Sweet & Maxwell Hong Kong's
GUIDE FOR AUTHORS
Issued by the Hong Kong office in Oct 2006
Sweet & Maxwell,
Thomson Reuters Hong Kong Ltd
10/F, Cityplaza 3,
Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong
Tel: (+852) 3762 3200
Fax: (+852) 2520 6646
http://www.sweetandmaxwell.com.hk
Guide for Authors
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1
CONTENT OF MANUSCRIPT ........................................................................... 2
Legal Accuracy ........................................................................................ 2
Using Copyright Material ........................................................................ 2
CONSISTENCY AND HOUSE STYLE ................................................................ 3
Quality of Manuscript .............................................................................. 3
Headings................................................................................................... 4
Cross-references ....................................................................................... 4
Artwork / Diagrams / Forms / Tabular Material / Captions ..................... 5
Abbreviations ........................................................................................... 6
Use of the First Person Singular Personal Pronoun ................................. 6
Use of Non-gender-specific Language ..................................................... 7
Sweet & Maxwell Asia House Style (Abridged) ..................................... 7
(1) Spelling .......................................................................................... 7
(2) Lists ............................................................................................... 8
(3) Footnotes ....................................................................................... 8
(4) Cases .............................................................................................. 9
(5) Statutes and Ordinances............................................................... 10
(6) Books ........................................................................................... 10
(7) Articles......................................................................................... 10
(8) Newspaper and magazine articles ................................................ 11
(9) On-line sources ............................................................................ 11
(10) Miscellaneous ............................................................................ 11
WRITING FOR NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS ....................................... 13
Specific English Language Points Which May Cause Problems for Asian
Readers ............................................................................................. 13
Using Chinese Pin Yin ........................................................................... 14
Citation of Chinese Journals .................................................................. 15
DELIVERY OF MANUSCRIPT ........................................................................ 17
Submitting Your Manuscript on Disk .................................................... 17
CHECKING EDITED MANUSCRIPT ................................................................ 20
What to Be Aware of.............................................................................. 20
Return Dates ........................................................................................... 20
Index and Tables .................................................................................... 20
Corrections to Proofs.............................................................................. 21
CHECKLISTS ................................................................................................ 22
Content of Manuscript............................................................................ 22
Delivery of Manuscript .......................................................................... 23
Submitting Your Manuscript on Disk .................................................... 24
Checking Edited Manuscripts ................................................................ 25
Guide for Authors
INTRODUCTION
This Guide provides the author with information on how to prepare a
manuscript before submitting it to Sweet & Maxwell Asia for
publication, and how to check edited manuscripts. Each section gives
detailed instructions on the steps you must follow. Please make sure
you take the time to read the whole Guide.
The sections on manuscript preparation cover accuracy of legal
content, the procedures for obtaining permission on copyright
material, the layout you should follow and guidelines on house style.
You will also find helpful sections on writing for non-native English
speakers and submitting your manuscript.
The section on checking edited manuscripts covers topics on making
amendments to edited manuscripts, corrections to proofs and return
dates.
You should be aware that, if followed, this Guide should ensure that
your manuscript reaches publication without any unnecessary delay
or difficulty. Failure to observe the rules laid out can affect the
schedule, the publication date and even the cost and success of your
book.
At Sweet & Maxwell Asia, we believe in working closely with our
authors to produce the best products possible. If you have any queries
or concerns regarding this Guide, please do not hesitate to contact
your Commissioning Editor.
Sweet & Maxwell Asia
Hong Kong
2006
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Guide for Authors
CONTENT OF MANUSCRIPT
Before starting to write your manuscript, please speak to your
Commissioning Editor to discuss the content and aim of your work.
A completed Author Proposal Form should be submitted in advance.
Legal Accuracy
You should be aware that your manuscript will not be checked for
legal content by the Editor. For this reason you must ensure that all
references to case citations are complete and accurate, and that all
statements purporting to be facts are true.
Using Copyright Material
If you are required to reproduce anything which has already been
published in another source, you need to request permission from the
relevant publisher or other copyright holder. This is your
responsibility, and is stated in your contract as such. Permissions
must be obtained at as early a stage as possible, before the manuscript
is delivered.
It is a good idea to keep full details of sources (including length and
exact references). This also applies to the reproduction of official
forms and statutory materials. The copyright holder will usually
specify exactly how they should be acknowledged and it may be
necessary to pay a fee to reproduce some items.
When submitting your manuscript, it must be accompanied by a
written statement from the copyright holder giving permission for
reproduction.
If you require any guidance on this, please contact Sweet & Maxwell
Asia in advance. Obtaining permission to reproduce some items can
take a considerable amount of time and can delay publication.
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Guide for Authors
CONSISTENCY AND HOUSE STYLE
Quality of Manuscript
The manuscript should be consistent throughout in style and
presentation, otherwise a great deal of time can be spent by the Editor
in making necessary amendments.
When preparing your manuscript, it is important that you devise and
decide upon a clear structure, for the whole book and for each
chapter, as soon as possible. Doing so will assist you a great deal
when you are organising your materials and when you are writing. If
you would like to discuss the suitability of the structure you wish to
adopt, please do not hesitate to contact the Commissioning Editor.
A clean and well-presented manuscript can be worked on much more
quickly by the Editor and typesetters than one which is not. In
addition, good manuscripts incur fewer errors and can be checked
much more easily by the Editor and by you at proof stage. Sweet &
Maxwell Asia has its own house style, some of the more common
points of which are listed below. If you follow this house style, your
manuscript should be consistent and the publishing schedule may be
shortened, meaning the work may be published sooner. This is
particularly crucial for products which require a precise publishing
date.
You should check the manuscript carefully before submitting it and
confirm that the submitted manuscript is the complete and final
version. It is useful to number pages consecutively.
If there are any points of style about which you are concerned, then
you should contact Sweet & Maxwell Asia in advance and provide a
covering note, otherwise the manuscript will be edited to house style.
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Guide for Authors
Headings
The use of headings to break up the text and make the subject matter
readily accessible is very important. The quality of the index is
usually determined by a good use of headings.

