How do I upload my manuscript in Wordclay's self-publishing wizard?
You will be prompted to upload your manuscript during the production process. First, you can "browse" to find your manuscript file. Next, once you find the file, select it and click "Open." The name of the file you selected should now fill the upload-box that was previously blank. Last, click the upload button.
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What are the causes for common manuscript upload errors and how can I fix them?
Here are some common causes for manuscript upload errors:
- You submitted your manuscript in a file type we cannot accept. Our publishing wizard only accepts Microsoft Word files. However, if your manuscript is in a different kind of file, we may still be able to accept it manually. Please contact a representative through Live Chat, email (customersupport@wordclay.com) or phone for more details.
- Images are low resolution. All images must be above 72 dpi (300 dpi preferred). If your image is below 72 dpi, replace the low resolution with a higher resolution image. If you do not have access to a higher resolution image, you must remove the image from your manuscript.
- Images are outside the designated margins. Text and images must fit within designated margins. While we re-flow your text to fit in the margins, images that are not anchored to a particular place can "float" within the manuscript and fall outside the margins, especially if the images are formatted in front of or behind the text. To correct this, reinsert the images using the Insert>Picture command on the main toolbar. Adjust the image formatting to an anchored layout, such as "in line with text," "top and bottom" or "square."
- Page count must meet the minimum/ maximum for your book size. The minimum is 48 pages for all book sizes. The maximum for 5'' x 8'' and 6'' x 9'' books is 740, and the maximum for 8.25'' x 11'' inch books is 828 pages.
- Fonts must be found on our allowable fonts list. If an unrecognizable font is found, you need to replace the font with something else.
What should I do if the upload times out or I close the upload window or lose connection before it is complete?
If you lose your Internet connection, the upload process times out, or you close the window before the upload process is complete, you will have to begin the uploading process again. We do not have any automatic recovery to bring up the sections of the file already uploaded. You need to try to upload the file again.
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Why were extra blank pages added to my manuscript?
All books are required to have a total page count that is divisible by four and the last page must be a blank, left-facing page. If this did not occur naturally in your manuscript, then we have added extra blank pages to accommodate the requirement.
If more than four blank pages were added to your manuscript, then a mistake occurred. This is most likely due to hard returns (when the "Enter" key is pressed) at the end of your document. When our wizard converts your manuscript into the book interior, if a hard return or any other formatting is on a page, it treats it as a page with content on it, not a blank page. You probably were not even aware these formatting keystrokes were there, because you cannot see hard returns unless you specifically turn on your "Show All" to see hidden keystrokes, such as spaces, intents, and hard returns ("Enter").
To correct this problem, you can simply delete the extra pages and hard returns, and repeat the upload process.
Why do I need Adobe Reader to view my manuscript book file?
Adobe Reader is the program used and required to open a PDF file (portable document format). A PDF file is a commonly used file and ensures that the file will look the same when the file is opened on various different computers without shifting, which is what can happen in word processing documents or other files.
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How do I download Adobe Reader software?
If you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download a free copy of the software from www.adobe.com. During the production process, you will be prompted to download a copy of your manuscript and cover to review. If you cannot open the files, you may not have Adobe Reader. Click on the Adobe Reader icons on the same page. The installation wizard will open and lead you through the installation process. For more help on how to install Adobe Reader, consult a professional.
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What do I do if I need to change something after reviewing the manuscript sample set-up in the new margins?
After you upload your manuscript, we will put your work into a template of the book size you selected (5” x 8”, 6” x 9”, or 8.25” x 11”). It's okay if you see something you wish to change in the PDF; you can still make changes. Simply download the Microsoft Word® document supplied and make the changes to the file. After you have made the necessary adjustments, save the file and upload the new version of your manuscript.
What are common formatting problems and issues after my manuscript is converted into the preview file to approve?
Here are some issues and how to fix them:
- Complex formatting is out of order. If you created complex formatting, such as your Table of Contents using the tab button, it now probably does not look the way that you intended. To correct the problem, you can adjust the tabs within the Word document with the correct margins. Download the Microsoft Word file preview and make the adjustments.
- Sentences drop in the middle and start on a new line. If you notice that a lot of your sentences drop in the middle and start on a new line, then you probably pressed the hard return, or "Enter" key at the end of a line, instead of letting the words wrap to the next line on its own.
Here's an example:
In the original manuscript, the sentence looked just fine. The sentence was connected and flowed to the next line without breaking in the middle. But in the preview manuscript file, the sentence was broken.
