To the attention of the authors

RULES and INSTRUCTIONS

Editing proposal

Galaxia Gutenberg Publishing House is honoured by any publishing proposal and welcomes potential authors. Here are a few points for a good collaboration.

The first step in initiating a collaboration with the publishing house is for the author to submit a written publishing proposal in duplicate to the publishing house. In order to facilitate the approval of the proposal by the Editorial Board, it is desirable that the structure of the proposal is as follows:

Addressability (10-20 lines). Specify the groups of potential readers (pupils, students, engineers, economists, etc.) and indicate briefly how the book might be of interest to the different categories of users.

Content (indicative, one page). Chapter titles and brief descriptions of their contents will be specified. It is desirable that the description of the subject matter of the chapters, the way in which they are dealt with and the means used (diagrams, photographs, experimental results, etc.) should make it clear what the work is about and why it should be published. The number of pages of the work should be estimated in the usual book format (17 cm x 24 cm, 14,7 cm x 20,5 cm).

Competition (10-20 lines). Cite 2-5 books with similar themes (authors, title, publisher, year of publication) along with a few words of characterisation showing the contribution of the new work proposed for publication.

Authors (10-30 lines). Highlight the concerns and experience of the authors as they appear in previous publications (articles, research reports, books, etc.).

To put forward a proposal, the author does not have to wait until the material is almost complete. On the contrary, it is advisable to make an offer at an early stage of the drafting of the work, in order to be able to benefit during the drafting process from possible suggestions and comments from the scientific reviewer established by the publisher. Collaboration between author and reviewer can only increase the quality of the work.

The role of the scientific reviewer. In principle, the contribution of the scientific reviewer is considered particularly important in ensuring a high standard for any work published under the publisher's imprint. For this reason, authors are advised to keep in constant contact with the scientific reviewer during the preparation of the work and to be receptive to his/her comments and suggestions.

 

√ Conditions of publication

Galaxia Gutenberg Publishing House publishes, prints and distributes publications and periodicals of a scientific, educational and broad cultural nature, grouped into three sections:

Map

The publishing house receives offers for publication in two annual sessions, which, following a selection process, are submitted to the editorial department for approval:
- by 1 November, for inclusion in the following year's editorial plan;
- by 1 June, for inclusion in the current year's editorial plan.
 Manuscripts are peer-reviewed by two independent reviewers, specialists with national and international recognition in the field of manuscripts. The evaluation takes 4-12 months and authors will be informed of the outcome. Authors may be asked to make changes to the proposed work. A manuscript can be: accepted / accepted with changes / re-evaluated after major changes / rejected. The
offer must contain:
- an application to the management of the publishing house (name and surname/ position/ teaching rank/ title of the book/contact details);
- a curriculum vitae (in the case of authors who have not yet published with our publishing house);
- the two specialist references;
- a presentation of the book, briefly describing how it differs from other similar works and identifying its target audience (primary and secondary);
- the technical details of the book: if the work is to be submitted in electronic form, specify the number of signs including spaces; if the work is to be submitted in typewritten form, specify the number of pages; indicate whether the work contains tables, graphs, plates (black and white or colour), figures.
 In order to carry out the peer-review process, authors must not reveal their identity within the texts submitted for publication. Name and institutional affiliation will be written on a separate page.
Texts submitted for publication should be sent in 2 printed copies to the publisher's
address, as well as in electronic version (attached files), to Galaxia
Gutenberg Publishing House, Str. Florilor 11, 435 600 Tg.Lăpuș, Romania, E-mail: contact@galaxiagutenberg.ro.

 Books to be published as a result of research grants must meet the publisher's conditions and the deadlines imposed by the grant.

Courses and teaching materials for pre-university, higher and post-university education

The publisher takes proposals for courses endorsed according to the approved review methodology, which involves a report by a committee of specialists in the field.

Periodicals: annuals, magazines, newsletters, yearbooks, etc.

Editorial activity in the field of periodicals is carried out on the basis of the regulations in force.

Grid for assessing the opportunity to publish a book at Galaxia Gutenberg Publishing House



If, during the writing process, it is found that there are plagiarised passages or no indication of sources, the manuscript will be rejected on the basis of a report drawn up by the book editor, which will be communicated to the author immediately.

