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Book format – Against the light – References – Journalistic handbooks
– Styles – Key combinations – Letters to the authors – Kick-off – List
of contributors – Bank details
The editorial team is complete – lectorship, secretariat, mentor,
proofreaders – and the authors of your choice have agreed. The
authors need four more things before kick-off: A document into which they can insert their text, A set of instructions for the compilation of the references, Assistance with writing (style and technique), and The starting signal together with the deadline.
Document for the texts
The authors must not be allowed to write at random, but must write
their texts into a template supplied by you. An exemplary template can
be found on the internet under www.HIVMedicine.com/chapter.doc.
There, you will find examples of tables, diagrams, frames and
reference lists.
Before you send the template to your authors, you must define the
book format, because the maximum width of tables and diagrams
depends on this format.
How high, how wide?
Over a glass of red wine in your library, you should decide how high
and how wide your book needs to be. Take different books out of the
shelves. Weigh them up. Which books feel good? Above all: which
books feel good in your hands? The decision is not usually difficult.
HIV Medicine 2005 has the dimensions 15 cm x 24 cm, Free Medical
Information 13 cm x 21 cm and the pocket edition of HIV Medicine
11 cm x 18 cm. Table 3.1 gives an outline of heights and widths of the
printed area.
– Styles – Key combinations – Letters to the authors – Kick-off – List
of contributors – Bank details
The editorial team is complete – lectorship, secretariat, mentor,
proofreaders – and the authors of your choice have agreed. The
authors need four more things before kick-off: A document into which they can insert their text, A set of instructions for the compilation of the references, Assistance with writing (style and technique), and The starting signal together with the deadline.
Document for the texts
The authors must not be allowed to write at random, but must write
their texts into a template supplied by you. An exemplary template can
be found on the internet under www.HIVMedicine.com/chapter.doc.
There, you will find examples of tables, diagrams, frames and
reference lists.
Before you send the template to your authors, you must define the
book format, because the maximum width of tables and diagrams
depends on this format.
How high, how wide?
Over a glass of red wine in your library, you should decide how high
and how wide your book needs to be. Take different books out of the
shelves. Weigh them up. Which books feel good? Above all: which
books feel good in your hands? The decision is not usually difficult.
HIV Medicine 2005 has the dimensions 15 cm x 24 cm, Free Medical
Information 13 cm x 21 cm and the pocket edition of HIV Medicine
11 cm x 18 cm. Table 3.1 gives an outline of heights and widths of the
printed area.
In order to set the height and width of a Word document, you must
access the dialogue window “Page set-up” (File->Page set-up). Click
on the index card “Margins”. For a book such as Free Medical
Information, you would find 2.2 cm for the upper margin, 9.2 cm for
the lower margin and 5.5 cm each for the left and right margins.
In the menu “Apply to” (bottom right in the dialogue window) select
“Whole document”. Then define the margins according to the size of
book required (see Table 3.3; in “Header” and “Footer” the same
values are set as in “Top” and “Bottom”). The new values are saved
by clicking on “OK”.
access the dialogue window “Page set-up” (File->Page set-up). Click
on the index card “Margins”. For a book such as Free Medical
Information, you would find 2.2 cm for the upper margin, 9.2 cm for
the lower margin and 5.5 cm each for the left and right margins.
In the menu “Apply to” (bottom right in the dialogue window) select
“Whole document”. Then define the margins according to the size of
book required (see Table 3.3; in “Header” and “Footer” the same
values are set as in “Top” and “Bottom”). The new values are saved
by clicking on “OK”.
Experiment with the document: write a sample text, change the tables,
insert diagrams, make test printouts. Put the printouts on top of the
book that felt so good in your hand and hold it up against the light.
Are the margins broad enough? In half an hour, you will have decided
what size your book will be.
Before you send your authors the template for the text, you must
prepare two more things. Firstly, instructions for the compilation of
the references and secondly, instructions on how to write well.
insert diagrams, make test printouts. Put the printouts on top of the
book that felt so good in your hand and hold it up against the light.
Are the margins broad enough? In half an hour, you will have decided
what size your book will be.
Before you send your authors the template for the text, you must
prepare two more things. Firstly, instructions for the compilation of
the references and secondly, instructions on how to write well.
References
The authors of a medical textbook should compile their references in
accordance with a standard format. This sounds like a very simple
statement, but is in fact difficult. It is never too soon to commit the
authors to uniform procedures. We have wasted many hours
correcting the references.