Here is the same sentence when changed to a smaller page format:
In the original manuscript, the sentence looked just fine. The sentence was connected and flowed
to the next line without breaking in the middle. But in the preview manuscript file, the sentence
was broken.
To correct this issue, you need to delete the hard return from within the sentence. You can turn on your Show All option to view all key strokes by looking under the "Tools" drop down option, then select "Options" and a new window will open: Under the "View" tab, look under "Formatting marks," then check the box that says "All." You can also click the button that looks like this: ¶ on your formatting toolbar.
- The font changed. We do not have access to all kinds of fonts in all kinds of styles. If your font changed, or you're missing bolds or italics, you need to go back to your original manuscript and replace the font with a font that we have access to. Review the allowable fonts list to see which fonts have options for bold, italic, bold italic, etc.
- Images appear low in resolution. Even if you placed high resolution images in your manuscript, you need to adjust the compression options before saving to avoid image resolution loss. If you have already saved the manuscript without changing this option, you will need to reinsert the high resolution images again, because the file was most likely already compressed.
When saving, under "File" on the main toolbar, click on "Save as," which will open a new window. In the "Save as" window, click on the "Tools" drop down menu. Then, select the "Compress Pictures…" option, which will open a new window. Unselect the "Compress Pictures" option and click "OK." (A warning may pop-up, stating that compressing the file will lower the quality of the images, but this warning does not apply to you, and is precisely what you are going to avoid happening. Click "Apply.")
- Chapter and new pages no longer start where they should. If you see this problem, you most likely used the "Enter" key to get to the next page. In a standard Word doc layout, it looked fine. However, once the margins changed, it no longer correlates with the beginning of a page. The best way to correct this issue is to delete all of the hard returns that you used previously, and replace it with a page break. You can do this by looking under the "Insert" drop down on the toolbar, then select "Break" and "Page Break." If you do not know how to insert a page break, you can adjust the spacing adding more or less returns to the Microsoft Word preview file; however, this fix will only work for this book size.
- Manual Page numbering, manual table of contents or index page numbers are off. If you created your table of contents or index manually, then it will not update automatically to correspond with the revised page count. For manual page numbers listed at the top or bottom of each page, delete each number and replace it with auto updating page numbers in the header or footer of your page. You can do this a few different ways, one is by looking under the "Insert" drop down, then select "Page Numbers…"You can make odd and even headers or footers different from each other under the Layout tab of "Page Setup," selecting the "different odd and even." You can change the number style (i.e. Arabic or Roman numerals) by using section breaks. Under "Insert" choose "Break…" then "Section Break Continuous." When formatting the headers or footers you can choose to either "Continue from previous section," or "Start at," then pick the number. For a manual indexes or table of contents, there is no easy solution other than to update the page numbers by hand.
- Text boxes, images or charts are out of place. The change in margin size affects the layout of certain kinds of items. To correct this, adjust the placement of these items within Microsoft Word document preview. If an image is out of place, you may need to adjust the settings. Select the image, the look under the "Format" drop down menu, and select "Picture…" then a new window will open. Under the Layout tab, change the text wrapping options around the image. If the image is currently behind or in front of the text, the text may be out of place after you change the margin settings for a different book size. Choose a different option, such as in line with text.
- Comments and changes appear throughout your manuscript. If you uploaded your manuscript with "Track Changes" and/or "Comments" shown, they will appear in your manuscript preview file as well. You can fix this problem by accepting or rejecting the changes in your manuscript. Then, make sure to turn off the tracking option by clicking the "Tools" drop down menu and selecting "Track Changes." You can clear the comments from your manuscript by right-clicking on the comment and selecting "Delete."
- Too many blank pages at the end of the manuscript. Published books must have at least one blank page as the very last page, and the total page count must be divisible by four. So, often additional blank pages must be added to meet this technical requirement. However, if more than four blank pages remain at the end of your book, this is most likely caused by hard returns, or other hidden formatting key strokes that existed on the last "blank" pages of your manuscript when it was uploaded. Although they may have looked blank to you, they actually contained information that our formatting wizard saw as content. To fix this problem, simply delete all the extra blank pages at the end, and upload your manuscript again.
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What should I review when I see the sample version of the manuscript?
Review everything before you approve your manuscript. By approving your manuscript, you are verifying that the preview is exactly as you wish for it to appear in the published version of your book, including all aspects of the formatting and content, such as:
•Text (including grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.)
•Blank Pages
•Margins
•Font Style and Size
•Illustrations, Images and Captions
•Paragraph Spacing, Justification, Indents and Scene Breaks
•Copyright Page
•Pagination
•Title Page
•Table of Contents
•Headers and Footers
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