Rules and instructions for writing/typing the paper

This chapter details a series of rules and instructions that you, as an author who will publish with Galaxia Gutenberg, should keep in mind during the preparation of your manuscript. Our aim is to provide you with the information you need to ensure that the manuscript you submit to the publisher can successfully go through the various stages of editorial preparation.
By manuscript we mean the form in which the author submits the work to be published. Manuscripts can be classified according to the type of medium: typescripts (on paper); electronic manuscripts (CDs, e-mailed files, etc.).
 If you are going to submit your manuscript as an electronic file, please pay full attention to the instructions on how to collect the text on a computer. Failure to do so is likely to lead to delays and errors of the most regrettable kind.
 Most of the problems are due to poor compilation, mistakes in copying files to different media, gaps (table of contents/table of contents, notes, bibliographical references, references, annexes, illustrations, tables, etc. incomplete), infringements of copyright law.
 We reserve the right to return to authors manuscripts that do not meet our standards; similarly, if the number of pages and/or structure originally specified in the publishing offer do not correspond to the manuscript handed in as final.
 A well-organised and complete manuscript contributes significantly to the publication of a book that reflects positively both on you as an author and on the publisher.

Drafting rules

Title, first pages

The title page should include your name, as author or coordinator, and the full title (including subtitle) of the work, exactly as you want it to appear in the printed book. If there is a foreword/afterword/foreword written by another person, give their name.

In the case of translations, the name of the translator(s) should be given. Where appropriate, the name of the editing clerk or note-taker (if applicable) should be given on the title page. It should also be stated whether this is a new (fourth) edition or a revised edition.

Funded work (sponsorship): if editing (writing, translation, research, etc.) has been funded, this should be mentioned in the first pages of the book as requested by the funder.

Contributors. For collective works, a list of authors should be included, clearly showing the contribution of each author. If there is more than one translator, the contribution of each translator must be indicated.

Mottos; dedications; acknowledgements. All of these should be in your manuscript from the start; their later introduction 'messes up' the whole material and can lead to mistakes in editing and positioning.

The table of contents

It should accurately reflect the content of the paper, with clear indication of the title levels (parts, chapters, sub-chapters, etc.). For scientific papers, an extended table of contents (table of contents) should be compiled.

List of abbreviations

They are placed before the text itself and are ordered alphabetically according to custom

Example (1)

ac. = accusative, adj. = adjective, adv. = adverb, aux. = auxiliary, conj. = conjunctive, conj. = conjunction, ind. = indicative, m. = masculine, pl. = plural, sg. = singular, vb. = verb, voc. = vocative.

Example (2)

Song - Song of Songs

Col - Colossians

1 Corinthians

2 Cor - 2 Corinthians

.

Auxiliary materials

Their indication in the table of contents and their positioning, and the indication of their author when appropriate, should signal to the reader that they are not part of the work and are treated as such. Here is the natural order: foreword/preface/introductory study/editorial note/TEXT OF THE BOOK/notes/glossary/ bibliography/index (addenda, appendices).

Prefaces, notes, bibliographical appendices will be checked and unified in all respects according to the rules in this material.

The manuscript submitted to the publisher must be complete, i.e. include all ancillary material: notes, bibliographical references, prefaces/postfaces, introductory study, appendices, addenda, note on the edition, glossary, index (list of entries), charts, tables, illustrations, etc.

Glossary

It contains a list of technical terms, notions or key concepts that appear throughout the work but with which the reader is not immediately familiar.

Bibliography/References

The bibliography of a work often mirrors the content. The lack of reference or topical titles in a work in a particular field 'betrays' the inconsistency of the information provided to readers. Warning! Even more serious is the "non-disclosure" of sources. Titles of bibliographical works (book titles, titles of poems, plays, novels, etc.) are given in the original language and are printed in italics, as are periodicals (magazines, newspapers, almanacs, bulletins, collections of laws).

Articles in a periodical, chapters in a book, poems, short stories in a quoted volume are enclosed in quotation marks ("").

Within the same bibliographic reference, commas, not periods, should be used.

In the case of references to works with more than two authors, the abbreviation "et al.", "et al." may be used after the first name. (In bibliographies, all names must be given.

"Apud" (<lat. apud, to) is used to indicate reference to the text serving as the source of information.

Be careful not to confuse the citation with "apud" with "in"! "In" or "in" is used to indicate the whole of which the quoted chapter, article, study, etc. is part.

Note that, except in cases where access to a particular text is only possible through an "intermediary" (lack of Romanian translation, lack of knowledge of the original language), the citation through "apud" marks a lack of scientific rigour, or even more, a lack of information.

References in the text are given in brackets.

References in the text (author, year of the work, page) must be fully referenced in the bibliographical references, where the author, title of the work, publisher, place and year of publication are indicated. If there are several authors with the same name in the bibliography, the first initial must be added to the text. If an author is cited with several works published in the same year, the distinction is made as follows: 1999a, 1999b, etc.

 Notes

References will be made by numbers or asterisks placed as superscript to the right of the word (passage) concerned. In footnotes or endnotes, the figures should be repeated (without superscript) as the beginning of the paragraph, followed by a full stop. After the asterisk, no full stop. It is compulsory that the system of references, once established, is applied consistently throughout the work.

