I'm constantly having to clean up files from authors. Most of them have no clue about how a manuscript should be structured or formatted. That's why I've created an Author Tools template--to help authors write, structure, and format their manuscripts in an easy, consistent way. (And, of course, to simplify my life--and possibly yours.) You can download the template (at no charge)--along with complete instructions for using it--here:
http://www.editorium.com/ftp/AuthorTemplate.zip
Like the template? Feel free to share it. Pass it around! Give it away! The main point of the template is to give it to authors who need it. If you can get them to use it, it should help prevent the following problems:
* Inconsistently applied formatting.
* Unstyled text.
* Messed-up footnotes and endnotes.
* Inconsistent chapter (and other) numbering.
And that should make your work easier. It will also make writing easier and more productive for the authors with whom you work. You may even want to use it yourself. I know I'm going to.
Don't like the template? Let me know! I'd love to have any suggestions for improving what I hope will be a useful tool for authors.
mailto:editor [at symbol] editorium.com
Do you have an author template you'd be willing to share with readers of Editorium Update? If so, please email it to me, and I'll make it available in the next newsletter. Thanks!
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READERS WRITE
Eric Fletcher wrote:
Further to your article about displaying function keys (2005-10-27), you can also generate a list of all mapped function keys via the Tools > Macros menu. In the "Macros in" box, choose "Word commands" then scroll down to choose "ListCommands" and click Run. The dialog that comes up lets you select either the current menu and keyboard settings (default) or all Word commands.
The resulting table presents each command alphabetically with the key and modifiers to get at it (as well as the menu where you can access it if applicable). Sort the table by key to see the keyboard mapping for the function keys.
On my system, choosing "all Word commands" generates a 30-page table: more than I care to print, but interesting to browse through to discover commands or keyboard shortcuts you may not have been aware of! (Did you know that Ctrl-Shift-G brings up the Word Count dialog? I didn't.)
Unfortunately, the table doesn't include a description column but if you want to find out what a command does, click on it in the Tools > Macros dialog and read the greyed-out description displayed at the bottom. If you click Run, it will invoke the command--the only way I could see the details for the oddly-named "Options Fuzzy" command!
The table will include any keyboard or menu assignments you may have made as well.
Thanks, Eric!
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RESOURCES
You'll find some other author templates here:
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-862.html
http://books.elsevier.com/authors/guide/template.asp
http://www.witpress.com/author_instruction.html
http://cslipublications.stanford.edu/site/authors.html
http://www.thomsoncustom.com/authors/templates.html
Worth checking out!
