The most efficient way for you to send changes is to show them as they appear in the layout (in the design proof). Follow these guidelines to minimize the possibility for errors and to maximize efficiency.
Do:
- Use Acrobat’s sticky notes. Watch a video tutorial. You can add notes to convey edits, deletions or additions. When needing to add a lot of text, you can simply add a note to “insert text from New Text.doc here.”
- Mark up the PDF proof using Acrobat’s commenting tools. Refer to this short video tutorial. If you do not have a version of Acrobat that includes editing tools, we can send you a proof that will enable these tools.
- E-mail a printout of the pages with changes clearly marked, preferably with proofreader’s marks (PDF). Writing legibly helps too. 🙂
- Track changes or highlight them in some manner if you must send a Word document (although it is not recommended).
- Make it clear what exactly is being replaced—an entire section, just the text or just the images, etc.
- Have one designated point of contact send edits.
Don’t:
- Submit a whole new Word document, unless specifically requested.
- Reference a specific page, paragraph or line of text, especially when the project is a book, unless the change is minor. As changes are made throughout the document, text may reflow, so what you may have referred to as “paragraph 4, line 5” has since moved. This requires that we compare the latest proof against the current layout instead of being able to immediately make the revision.
- Have multiple people submit changes. After reviewing the proof, ensure there are no conflicting requested edits prior to sending the changes to us.
If you need to make author alterations after the printer has received the print file, let us know so that we can make the changes and send the printer the revised page(s). This is the most efficient and cost-effective way to make changes at this stage: the printer may charge for making the alterations and it ensures we will have the finalized saved copy in our records. This is especially important if you ever were to reprint or republish your job in the future.