Check:

- the existence of all clues;

  • the correspondence between the index and the body of the note if the body is, in the case of page notes, on the page where the index appears);
  • the correspondence between the index and the content of the note;
  • the correctness of references to other passages in the book;
  • the existence and accuracy of the specifications:

(n.a.) = author's note;

(n.t.) = translator's note

References within the notes:

  • all bibliographical details should be given at the first citation within the same chapter;
  •  The usual abbreviations (op. cit.; art. cit.; idem, ibidem) will only be used within the same chapter, otherwise re-identification of the source risks becoming difficult;
  • if quoting from more than one work by the same author, the reference to the title may be in abbreviated form, followed by an indication of the page(s);
  • Idem is usually used to indicate that it is the same author; ibidem ("in the same place") is used when reference is made to the same work;
  • abbreviations of terms in another language are given in italics;

The most common abbreviations in notes are:

cf = confer, compare;

v. = see;

p. = page;

pp. = pages;

t. = tomul;

and following. = and the next/next/next; (sg.) vol. = volume; ed. = edition;

ed. cit. = edition cited (unquote!) loc. cit. = place cited; op. cit. = work cited (italic!); art. cit. = article cited; ms. = manuscript; mss. = manuscripts; passim = in several places; and so on = and others; et al. = and others; and others;

s.v. = under entry (for references to dictionary articles, glossaries, etc., where page indications are not used);

- the following entries: "n.a.", "n.t.", "n.r." are placed at the end of the note, in brackets, followed by a full stop;

Index

The index is both a sign of the seriousness of a work and a sign of respect for the reader, who, without this search tool but faced with a work containing a lot of information, will feel disoriented. Help them identify areas of interest. Not infrequently, readers give up reading a book because they don't have an index and don't have time to go through the whole work.

The index can be of proper names and/or thematic. Please note the alphabetical ordering of all entries and subentries. A "thick" index does not help anyone, on the contrary. Therefore, only the significant entries, the pages that convey real information, are listed. An index that refers to mere mentions annoys the reader and disqualifies the work.

Entries referring to notes are specified.

Punctuation and spelling

The official rules, as specified in the latest editions of the specialist normative works (DOOM, DEX, Dictionary of Neologisms, Grammar of the Academy) will be respected.

Spelling and punctuation rules do not form a "personal" code, whether it belongs to the author, translator, proofreader or editor. The written code of the language requires the use of graphic means (punctuation marks) to highlight the syntactic-semantic relationships between the component units of a sentence and the pauses, intonation and breaks in the communication chain. Correctly applied, the rules of punctuation give relief to ideas, help reading and understanding the message of a book, ensuring the discipline of discourse and the orderly expression of thought.

 Comma

Imperative rules:

  • is obligatory between parts of the same sentence (juxtaposition);
  • when the connection is made by conjunctions, other rules apply (junction);
  • comma is used next to the following junctions: [,] nor; correlatives: not only ... [,] but also; both ... [,] as well as; [,] as well as; [,] like and; adversatives: [,] but; [,] but; [,] and; [,] but; either ... [,] either; or [,] or; ba [,] ba.

In conclusive coordination they are separated by a comma: therefore, therefore, therefore. Within the sentence, therefore and yet are not enclosed in commas.

Prohibitive rules:

  • do not comma-separate the parts of the sentence coordinated by the following conjunctions:
  • copulative and;
  • conjunctive locution and with;
  • the preposition with or the prepositional phrase together with.
  • the comma does not appear before disjunctive coordinating conjunctions or when they are not used in correlative constructions and do not appear in the first term of the respective coordination.

 Line of dialogue (-)

Indicates dialogue. It is incorrect to use quotation marks together with the line of dialogue.

Break line (-)

Not to be confused with the hyphen. It delimits the words or constructions, explanatory oppositions or isolated attributes, lack of predicate or copulative verb (in this case the comma may also be used, the elliptical construction must be indicated graphically).

Cratima (-)

It is used in repetitions, in compound words, between two numerals.

Apostroful (')

Mark:

  • the absence of sounds which do not have as an immediate consequence a junction, a joint utterance, as in the case of hyphenated sound falls;
  • lack of figures indicating years.

Quotation marks

It signals the reproduction of an utterance said or written by someone. Although Romanian punctuation uses both [" "] and [" "], round quotation marks are used as quotation marks.

For quotations within another quotation, use angle quotes.

Brackets

Round brackets are commonly used: (...). Within them, if other brackets are needed, straight brackets are used: [...]. If a sentence is completely enclosed in brackets, the punctuation mark should be placed before the closing bracket.

