing process. When you send the files to manuscripts@fordham, please send a note to your sponsor at the press saying that you have done so. That will usually be either Bob Oppedisano (roppedisano@fordham.edu) or Helen Tartar (tartar@fordham.edu).

• The manuscript (hard copy) and the electronic files that you send to the Press must be identical in every particular. Thus, once you have printed out the final manuscript, do not make any further corrections to the computer files. If it is absolutely necessary to make changes to the hard copy, be sure that they are clearly marked and let your editor know that there are corrections that will need to be entered into the electronic files. Prepare your manuscript on the same system, both hardware and software, from start to finish.

  In the e-mail accompanying your transmittal of electronic files you are sending as e-mail attachments, note the type of computer and the word-processing software you have used. (Preferred are PC and Microsoft Word.) Leave your files in the format in which they were produced; we can convert most file formats. Create a new file for each chapter or other major subdivision of the book. Front matter, bibliography, and other apparatus should be in separate files. Do not put the entire manuscript into one enormous file, which may be impossible to open or convert. Do not include any files other than those of the final manuscript you send to the Press.

• Begin each file name so that they will sort numerically in correct order‹e.g., 01Jones frontmatter, 02Jones introduction, 03 Jones chap1, 03Jones chap 2, and so on.
• Include a list of the file names in the accompanying e-mail.
• Use the endnote function of your word-processing software. Print endnotes beginning on a separate page at the end of each chapter or at the end of the book. Do not use foot-of-page notes.
• Eliminate all formatting that is not essential to your manuscript. Although most word-processing software now incorporates desktop publishing functions that enable you to produce an elaborate or fancy printout, remember that the typeset book will look quite different from your manuscript hard copy. The Press is interested in using your e-mail attachments only to avoid rekeying the manuscript, and, in general, the plainer the printout, the easier it will be to edit and design your book.
• Do not use full or right-hand justification.
• Double-space the entire manuscript, including within notes, extracts, and bibliography. But do not put any extra spaces between paragraphs or between notes or bibliographical entries. Introduce extra vertical space only where extra space is to appear in the book to indicate a change of topic or abrupt break in the discussion.
• Use margins of at least one inch on all sides of the page.
• Use the Tab key, not the space bar or your word processorıs automatic indent feature, to indent paragraphs. Most word processors default to automatic indent, and you must turn this feature off.
• Also turn off the default automatic ellipsis (Š). Place spaces between the periods . . . except for the period at the end of a sentence in four-dot ellipses. . . .
• Do not use font changes other than italics or underlining.(Note that underlined text will normally be printed as italic in the book.)
• Your word processorıs commands for superscripts and subscripts may be used.
• Do not use styles, if your word-processing software has this function.
• Do not use running heads.
• Do number your manuscript consecutively from beginning to end. Numbering by chapter is also acceptable if the chapter number is indicated on each page.
• Do not put soft hyphens at the ends of lines; do not break words. Also, turn off the automatic hyphenation feature on your word processing software. The only hyphens that should occur in your manuscript should be in hyphenated compound words.
• When typing extracts, epigraphs, and so on, use whatever commands your word processor has for changing the left margin. Do not insert extra spaces to achieve the effect of an indentation.
• Align all poetry passages so that they appear on manuscript hard copy exactly as you want them to appear in the printed book.
• Use two hyphens for an em dash, with no space before, between, or after the hyphens. Use six hyphens to indicate the repetition of an authorıs name in a bibliography.
• Caps and lower case: Do not uses all caps should for subheads, chapter titles, and other elements of your manuscript that will eventually be display type. Never use all caps for authorsı names in bibliographies or notes.
• When several words in a row should be underlined, issue the underlining command at the beginning of the first word and turn it off at the end of the last word; do not issue separate underlining commands for each word.
• Hard returns (starting a new line by using the Enter key) should be used where you want a new line to appear in the printed book. Thus, they should never occur within a paragraph, but only at the ends of paragraphs and at the ends of items in lists and lines of poetry.
• Never use letters for numbers or vice versa; that is, donıt type the lowercase L for the number one or the letter O for zero.
• If there are tables in your manuscript, make certain you have an accurate printout of them so the typesetter can easily follow the format. Use tabs, not spaces, to define columns, and avoid tables with more than ten columns. Tables should be saved in a separate file and printed on a separate page, with their placement indicated in the text (e.g., [Table 5.2 about here]).
• Indicate placement of figures or illustrations in the text ([Figure 3.1 about here]). For books with art programs, please consult with your editor. Computer-generated art should be saved in a separate file and printed separately from the text.
• If your manuscript has accented letters or special characters that are not available on your computer, provide a list of them and indicate how you have marked them on the hard copy and indicated them in the electronic files. If possible, bring these special characters to your editorıs attention in advance.
• For questions of style, including the formatting of notes and references, please consult The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition. (The 15th edition is more recent but on certain points contradicts Fordhamıs preferred style, which the 14th edition better reflects.) If any questions remain, do not hesitate to contact your editor.

Adapted in part from Preparing Your Electronic Manuscript (Association of American University Presses)