INTRODUCTION.
Most business men, and all professional men, have occasion, more or less, to have something printed for their own use, or to write something for the public press, so that a correct knowledge of some of the simpler marks used by proof-readers, in making corrections and additions, seems imperative. The advice sometimes given to allow the printer to make all corrections, since he is more likely to know what corrections are necessary, is destructive to a clear presentation of what another has written. The printer may understand better than the writer the mechanical part of his work, but “mind reading” has not yet reached such perfection that the compositor can tell, in all instances, what meaning the writer really wishes to convey, and a misconception on the part of the printer may be the means of changing the sense of a whole paragraph.
In preparing anything for the press, a few facts should be remembered:—
1. It is never allowable to write on both sides of a sheet of paper. Only one side should be used, and each page should be properly numbered.
2. The manuscript should be prepared with great care. It should be properly punctuated, capitalized, and broken into paragraphs. In fact, the copy placed in the hands of the printer should be in a condition to be exactly reproduced. Some expect the printer to dress up in proper form their half expressed, poorly written, and badly punctuated sentences, and if their hieroglyphics and abbreviations are not deciphered to suit their unreasonable expectations, they rail against incompetent printers and blundering proof-readers.
3. Some writers thoughtlessly leave many points unsettled in the manuscript, so as to see “how they look in print,” then fill the proof with numberless corrections and additions, and expect the printer to make such changes as the impulse of the moment has suggested. This is certainly a great injustice to the compositor, who usually receives no remuneration for this additional tax on his time and patience. No half finished manuscript ought to be allowed to go into the printer’s hand.
4. Whenever it is really necessary to strike out several words, enough words should be substituted in their places to fill the vacant spaces.