Please note that square brackets are used to mark omitted passages in a text, inserted passages or uncertain lessons. Bibliographic references given in parentheses after a self-contained quotation are not followed by a full stop:

"_____________________ [.] [!] [?] [...]" (___________ )

Otherwise:

text: "___________________ " (__________ ).

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations will be used:

  • BC; AD = before, after Christ;
  • c.y. = current year;
  • a.m. = antemeridian;
  • bd. = boulevard;
  • cca = circa (no dot!);
  • cf = compare;
  • Mr = Mr (no full stop!);
  • Lords = Their Lordships;
  • gentlemen = gentlemen;
  • d-lor = dumnealor;
  • d-he = he;
  • dna = lady;
  • dnei = lady;
  • Miss = lady;
  • D-sa = His Lordship;
  • T-your = Your Lordship;
  • d-you = you;
  • Yours = Your Lordship;
  • yours. = yours;
  • ed. = edition;
  • ed. cit. = edition cited (not in italics!)
  • ibid. = ibid;
  • id. = idem;
  • loc. cit. = place cited;
  • ms. = manuscripts;
  • mss. = manuscripts;
  • n. = note;
  • n.a. = author's note;
  • n.t. = translator's note;
  • N.B. = please note;
  • op. cit. = work cited;
  • p. = page
  • pp. = pages;
  • passim = in several places;
  • p.m. = postmeridian;
  • r. = row;
  • St. = Holy, Holy;
  • s.v. = sub voce;
  • and so on = and others
  • et seq. = and following
  • v. = verse;
  • vol. = volume;

Abbreviations such as cap. (chapter); sec. (century) are undesirable.

Writing in capital letters

Proper names are written according to the form decided by their bearer or according to the spelling of the original language. An exception is made for names (anthroponyms or toponyms) that have come into use with an established Romanianised form. Hybrid forms will be eliminated (Vergilius or Virgiliu, not Vergiliu).

It is written Topîrceanu, Viața Romînească (including in the texts written with "â", "sunt").

Of the spellings Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christos we prefer the first, without denying the authors the right to choose another.

You are obliged to check the correct transliteration of proper nouns in the relevant works (dictionaries, treatises, reference translations).

It reads:

- Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Enlightenment, Classicism, etc.

- Central Europe, Eastern Europe; Latin America; Ottoman Empire, Habsburg Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Names of institutions are written in capital letters (e.g. Faculty of Letters; Centre for Professional Development and Training; Catholic Church; Orthodox Church; Research and Design Institute).

Words in foreign languages

Words, concepts, expressions that appear in the work transcribed according to the original language, not being assimilated into Romanian (they do not exist in the DE or DEX), are given in italics.

Example: bias, gate keeper; thunderbolt; a priori; a posteriori; de facto; de jure, Zeitgeist, Sein, Weltanschaung.

In the case of translations, for a word that appears in another language in the original, the translator's footnote should state "In German/French/English/Russian in the original".

Other highlights in the text

School books and university courses, in general, which convey a set of information related to a particular field of knowledge, have a special regime from the point of view of techno-writing and editing. In order to make the appearance of the work as attractive as possible, so that the potential reader feels 'helped' in retaining the information, mnemotechnical methods such as: bold, italics, symbols, recapitulative schemes, headings, tables, summaries should be used.

Long pages of text, paragraphs or very long sentences (containing too many ideas) are uncomfortable to read.

Rights and permissions for reproduction of material

You must have the right to reproduce the following types of material: quotations (exceeding 400 words); poems; images (illustrations, photographs, drawings, cartoons) - if they are protected by copyright. Copyright law allows authors, composers, photographers, painters, etc. to control how their work is reproduced. The period of copyright protection under European law is: the author's lifetime + 70 years after death. For details, see Law No 8/1996 on Copyright and Related Rights, in particular Chapters II, "Subject matter of copyright"; V, "Duration of copyright protection"; VI, "Limits to the exercise of copyright" (Official Gazette, Part I, No 60).

If your work contains such material, you will need to submit proof of ownership of the rights to the publisher when you hand in your manuscript.

Minimum technical rules and requirements for the production of electronic manuscripts

The electronic manuscript replaces the classic typewritten manuscript, delivered on paper to the publisher. Many authors prefer to submit the manuscript electronically, with the file produced by themselves or with the help of external specialists.

The electronic manuscript must meet the same conditions as the classic manuscript:

  • to be complete;
  • include all notes, introductory study (preface), afterword, etc.;
  • have an extended table of contents included;
  • graphs, illustrations, tables, etc. must be submitted with the manuscript.