It doesn’t matter which format you decide to adopt, just make a
commitment. The New England Journal of Medicine, for example,
uses the format surname, initial of first name, et al. Title. Journal year;
volume: page-page. For example:
Rockstroh JK, Mudar M, Lichterfeld M, et al. Pilot study of interferon alpha high-
dose induction therapy in combination with ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C in
HIV-co-infected patients. AIDS 2002; 16: 2083-5.
There are more details in these three lines than most authors can cope
with without help: There is no full stop after the initials of first names; several
initials are written together. The authors are separated by commas, after the last author is a
full stop. Up to a maximum of 6 authors, all authors are given. If there are
more than 6 authors, the first 3 are named, then comes a comma,
followed by “et al” and finished with a full stop. Then comes the title. After the title is a full stop (rarely a question
or exclamation mark). The journal is given in its standard abbreviated form, e.g. N Engl
J Med for New England Journal of Medicine, BMJ for British
Medical Journal. After the journal comes the year, separated only
by a space. The year is followed by a semicolon. This is followed by the volume, and then a colon. The literature item finishes with first page number + dash + last
page number. Only the end digits of the last page number, which
are necessary for clear identification. Thus, 2423-2429 becomes
2423-9, 134-141 becomes 134-41, 1891-1901 becomes 1891-901. There is a full stop after the last page number.
The authors of a medical textbook should compile their references in
accordance with a standard format. This sounds like a very simple
statement, but is in fact difficult. It is never too soon to commit the
authors to uniform procedures. We have wasted many hours
correcting the references.
It doesn’t matter which format you decide to adopt, just make a
commitment. The New England Journal of Medicine, for example,
uses the format surname, initial of first name, et al. Title. Journal year;
volume: page-page. For example:
Rockstroh JK, Mudar M, Lichterfeld M, et al. Pilot study of interferon alpha high-
dose induction therapy in combination with ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C in
HIV-co-infected patients. AIDS 2002; 16: 2083-5.
There are more details in these three lines than most authors can cope
with without help: There is no full stop after the initials of first names; several
initials are written together. The authors are separated by commas, after the last author is a
full stop. Up to a maximum of 6 authors, all authors are given. If there are
more than 6 authors, the first 3 are named, then comes a comma,
followed by “et al” and finished with a full stop. Then comes the title. After the title is a full stop (rarely a question
or exclamation mark). The journal is given in its standard abbreviated form, e.g. N Engl
J Med for New England Journal of Medicine, BMJ for British
Medical Journal. After the journal comes the year, separated only
by a space. The year is followed by a semicolon. This is followed by the volume, and then a colon. The literature item finishes with first page number + dash + last
page number. Only the end digits of the last page number, which
are necessary for clear identification. Thus, 2423-2429 becomes
2423-9, 134-141 becomes 134-41, 1891-1901 becomes 1891-901. There is a full stop after the last page number.
A farce? Unfortunately not! Do not be afraid to explain the format of
the references in equally great detail. You will save both yourself and
your authors a lot of work in the proofreading phase.
Assistance with writing
Doctors are grateful for assistance with writing, despite A levels, a
medical degree and post-doctoral lecture qualification.
Style
Some suggestions, very general and valid for every subject: The important things come first, the unimportant ones later. Structure your texts in paragraphs. Chains of sentences 40 lines
long are not allowed. Do not try to hide unformed thoughts behind complicated
phrasing. Procedure: first, collect material, then sort the facts, and
finally structure them. Do not write until it is clear to you what
you want to express.
As we said earlier on, doctors don’t have to be able to write. The
medical faculty is not a place which insists on stylistic skill. Reassure
your authors. No one needs to be ashamed of learning things he hasn’t
learnt before. Recommend the purchase of handbooks. The best ones
are the ones for journalists.
Technique
The number of text elements which you require for your textbook is
limited. Apart from the normal text (that is the text you are reading at
the moment), we only used the following text styles in HIV Medicine
2005, for example: Normal Heading 1 Heading 2 Heading 3 Heading 4 Table Table heading References
the references in equally great detail. You will save both yourself and
your authors a lot of work in the proofreading phase.
Assistance with writing
Doctors are grateful for assistance with writing, despite A levels, a
medical degree and post-doctoral lecture qualification.