Headings should be formatted appropriately in order of
importance, e.g.
THE LEGAL PROCESS
(Chapter heading)
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
(A-heading)
The Criminal Trial
(B-heading)
The not guilty plea
(C-heading)
The manuscript must also include an up-to-date contents list (this can
also provide the Editor with a final guide as to the levels of
headings).
Cross-references
All cross-references should be completed by the author at manuscript
stage.
Page numbers
Cross-references within the text of a manuscript can be done by using
original manuscript page numbers at the time of writing / author
editing. All cross-references should be done before manuscript
delivery, although they will need adjustment later (usually on first
proof). The Editor or author will adjust the page numbers to match
the published layout at this stage. The author will be expected to
confirm that cross-references are correct.
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Guide for Authors
Where you wish a cross-reference to appear, you should type “See
p.[13]” (referring to a page of the manuscript in order to make it
easier to find the section you were intending to refer to when you or
the Editor come to fill in the cross-references at first proof stage.
Please highlight these references in a bold font.
Paragraph numbers
Paragraph numbers, on the other hand, can be inserted at manuscript
stage. Paragraph numbers should be inserted at as regular and
convenient intervals as possible, e.g. at a certain level of heading or
every third paragraph. As a guide, you should remember that there
must be at least one or two paragraph numbers per finished page.
Please insert the number before the first word of the paragraph to
which it refers, e.g.
12.089 This is an example of how paragraph numbers should
be numbered for ease of reference and for the purpose of
compiling tables and the index. The paragraph number 12.089
would be referring to this paragraph.
The use of paragraph numbers not only speeds up the publication
process (as the tables and index can be started as soon as the
complete and final manuscript is delivered), but it also aids the reader
in pin-pointing references more closely than a page number.
Paragraph numbers should be structured to take the chapter number
first, e.g. in chapter 12, the paragraph numbers would be 12.000,
12.002, 12.003, etc.
Where you wish a cross-reference to appear, you should type, e.g.
“See 12.022” (referring to the relevant paragraph of the manuscript).
Please highlight these references in a bold font.
Artwork / Diagrams / Forms / Tabular Material / Captions
If you are thinking of supplying any artwork, e.g. maps, you must
discuss this in advance with the Commissioning Editor to ensure the
quality of the published version.
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Guide for Authors
Official forms should be submitted in digital format. If this is not
possible, please provide the Commissioning Editor with a clean copy
of the original. Do not submit photocopies of official forms.
Tables and figures should be set out as clearly as possible. Check
them thoroughly for errors, omissions, etc. If originals are not
available, a draft computer illustration can be submitted.
It is useful to number tables and figures, e.g. Table 5.1 (i.e. the first
table in chapter 5) or Figure 3.4 (i.e. the fourth figure in chapter 3).
Provide captions for all illustrations, figures, diagrams and maps.
Provide sources for information that is not your own work.
Please indicate clearly in the text where tables or figures are to be
placed, e.g. “[Insert Table 5.8 here]” and provide a hard copy of the
tables or figures at the end of each relevant chapter. Please save such
tables or figures on a separate file (see “Delivery of Manuscript”
section below). It is always more useful to refer to your tables or
figures by number, i.e. “see Table 3.6” rather than “see Table below”,
as the exact position of these tables or figures may change when the
manuscript is laid out.
Abbreviations
Any abbreviations should be written out in full the first time they are
used in each chapter with the abbreviation following in parentheses