In addition, the electronic manuscript must meet a number of technical requirements, with the aim of:

  • the possibility to be "taken over" by the publishing house (to be compatible with the software and equipment used in the publishing house);

- can easily be further processed (using typical pagination programs) to produce the book.

Important: the general rule is to present the document as "simple" as possible, with text only. This can be processed further easily and does not hinder the technological process of making the book. The closer the outer form of a manuscript is to the final product, the more expensive it is for the author to produce and the more difficult it is for the publisher to process.

Some rules and tips to follow:

What media we use

  1. Send your work, preferably using good quality floppy disks or CDs. Do not use other media (optical discs, etc.) as there is a risk that they will not be accessible within the publishing house.
  2. Use Windows 7 - Windows 10 operating systems only. Files made on other platforms are very difficult to retrieve.
  3. All files must be readable and virus-free.
  4. The files submitted must contain the final version of the paper.
  5. Send only the book files. Delete any other material.
  6. Always keep a copy.
  7. Always accompany the CD/stick with a list indicating the contents of each file. It is best to save each chapter in separate files.

How we prepare the text

For the collection of the material, you should preferably use the Microsoft Word 2007 text editor. All technical details that follow will refer (and be exemplified) to MSWord 2007.

The manuscript must include an extended table of contents, specifying the structure of the work. Clearly highlight headings, subheadings, notes, if any, and their position in the text.

Please type the text with diacritics. Use an A4 format, preferably using TIMES NEW ROMAN or TIMES NEW ROMAN CE font size 11, with lines spaced at 1.5 lines.

These fonts have diacritical marks. Use the "Romanian" or the default "English" keyboard when you type. To identify the keys on which the diacritical letters are arranged, use the "Character Map" utility, included in the Windows operating system, regardless of version.

Use the same text and paragraph parameters (font, size, spacing) throughout the text. Do not leave blank lines between paragraphs unless you specifically want to highlight a particular section.

Avoid using the "Insert Symbol" option provided by MSWord to insert characters with diacritics or special characters (a, P, y ). For special characters, preferably use the SYMBOL font (which is also found in all Windows versions; you can find out the layout of the characters on the keyboard by using the "Character Map") and inform the publisher of the use of such characters.

If you have used a different font, it must be copied with the text and brought to the publisher, specifying this when handing in the material.

At the time of collection, disable all options present in TOOLS ^ AUTOCORECT

If equations, fractions, sums, integrals or other complex mathematical formulas are needed, use MSWord's equation editor. Do not draw formulas!

When you are reading text, do not press the ENTER key at the end of the line. It is only used to mark a new paragraph. Do not use ENTER or SHIFT+ENTER to move to a new line within the same paragraph.

To align the first line of the paragraph further in, do not use the TAB key. Leave this task to the publisher or, if you really want to do it yourself, use the FIRST LINE option in the FORMAT menu ^ PARAGRAPH

If the paper has notes (footnotes or endnotes), they will only be inserted with INSERT ^ FOOTNOTE ^ AUTO NUMBER. Always use the AUTO NUMBER option as it is the only one that allows automatic numbering and its correct transfer to specialised pagination programs, generating the note number in the text at SUPERSCRIPT.

Do not number notes manually, using the RISED option in the FORMAT ^ FONT menu. When the text is retrieved, the note number will no longer be highlighted in any way.

If your work consists of tables, they should be created using only the TABLE ^ INSERT TABLE option. If you find it difficult to use INSERT TABLE, then just note the table location in the text and draw the table on the paper. It will be created in the editor based on your sketch.

It is completely forbidden to space columns using the TAB (or SPACE) key or to draw vertical and horizontal lines using the DRAWING option. Your work product will be completely unusable.

When inserting a table, think about the finite dimensions of the cards. Don't insert more columns than will fit on the page, as you will need to shrink the character excessively.

If illustrations are required, it is recommended that you mark only their place in the text (e.g. Figure X) and bring the photographs or hand-drawn (or just sketched) drawings to the publisher. They will be converted into electronic format by specialised staff and then inserted into the file.

Note the number assigned to the photo or illustration on the back. Use a soft pencil and avoid writing in pen. Pressing can damage the photos.

If possible, keep a copy of the illustrations. Always bring the originals to the publisher.

Make a list of the illustrations and the number assigned to them.

However, if you already have the graphics in electronic format and you insert them into the text, please observe the following requirements:

  • Along with the file containing the text of the book, in which the images are included, the illustration files (drawings, photographs) must be submitted separately;
  • drawings should be made in a dedicated program (preferably CorelDraw, FreeHand, AdobeIlustrator) and under no circumstances in MSWord using the DRAWING option;
  • scanned images must be in *.tif format, at 300 DPI resolution; for colour images, scanning must be done with the MILLIONS OF COLOURS option. If the images are brought in *.jpg format, then the transformation must be done with a minimum compression factor (quality) of 8 (preferably 10);
  • when inserting the image into the file, the FLOAT OVER TEXT option must be deactivated so that the position of the image relative to the text can be correctly identified. For greater certainty, if illustrations are not accompanied by captions, it is useful to insert an indication in the text such as Figure X, representing... (when paginated, this will be deleted).

