Top ten ways to keep your large, heavily formatted documents from exploding
Top Ten - Writing
Top Ten - Design
Top Ten - Production
Top Ten - QC
Top Ten - Indexing
Top Ten - Project Management
Sooner or later everyone encounters the publication that's
too big, with too many changes and more pieces than you can count.
You find yourself worrying that the whole thing will fall apart.
Ed Gloninger, EEI's manager of production services, has mastered
his share of these projects, so he offers some tips for systematic
organization of the super-sized publication:
Top Ten - Design
Top Ten - Production
Top Ten - QC
Top Ten - Indexing
Top Ten - Project Management
- Before you touch the keyboard, plan how you'll organize the many files you'll create, both electronic and paper.
- Then check the existing electronic files and other materials you'll be working from to make sure they include the elements you need.
- List the necessary functions and plan to tackle them in chronological order (for instance, cleanup, graphics, and scanning ideally happen before pages are laid out).
- Separate source materials for different sections of the publication (for a book, for instance, front matter, chapters, and appendices) and then group elements (text, photos, tables, charts) within these sections.
- Create a template showing treatment for elements that stay the same throughout the document (like page numbers and running heads).
- Create a style guide for the document to resolve inconsistencies that may crop up.
- Keep the sizes of your electronic files manageable.
- Name your electronic files in a consistent way and use folders to keep them organized.
- Make regular back-up copies. We recommend two.
- Have only one "live" version. Be cautious about providing copies of electronic files in progress, and decide in advance who will reconcile comments if multiple people review proofs at one time.
Now it's your turn to ask EEI's production experts a question. For a bit of free advice, send a brief e-mail to info@eeicom.com.
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