“( )”. If the manuscript contains a lot of abbreviations, it may be
useful to submit a table of abbreviations or a glossary of unusual
terms.
Use of the First Person Singular Personal Pronoun
In most professional or reference works, the use of the first person
singular personal pronoun (I, me, myself) is usually avoided, e.g. you
should write “This chapter discusses” rather than “I will now discuss”
or “It is the author’s opinion that” rather than “It is my opinion that”.
However, there is flexibility to this rule, such as in cases where
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Guide for Authors
avoiding the use of this pronoun will have adverse effects to the style
and personal flair of your writing.
Use of Non-gender-specific Language
Please use non-gender-specific language in your manuscript. As long
as there is consistency, you may use any one of many methods to
ensure that your writing is non-gender-specific, e.g. “he / she”; “he or
she”; use of plurals; or use of “it” when referring to legal parties,
corporations, etc.
Sweet & Maxwell Asia House Style (Abridged)
Note: House style should not be followed in quotations or
extracts. Such material must be reproduced in exactly the same
format as the original.
(1) Spelling
For those manuscripts written in English, as a deviation from the
usual Sweet & Maxwell house style, authors may use UK or US
spellings. Their use should then be consistent throughout the rest of
the manuscript. Examples of such spellings are as follows:
British English
author-ise
lab-our
cent-re
trave-ll-ing
American English
author-ize
lab-or
cent-er
trave-l-ing
It is not uncommon, however, to use the American -ize spellings in
conjunction with the British spelling of the other forms. Again, their
use should be consistent.
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Guide for Authors
(2) Lists
The same numbering system should be employed throughout the text,
e.g.
1.
2.
3.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(i)
(ii)
(3) Footnotes
Numbering
Within each chapter, footnote numbers will run from 1 onwards.
Each new chapter will start again at 1. Footnotes should be used for
references to cases, legislation and further reading. Substantive
discussion should be included in the main text. Authors are
responsible for ensuring that references to cases and bibliographies
are complete and accurate as these will not be checked by the Editor.
If it is felt that references require more detail, then the Editor will
contact you. This will add to the time required to mark up your
manuscript and may cause an unnecessary delay.
Style
The following is a guide for the style treatment of footnotes.
Ibid.
para.
(full stop, space, italics)
(full stop, space) – paragraph in
text
(full stop, space)
(full stop, space) – Article in
text
(full stop, space) – Cap. XX in
text
(full stop, no italics)
(full stop, space)
(full stop, space)
s. 12
Art.
Cap. 23
viz.
p. 37
v.
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Guide for Authors
n. 4
Art. 16(3)
(full stop, space)
(no space between number and
bracket)
(full stop)
(full stop, no capitals, space)
(full stops, comma before, none
after, italics)
(full stops, comma before, none
after, italics)
(full stop, space, italics)
etc.
p. or pp.
i.e.
e.g.
op. cit
Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. (May, June and
July are not abbreviated)
(4) Cases
The authorised law reports of a specific country (where applicable)
should always be cited if possible in their standard form. In Hong
Kong, for example, law report citations are made up of four parts: the
case name, the year, the volume number, the abbreviation for the law
reports and the page number at which a report begins.
e.g. Yip Kai Foon v. HKSAR [2000] 2 HKLRD 62.
Please note that full points are employed in most abbreviated
references, and after the "v.". The opening page of the report should
always be referred to first. The entire case name should be italicised.
Please note particularly the following abbreviations:
R. (not Rex/Regina)
Att.-Gen.
Ex p./ex rel. (prefaced by a comma)
(Deceased)
U.D.C./B.C./C.C./D.C.
Re (never In re)
& Another
& Others
unrep.
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Guide for Authors