- when handing in material to the publisher, always mention if and how you have inserted figures in the text.

If you want the text to have a certain layout on the page, preferably make a sketch/drawing on paper. Leave the plain, unformatted text on file. A clear outline drawn on paper is much more useful for typesetting.

If it is absolutely necessary to highlight certain alignments in the text, do so using the BULLETS option or, in the worst case, using the TAB key. Under no circumstances align text using a variable number of spaces.

In order to structure the material clearly, for the different levels of headings you should preferably use the predefined HEADINGS styles existing in MSWord.

If this is inconvenient for you follow the general rule that a title is usually 2 points higher than the text or the next lower-level title.

If the work lends itself, the subtitle levels can be numbered (e.g. 1., 1.1., 1.1.1.). Avoid too many sub-levels, however, as they become difficult to follow.

Delivery of the material to the publisher

Use optical digital information storage devices such as CDs or magnetic data storage devices such as memory sticks to transport your work to the publisher. Also, sending information by e-mail is common.

If the file is larger than the capacity of the data storage device, the file must be compressed. Use WinRar, WinZip or Arj archiving programs or create a self-extract archive.

Preferably, accompany the CD/DVD with a paper listing of the text. The listing and the electronic manuscript must be identical.

The rules and instructions presented, without claiming to be exhaustive, are intended to ensure compatibility between the material submitted by the author and its subsequent processing in the publishing house. Compliance with these rules means quick and easy pagination, as well as saving a considerable amount of work and time, and therefore financial resources.

Rules for typesetting documents destined for offset/digital printing

The format of materials destined for printing.

There are three very important aspects to watch out for when producing such a document: the page mirror, the finished page format and the raw page format:

  1. the page mirror is the perimeter of the text and images, including the header, footnotes and page number;
  2. the finished format comprises the page mirror and the empty space (edges) around it;
  3. the rough format is the space added around the finished format and is required for the finishing operation of the printed material.

The most common finite formats are:

A5: 147x205 mm / page mirror: 112x167 mm;

A4: 210x297 mm / page mirror: 170x257 mm;

A3: 420x297 mm (used for posters);

When producing flyers, posters or other materials of this kind, the following should be taken into account: the text should be placed at least 5 mm from the edges of the finished format or/and the edges of the folding lines.

B5: (Academic format): 170x240 mm / page mirror: 126x190 mm.

To obtain the rough format, 5 mm per side is added to the finished format. E.g.: A5 finished size; A5 rough size: 147 mm+ 5 mm+ 5 mm/205 mm+ 5 mm+ 5 mm.

If the page background is coloured or consists of an image or if there are images aligned to the edges of the finished format then these elements will be sized to cover the raw format appropriately.

If your material does not fit into these standard formats, we recommend that you contact the printer's management to agree on the dimensions of the page mirror, finished format and rough format.

Electronic format of documents brought to print

The Galaxia Gutenberg publishing house uses the following electronic formats (file types): pdf (Adobe Acrobat ver. 6.0) or cdr (CorelDraw maximum ver. 17).

General rules of technography

The electronic document submitted for printing will have a uniform format throughout, i.e. the pages will have the same size and orientation.

Page numbering starts from the first title page (always odd, on the right-hand side). Please note that all pages are included in the numbering, but the numbering should not appear on the title pages (first 2 or 4 pages) and on pages that do not contain text or images. Also, the header should not appear on the first page of the chapter or on pages without text or images.

Colour palette, text and image quality

Please note: the rules presented in this point refer to offset printed materials. Digitally printed material may comply with these rules, but not expressly.

Only the CMYK colour palette will be used for offset printing!

Details:

  • Both text and images must conform to the CMYK standard;
  • black text will be BLACK 100%;
  • for text written in a font smaller than 14 points and without the BOLD attribute, only the primary colours should be used, i.e. C (CYAN - Blue), M (MAGENTA), Y (YELLOW) or K (BLACK);
  • the document submitted to the printer in CorelDraw format will have the text converted to curves;
  • in the case of pdf. format (Adobe Acrobat) the fonts with which the text has been cut will be provided;
  • the recommended resolution of the images used is 300 dpi.