Style
Some suggestions, very general and valid for every subject: The important things come first, the unimportant ones later. Structure your texts in paragraphs. Chains of sentences 40 lines
long are not allowed. Do not try to hide unformed thoughts behind complicated
phrasing. Procedure: first, collect material, then sort the facts, and
finally structure them. Do not write until it is clear to you what
you want to express.
As we said earlier on, doctors don’t have to be able to write. The
medical faculty is not a place which insists on stylistic skill. Reassure
your authors. No one needs to be ashamed of learning things he hasn’t
learnt before. Recommend the purchase of handbooks. The best ones
are the ones for journalists.
Technique
The number of text elements which you require for your textbook is
limited. Apart from the normal text (that is the text you are reading at
the moment), we only used the following text styles in HIV Medicine
2005, for example: Normal Heading 1 Heading 2 Heading 3 Heading 4 Table Table heading References
Headings 1 to 4 are the chapter headings according to the hierarchical
structure. “Table” is used for the text in a table and comments below
the table, or for diagrams, “Table heading” is for the bold-print
column headings in the tables.
The most important rule is: you must never – and this applies to your
authors as well – change typeface or type size via the pop-down
menus shown in Fig. 3.1 (where Times New Roman and 12 are
given). Instead, you should change them via the menu styles (Fig.
3.2), There, you can allocate a text (word, sentence, paragraph) to the
so-called “style”. Among other things, a style contains information
about type size, typeface, and also line spacing between your text and
the previous and subsequent text section. If you want to change the
style of a paragraph, you just have to position the cursor somewhere in
the paragraph. If you want to allocate a style to several paragraphs,
you must mark the paragraphs first.
The advantage of styles: later, you can alter your entire text in a matter
of minutes, simply by changing type size and spacing for the
individual styles. This is helpful if you are planning a pocket edition
(see page 69).
The central control station for styles is located under
Format -> Style & formatting.
structure. “Table” is used for the text in a table and comments below
the table, or for diagrams, “Table heading” is for the bold-print
column headings in the tables.
The most important rule is: you must never – and this applies to your
authors as well – change typeface or type size via the pop-down
menus shown in Fig. 3.1 (where Times New Roman and 12 are
given). Instead, you should change them via the menu styles (Fig.
3.2), There, you can allocate a text (word, sentence, paragraph) to the
so-called “style”. Among other things, a style contains information
about type size, typeface, and also line spacing between your text and
the previous and subsequent text section. If you want to change the
style of a paragraph, you just have to position the cursor somewhere in
the paragraph. If you want to allocate a style to several paragraphs,
you must mark the paragraphs first.
The advantage of styles: later, you can alter your entire text in a matter
of minutes, simply by changing type size and spacing for the
individual styles. This is helpful if you are planning a pocket edition
(see page 69).
The central control station for styles is located under
Format -> Style & formatting.
Working with Word
Every doctor who writes thinks he knows his word-processing
software. But do you really know the little things that make life
easier?
1. Open a text which you were working on yesterday and press
SHIFT+F5. The cursor is now at the point where you stopped
working.
2. Position the cursor in any field of a table. Press ALT+SHIFT+UP
or ALT+SHIFT+DOWN. The rows of the table move upwards
and downwards.
3. Press ALT+CTRL+PAGE UP or ALT+CTRL+PAGE DOWN.
The cursor goes to the beginning or the end of the current screen
page respectively.
In order to help your authors save time, we have put together a few
tips and tricks in the appendix for working effectively with Word.
(Page 84). The so-called shortcuts, i.e. quick key combinations, are
particularly helpful and make work easier. Recommend this outline to
your co-authors.
Deadline, Kick-off
You have now assembled all the elements for the kick-off of your
project. As we already mentioned in the last chapter: good deadlines
are clear deadlines of 6 weeks to 4 months. As an exception, 6 months
is acceptable, while longer time limits than this can only rarely be
justified. Arrange different deadlines with your authors, so that not all
chapters arrive at the editorial office at the same time.
On page 81 you will find a sample letter for your authors. In it, you
will also ask them to supply data for entry into the list of
collaborators, a brief CV and a photo for the website (example:
www.hiv.net/link.php?id=253), as well as bank details for later
payment of the author’s fee. This will save you unnecessary email
correspondence towards the end of the project.
Ask your authors to confirm receipt of the letter, and keep an account
of this confirmation. If someone does not answer within 3 days, you
must follow up by telephone.
Your letter is on its way, the train is in motion.
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