European and American cases have their own rules. Please consult
Sweet & Maxwell Asia for guidance.
(5) Statutes and Ordinances
Use the short title only in the text and do not italicise. "Section"
should be lower case and be spelt out in full, except where it appears
in a footnote.
e.g.
section 1 of the Law of Property Act 1925
Law of Property Act 1925, s. 1 (footnote)
“Schedule” is also written in full, except in the footnotes.
e.g.
Schedule 1, paragraph 1 to the Law of Property Act 1925
Law of Property Act 1925, Sch. 1, para. 1 (footnote)
“Cap.” is always abbreviated where it appears in both the text and the
footnotes.
N.B. A section of an Act but a Schedule to an Act.
An Act may be abbreviated when used frequently,
e.g.
LPA 1925, s. 1.
(6) Books
These should always be cited as in the following examples:
G. Cary, The Medieval Alexander (New York: Cambridge, 1956),
p. 56.
Martin Pollock and Patricia Maitland, The History of English Law,
2nd edn, Vol. 1 (London: Kluwer, 1911), p. 518.
Jonathan Salmond (ed.), Torts (London: English Law & Practice,
1989), p. 217.
(7) Articles
Titles should always be within double quotation marks, and not
italicised. Common abbreviations of periodicals should be used, and
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Guide for Authors
cited in italics; but names of journals are always italicised. Citation is
as follows:
Daniel Cross, "Reflections in Bratty's Case" (1968) 78 L.Q.R. 237,
239.
Keith Goldberg, "Concepts of Depreciation" in David Baxter and
Todd Davidson (eds), Studies in Accounting Theory (New
York: Public Affairs, 1962), p. 236.
(8) Newspaper and magazine articles
The title of the article is always in double quotation marks and the
name of the newspaper or magazine is always italicised. Months of
the year should be abbreviated to Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept.,
Oct., Nov., Dec. (May, June and July are not abbreviated).
Melissa Ferguson, “Right of Abode Granted”, South China
Morning Post, 14 Jan. 2001, A5.
Patrick Ricks, “Corporate Governance Practices”, Company
Secretary, 19 Feb. 2001, p. 36.
(9) On-line sources
John Walker, “Resources for Learning French” (19 May 1996),
http://www.fourmilab.ch/francais/lfrench.html (visited 12 Aug.
1997).
(10) Miscellaneous
(a) Double quotation marks are always used. For quoted material
inside quotations, single quotation marks are employed.
(b) Capital letters are used when referring to a specific body,
organisation or office.
e.g.
governments of the European Community
The Government Department has quoted
(c) , e.g. / , i.e. / , cf. are italicised (these should be preceded, but not
followed, by a comma); etc. is not italicised.
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Guide for Authors
(d) Foreign language phrases and other non-English expressions
should always be italicised unless they have become wholly absorbed
into everyday language.
e.g.
etc.
bona fide
res ipsa loquitur
amicus curiae
(e) Dates should always be given in house style (unless they appear
in statutory material, ordinances / statutes or quotations which cannot
be altered). Please use exact dates or years rather than relative ones,
i.e. “this took place in 2000” rather than “this took place last year”.
e.g.
1 January 1985.
1987–1988 (not 1987–8 or 1987–88).
(f) Pages are always numbered pp. 178–179 (not pp. 178–9).
(g) Numbers are spelt out from one to nine only, and thereafter
appear as numerals.
(h) Abbreviations which consist of three letters or more do not
usually employ full points, (e.g. USA).
If your manuscript contains a lot of abbreviations, please supply a list
which can then be included in the preliminary pages of the book.
N.B. These rules are all subject to any specific deviations from
standard house style agreed at the project development stage with
Sweet & Maxwell Asia.
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Guide for Authors
WRITING FOR NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS
Many of the books published by Sweet & Maxwell Asia are for a
predominantly non-English-speaking readership. It should be
remembered, therefore, that those books should adopt an appropriate
writing approach. The following may be useful:

the inclusion of a bilingual glossary for frequently used terms
(this is especially important where the terms used are distinct to
the legal system being discussed);

the avoidance of cultural expressions or concepts which other
nations could not be expected to understand without further
explanation;

the use of short and more simply constructed sentences tend to
convey messages more clearly than complex ones;

paragraphs should be short, and the use of sub-headings and
spacing helps the text appear more accessible / readable;

the use of a brief outline at the beginning of each chapter provides
the reader with easy reference of the key issues discussed.
Specific English Language Points Which May Cause Problems
for Asian Readers
Please avoid, unless absolutely necessary, the following:

The use of the passive tense
This tends to cause Asian readers difficulty in understanding who
is doing what, to whom and the issues of responsibility, e.g. “The
judge heard the case” rather than “The case was heard by the
judge”.
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Guide for Authors

Nominalisation
Nominalisation is the use of words in their noun based form
rather than the verb based form, e.g. instruction rather than
instruct. This should also be avoided as this means that the
passive tense usually follows.

The use of the conditional tense and hypotheticals
The use of the conditional tense and hypotheticals should be kept
to a minimum because Chinese has no equivalent tense – instead
time is positioned by an adverb rather than a tense, e.g. last night
go home.
Using Chinese Pin Yin
As Chinese characters are not based on phonetic writing forms, the
pin yin system allows people to know precisely how to pronounce
each word.
When writing pin yin, individual words or phrases may be denoted by
using separate pin yin words for each Chinese character. In whole
sentences or long phrases, the pin yin for several related characters
may be combined.
Examples:
(Zhong Guo)
(Da Xue)
(Wen Hua)
(Fa Yuan)
China (see 1. and 2.)
university
culture
court
1. Gao Mingxuan: On Crimes Committed by Legal Persons (Lun
Faren Fanzui), China Legal Science (Zhongguo Faxue), No.
5, 1993
2. Wang Jiafu: Contract Law (Hetong Fa), p. 34, Publishing
Press of China Social Science (Zhongguo Shehui Kexue
Chubanshe), 1986
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Guide for Authors
Citation of Chinese Journals
Below is a list of some of the most commonly cited law journals in
China and Hong Kong, in pin yin with their English translation. To
ensure that consistency is maintained, you are advised to adopt these
spellings in your references.
Caijing yanjiu
inFinance and
Studies
Economy
Falü kexue
Science
Law
Faxue
Legal Science
Faxue yanjiu
Studies in Law
Faxue zazhi
of Legal Science
Journal
Faxuejia
Jurists’ Review
Fazhi ribao
Daily
Legal
Jingji faxue
of Economic Law
Science
Jingjifa
Economic Law
Lüshi xiu
Studies on Lawyers
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Guide for Authors
Minzhu yu fazhi
Democracy and Legal System
Renmin ribao
Daily
People’s
Xinhua wenzhai
Digest
New China
Xinhua yuebao
Xinhua Monthly
Zhenfa luntan
Politics and Law
Forum of
Zhongguo faxue
Legal Science
Chinese
Zhongguo lüshi
Lawyers
China
Zhongguo shangye fazhi
Chinese Business Law
Zhongguo shehui kexue
Chinese Social Science
Zhongguo sifa xingzheng de
lilun yu shijian
Administration in
Theory and Practice of
Judicial
China
Zhongnan zhengfa xueyuan
Journal of the Centralxuebao
Southern Institute of Law
and Politics
Zhongwai faxue
University Law
Peking
Journal
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Guide for Authors
DELIVERY OF MANUSCRIPT
As with any work, late delivery can seriously damage the success of a
publication. For this reason, every effort to meet the delivery date
must be made. If it really is impossible to do this, warning should be
given as soon as you realise that you are slipping from the agreed
date. Schedules can then be revised quickly and resources reallocated.
If possible, please submit draft chapters before final delivery. This
provides an opportunity for comments to be made on content, layout
and style points which may help you and ultimately save time.
When the time comes to deliver the complete manuscript, advance
notice of the likely date must be given. This provides the opportunity
for a freelance editor to be assigned, and production time to be
booked with a typesetter. This ensures that there are no unnecessary
delays which may delay publication of your work.
It is important that the manuscript is delivered complete and in its
final form. Only minor corrections will be accepted at proof stage.
You must submit one hard copy of the manuscript and a soft copy
either on disk or by e-mail.
With your manuscript, you should also enclose a complete contents
list, making sure that it tallies with any late amendments you may
have made.
Submitting Your Manuscript on Disk
Your disk format must be 3.5 inch double-sided and high density.
Ideally you should supply your manuscript in Microsoft Word
format. Please let us know immediately if you will be using a
Macintosh computer or a program other than Microsoft Word as this
can cause serious conversion problems. However, no matter which
format your disk, you must still follow some general rules:

Each chapter must be saved as a separate file, and named in such
a way that they fall in chronological order.
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Guide for Authors

If some chapters are very long and require more than one file,
these should be numbered sequentially as “takes”, e.g.
Chapter 1 T1.doc  chapter one, take one
Chapter 1 T2.doc  chapter one, take two
Chapter 1 T3.doc  chapter one, take three.

The layout should be kept as simple as possible. Please do not
add borders, shading, margins, headers and footers, underlining or
formatting of any kind except automatic page numbering, italics,
bold, bullets and numbering, different type size for headings, and
indenting.

Anything which will look different from the main text, e.g.
figures, tables, etc., should be presented in a separate file from the
main text. The name of the file and the position where it should
be inserted in the text should both be clearly indicated in the
manuscript. Please also try to keep the format of these files as
simple as possible.

Footnotes should be inserted using the footnote function on
Microsoft Word.

Use only one space after a full point, colon, etc. Spacing should
be consistent throughout the manuscript.

As certain characters appear differently depending on the
typeface used, when they are converted problems can occur in
recognition. For this reason, the following typing conventions
should be observed:
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Guide for Authors
En rule (short rule) typed as -- or –
Never use the lower case letter l instead of the number 1 or vice
versa.
Never use the capital letter O instead of the number 0 or vice
versa.

If you are not using a PC, please let us know. Likewise, if you are
not using Microsoft Word, please notify us.

When submitting a manuscript on disk, it is essential that you also
submit a hard copy of the manuscript. If there are discrepancies
between the hard and soft copy, we will presume the soft copy is
correct.

Disks must be clearly labelled with the author’s name, the title of
the book, and the file name used on the disk.