 

Book digitization services

The electronic book (also called digital book or e-book) is the new way of presenting a text enriched with different elements that make it look like a page of text in a book, with the difference that this text 'fits' on screens of different sizes and, at the same time, keeps a coherent look so that the reader does not feel the difference from a regular book. It is, if you like, the future of reading, because - like so many things in our modern lives - it transforms a material object into an immaterial one, which can be recorded on various media, sent remotely at no cost and accessed anytime, anywhere, without worrying about glue sticking or a sheet of paper folding.

In itself, the digital book is a collection of files (like a web page) that, archived and renamed, form a special file that can be read by devices and software specifically designed to read this archive. At the core are html, xhtml, xml, CSS styles and images. In fact, there are numerous tools for making these archives and others for reading (e-reading) that somehow give independence to writers and mobility to readers.

To make an eBook, you need text written in a word processor. So, if you have a manuscript, you need to prepare it in electronic format.

For a digital book, it's good to keep it professional looking. However, there are many specific parts of a printed book that you can leave out. One of these is the overly exaggerated design of the content. If it's not a children's book or an illustrated book, then you need to focus on the message of the book, the text. The literary (including grammatical) quality of the text takes precedence over the graphic aspect.

Digital format is different from print

Digital books differ from printed books and will never look the same. Try to create as simple a format as possible so that it displays correctly on as many e-readers as possible.

In the eBook there is no notion of a page and no notion of page numbering (colon), header (colontitle) or footer (footnotes). E-reading devices and software applications allow users to customise the font, font size and line spacing. They will change the display layout of the book according to their reading preferences and device performance. So, a particular font that looks good on a printed page will not look the same on a digital book or, if it is a font that does not exist in the reading device, it will look even strange (for example, instead of diacritics, various cabalistic signs or question marks will be displayed).

In the e-book, the graphical formatting of the book (typesetting) does not make sense for the same reason as above. In addition, any unnecessary graphic element leads to undue loading of the final file. Keep in mind that an eBook is a sum of files (like a web page), and any graphic element increases the size of this file folder, as it is stored independently. In addition, digital books larger than 10MB are generally not accepted for distribution due to transfer costs and the power of the existing processors in playback devices. The larger and more loaded the file, the more cumbersome it will be to play.

The reader can explore with your book

By converting books to digital format, new possibilities for exploring them will open up and readers can enjoy them in a different way. Thus, hyperlinks can be inserted directly into the eBook. For example, footnotes can be introduced in this way. Many reading devices have internet access and can access web pages via a browser. A number of references to various resources on the internet that explain or enrich the content of the book can be made directly from the reading page, as in a web page. On the other hand, too many meaningless references can confuse the reader and make reading difficult or lock up the e-reading device (some devices do not allow independent web browsing by default unless you go through the proprietary book purchasing system. So does, for example, the Nook Touch. There are, however, a number of methods hidden by the manufacturer of direct access that can eliminate these drawbacks).

There are many e-reading devices and software on the market. Correct formatting and design is the secret to compatibility with all these tools.

Converting a book into multiple formats

Digital books have long been niche products. Project Gutenberg was probably the first effort to digitise books on a large scale, especially those in the public domain. Most exist today in various formats accessible to many e-readers. The question is: which format is best for my book?

EPUB

It is probably the most popular format and is supported by most of the available platforms. Apple's iBooks, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Adobe Digital Editions, Android's Aldiko (and over 30 other apps) support epub. Amazon's Kindle does not currently support EPUB, but this is about to change.

The EPUB standard is an open format maintained by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), a global standards organisation. EPUB can display both adjustable content (it adapts to different adjustment modes) and fixed-size content. It is similar to HTML.

MOBI

The Mobipocket format (also known as MOBI) is another open standard. It was originally introduced by Amazon and can be read on different platforms. It allows the display of adjustable as well as fixed content. The extensions are .prc and .mobi. and supports complex display features, if and the devices on which it is displayed allow its display and a high compression ratio. The MOBI format is mainly intended for small screens due to image limitations (64k). The image format (GIF) and image size limitations make MOBI unsuitable for display on, for example, tablet screens.

AZW

The AZW format is developed by Amazon specifically for Kindle readers. It has its origins in the MOBI format, but allows for better compression and allows encryption of files. It can be read by multiple platforms, but can only be obtained from Amazon's online bookstore.

The AZW format is a DRM (Digital Rights Management) restricted format and locked to the device it is downloaded to via your Amazon user account. There is also the AZW format without DRM, but this is not much different from MOBI files.

PDF

Adobe's format is the oldest digital book format and perhaps one of the most widely used. It opened in 2001 and can display both adjustable and fixed content. Due to its widespread use, there are numerous tools to create, edit and secure a PDF document. Files of this type can be digitally signed and protected when editing and are virtually viewable on any platform.