It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that a back-up copy of
the manuscript is made in case of any problems.
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Guide for Authors
CHECKING EDITED MANUSCRIPT
What to Be Aware of
All manuscripts will be edited then returned to the author for review
before they are typeset. In other words, the edited manuscript is the
Word document of the manuscript which has been edited by the
Editor, and is not a set of proofs. The track changes function should
be set and corrections should be made to this soft copy. You must
ensure that each of the queries asked by the Editor has been dealt
with. Failure to do so will result in the manuscript being held up until
all are answered, which will have an obvious effect on the publication
date. Make sure you answer the author queries in the footnotes in
addition to those in the main text. Author queries appear in bold and
in square brackets in the text, usually directly following the sentence,
paragraph, etc. to which the query is referring, e.g. [AQ: Could you
please rephrase this sentence as the meaning seems unclear.]
Any major amendments / updates to the edited manuscript should be
avoided, as the manuscript is meant to be complete and final when
initially delivered to the Commissioning Editor. However, if any
major amendments / updates are indeed necessary, they should be
made at the edited manuscript stage. This effectively means that the
edited manuscript, when ready for typesetting, will be the final
version for publication.
Return Dates
Edited manuscripts should be returned when
Unfortunately, late submissions will not be accepted.
requested.
Index and Tables
These are the responsibility of Sweet & Maxwell Asia and are
prepared at either manuscript or proof stage by experienced,
professional specialists. It is sometimes the case that authors prefer to
compile these themselves. Should you wish to draw up the tables and
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Guide for Authors
index, you must be aware that they can take a considerable amount of
time and may clash with your other commitments on the manuscript.
Should you wish to compile either the index or the tables, you should
discuss this in advance with Sweet & Maxwell Asia.
Corrections to Proofs
It is preferable that only two proof stages will follow at this point –
first proof and second (final) proof. Only the smallest corrections
should be made at proof stage, such as corrections to spelling or
factual errors. Changes to proofs should be made by the Editor only
as the author will not be seeing any proofs. Only in exceptional
circumstances can the author request changes at proof stage. The
author should notify the Editor if further changes are required at this
stage and the Editor will make the changes accordingly on the proofs.
Stylistic changes and rewriting must not be undertaken at proof stage
as this can significantly delay publication and incur increased costs.
Any other, more substantial corrections must be made in such a way
as not to affect pagination, i.e. any insertion must be matched with a
deletion of equal length and vice versa. You must also be aware that
the tables and index may be prepared at this stage. Any amendments
you make will affect the content of these and will have an impact on
the schedule. Should you be required to make any amendments which
will disrupt the pagination in any way, you must be aware that the
schedule will be affected. The typesetters will be required to reset the
pages which will affect the internal cross-references, the tables and
index. A further proof stage will then be required in order to ensure
that all amendments have been taken in correctly.
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Guide for Authors
CHECKLISTS
Content of Manuscript
In considering the content of your manuscript, you:
 must ensure that the work is original ...................................... 
 must ensure that all citations are complete and accurate and
that all statements of fact are true ........................................... 
 must ensure that cross-references have already been
completed if your manuscript has paragraph numbers.
If not, then cross-references should be made to page
numbers.................................................................................... 
 must ensure that any artwork, diagrams, forms or tabular
material which is being included has been provided as
originals or has been set out as clearly as possible .................. 
 must ensure that Sweet & Maxwell Asia house style has been
followed, unless agreed beforehand ....................................... 
 should ensure that if writing for non-native English speakers
the guidelines in the “Writing for Non-Native English Speakers”
section have been followed ..................................................... 
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Guide for Authors
Delivery of Manuscript
Before delivery of the manuscript, you:
 must consult Sweet & Maxwell Asia on presentation, content 
and style of your manuscript.................................................... 

 must give advance notice of the delivery date ......................... 

When delivering the manuscript, you:
 must ensure that the manuscript is complete and in its
final form ................................................................................. 
 must provide a hard copy (printout) of the manuscript............ 

– must ensure that the manuscript is being presented
as follows:
- printed out on A4 paper, one side only……………………...
- numbered pages……………………………………………..
- double-spaced ....................................................................... 
 must provide a complete and up-to-date contents list .............. 
 must provide disk(s), if applicable (see also next checklist) ... 
 must provide a list of materials where permission to reproduce
has been required, together with letters of compliance
from the copyright holders...................................................... 

 must ensure that the manuscript complies with Sweet & Maxwell
Asia House Style or that it has previously been agreed
to do otherwise ......................................................................... 

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Guide for Authors
Submitting Your Manuscript on Disk
If you are submitting your manuscript on disk, you:

 must provide one hard copy (printout) of your disk ............... 
 must ensure that the hard copy exactly matches the disk ........ 
 must ensure that the disk is the 3.5 inch size ........................... 
 must ensure that you tell the Editor if you are using a Macintosh
or if you are not using Microsoft Word .................................. 
 must ensure that each chapter, along with the footnotes for that
chapter, are saved in a separate file ......................................... 
 must ensure that minimal formatting has been carried out ...... 

 must ensure that the disk(s) have been labelled with the author’s
name, title of book, filename used in the disk and the application
used .......................................................................................... 

 must ensure that a backup disk has been made ........................ 
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Guide for Authors
Checking Edited Manuscripts
When checking the edited manuscript, you:
 must ensure that, as far as possible, the corrections made
are minimal and are only made if absolutely necessary .......... 
 must ensure that you have answered all the queries
asked by the editor ................................................................... 
 must ensure that all internal cross-references have
been completed ........................................................................ 
 must ensure that any corrections are tracked with the track
changes function ...................................................................... 
 must ensure that you return the edited manuscript by the date
specified ................................................................................... 
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