However, the PDF format was not designed to be adjustable. On the contrary, it is designed to preserve the typing characteristics on any media, regardless of screen size or resolution. It's ideal for preparing a book for print or if your work involves complex layout, graphics, formulas and design, but what makes it perfect for one purpose makes it unsuitable for e-reading. Although various methods of repurposing content have been proposed, we do not recommend using this format for an e-book unless it is intended for viewing on large screens or for later printing by users. There are tools that convert files created by common text editors into all these e-reading formats.

Preparing your book in a text editor

If your manuscript is written in a text editor, then it is technically ready for conversion. If your manuscript is written on paper, then you need to write it in a text editor or ask (hire) someone to do it. If, for example, you only have the book in hard copy format, then it needs to be scanned and OCRed (a term adapted from OCR - Optical Character Recognition). There is specialised software that does this job, but it is necessary to check and correct the resulting text, as some characters are not recognised or are wrongly recognised.

IMPORTANT: Remember that a book is not a book until it goes through a series of publication stages. Whether it's a user manual, a cookbook, a technical book, blog articles or (especially) a novel, it's a good idea to follow at least the most important steps of publishing a book: editing, proofreading - to make sure you deliver a quality read. If you're not interested in this, then it's best to set up a blog where you can publish the material and provide access for a fee.

When preparing a text document for export, take care of its layout from the start. The neater it is, the better it will look in the end.

So, try to eliminate the following common formatting errors for most authors:

Do not enter more than four blank paragraphs consecutively (paragraphs created with the Enter key).  These often result in a blank (electronic) book page.

Remove all tabs (spaces created at the beginning of the paragraph or line using the TAB key). The line end spacing is created from styles.

Inserting additional blank paragraphs between normal paragraphs (line spacing with the Enter key) results in blank lines.

Do not use exotic fonts. And beware of using unlicensed fonts! If you don't have a licence to use a font, you can go to one of the many websites that sell font packs. To avoid problems, use an Open Source font. For Romanian, use Liberation Fonts. It is the equivalent of Times New Roman, is easy to read on the screen and has an extended Latin B Unicode character map. Many common fonts (such as Times New Roman, Garamond, Arial, etc.) are either not licensed or partially licensed for the digital format. You can find more Open Source fonts at Openfontlibrary.org or theleagueofmoveabletype.com. Here you can find a basic guide to using fonts.

Do not use a letter size that is too large. 11pt or 12pt is best, 14pt is the maximum. For headings use 16 or 18 point size. Don't forget that e-book readers can adjust the font size.

Remove indents (the space at the beginning of the paragraph) made with the Space or Tab key (very common error). Use the styles your word processor offers instead.

Text columns and tables are difficult formats for e-reading devices to digest. They need to be made with proper coding or, at best, try getting rid of them and find another way to highlight your information.

Do not use TextBoxes, they are not supported by many devices or are displayed incorrectly.

Don't mix paragraph styles and don't use too many styles to define paragraphs, your book will look like an indigestible jumble that will annoy many readers. Plus, it results in an unprofessional look.

Do not insert footnotes. Put all footnotes at the end of the chapter or book. Footnotes are not supported (in the classic form) by e-book readers.

Do not center an image in the middle of the text, the conversion will result in discretionary placement in the paragraph where the text is placed.

Typing Romanian text - general rules -

When writing your book, take care of the following very important points:

Insert diacritics. Many words change their meaning if they are written without diacritics and can even change the meaning of the sentence or phrase they are part of. The brain usually "guesses" the correct meaning, but it is difficult to read text without diacritics. If possible, select Romanian in your word processor when writing.

The comma is placed immediately after the word. Do not insert a space before a comma, and in general DO NOT insert a space before punctuation: some texts format when read and the "Justify" operation usually spaces words apart. Thus, the comma or other punctuation mark remains singular and prevents coherent reading.

Insert a space after the comma, as you would after any other punctuation mark. Do not link it (them) to the next word for the same reasons as above.

Insert space after the dialog line.

Do not write in abbreviated form. Abbreviations can make a text difficult to understand.

Do not write the manuscript in CAPITAL LETTERS: the manuscript should not be written in capital letters because it will prevent the text from being read.

Do not use underlined text. Where possible, replace underlined text with italics.

How to promote your book

It's common knowledge, the more you promote your book, the better your chances of selling more copies. You can choose to have your book featured on various blogs or to have an unbiased review by a specialist reader, you can make printed materials: advertising flyers, order postcards, bookmarks, posters, promote your book in Galaxia Gutenberg Bookshops through posters or banners or you can choose to promote your book on Facebook, Instagram,Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, Youtube, on a website or blog. An effective method are reviews by bloggers specialising in book presentation, then book fairs, launches and competitions promoted by you or the publisher you have the book out.