Editorial and design checklist for children’s non-fiction final proofs

Here’s a checklist for editors to use when checking final layouts (PDFs) before their non-fiction book goes to print.

You can download it here.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

By this stage, the entire book is designed, edited, consulted and proofread, so do not make any changes unless absolutely necessary. 

Each time PDFs are made there are things that can go wrong, and each time someone opens the files to input corrections new errors can slip in. 

Avoid making changes but do highlight mistakes and query anything problematic. You can always run through queries with your editorial team.

If you do make corrections, the designer may need to make a new set of PDFs if lots of pages are affected. They need checking again – potentially by multiple people. This could lead to delays and issues getting the book to print. 

Final PDFs are usually made as single pages. They should show the 5mm (or more) bleed area where the design goes beyond the edge of the page.

Page layouts vary depending on the format and extent of each book, so your book may vary from the following. Acknowledgements can be at the front or back of a book, for example, and not every book will have a title page and a half-title.

General 

Throughout:

Check that illustrations or photographs are hi-res and not blurry or pixelated. If they don’t look quite right they might not be linked properly. Making colour corrections at a later stage (when you get proofs from the printer) is costly, so make sure to check this now. 

Whenever artwork or a colour tint/background meets the edge of a page, make sure it extends to fill the bleed area so that if the printer plates slip there is no accidental white space.

Prelims

Endpapers: 

If your book includes these, are they present and correct?

Half-title:

Is the book title correct?

Title Page: 

Is the book title and subtitle correct?

Are contributor names included and spelled correctly?

Is the publisher name correct and are logos the most up to date versions? If you are checking proofs for a co-edition, have the new details been added?

Imprint:

Are all copyright details correct? Check any dates and edition numbers.

Are all contributor names included?

Is the ISBN correct? Triple-check this!

If the acknowledgements are included on this page, are they correct? Were there any last-minute changes to the main pages that could affect them?

If a template was used to create this page, is there anything unique about this particular book that means changes are necessary? For example, has a different printer been used or is there different sustainable printing information?

Contents:

If the book has sections or chapters, are these listed correctly?

Are the spread headings correct? Did anything change at the last minute?

Are the page numbers correct – do they match up with the folios on the main pages? 

If the design of the contents relates to the main pages, for example colour-coded sections or different fonts for each chapter, does everything match up?

If used, are dot leaders styled correctly?

Main Pages

We typically check each of the following in one go, going back to the start after each one:

Is the pagination correct and are the folios styled correctly? Sometimes they get knocked out by images or aren’t legible due to illustrations or dark/colour backgrounds. Make sure any blank pages (such as page 2) have a PDF.

Are section or chapter openers present and correct?

Are spread headings and running heads present and correct? 

Then check each page for the following:

Are subheadings and paragraph headings present and correct? 

Is all text (facts, panels etc) present and correct? Look out for missing text and missing full points in particular.

Are labels for diagrams and image captions in place and correct? These can go missing when PDFs are made. Remember to check arrows and leader lines as well. 

If included, are cross-references correct? At this stage you may want to do a few spot checks.

As well as checking the above, editors (and designers) will look at the layout of each page one last time.

Are the page margins correct? Is everything (all text and images) sitting within the allocated space?

Is leading/kerning/tracking correct? Leading is the space between lines of text, tracking is the space between letters, and kerning is the space between individual characters in a word. Designers adjust these for readability and design. 

Are all paragraph indentations consistent and correct?

Are fonts and font sizes correct?

Are any drop shadows correct?

Is there any incorrect bolding?

The following should have been picked up during the final copy edit or proofread, but it's still worth checking for:

• Widows: very short sentences or single words at the end of a paragraph.

• Orphans: short sentences or single words at the top of a page. 

• Stacking: lines starting with the same word or sometimes letter.

• Any wonky text or image boxes. Have any text or image boxes been moved accidentally?

• Any hyphens that should be en-dashes, such as in between dates.

• Accidental double spaces or extra spaces between words and punctuation.

• Any word breaks at the end of a line that shouldn’t be there.

Endmatter

If your book has quizzes, you may have answer pages as part of the endmatter. Check the page numbers match up and spot check a few of the answers, too.

You may also have author or artist biographies, a page highlighting other titles in the series or listing web links to further reading or resources. If so, check everything is present and styled correctly.

Glossary:

• Is the glossary in alphabetical order?

• Is the layout styled correctly? For example, are all columns aligning to the page guides?

• Is text styled correctly?

Index:

• Is the index in alphabetical order?

• Is the layout styled correctly? For example, are columns aligning to the page guides?

• Is text styled correctly? 

• Were there any last minute changes that could have affected the index? If so, check for errors.

Cover

Always read all of the text on the cover, spine and back cover one more time. Make sure the title, strap line and any flashes are correct. 

Check author and/or illustrator names.

Check the back cover copy.

Check logos are correct.

Check all images.

Check barcode and ISBN as well as any compliance markings (CE/UKCA).

Check the price is correct in both £ and $.

Check all cover treatments you are expecting to see are present and correct. Each will have a separate PDF, for example one for foil and one for spot UV.

Other elements to consider

If your book has special features, such as pop-ups or flaps to lift, or add-ons, such as stickers or posters, you will need to check all of these one last time. You may also need to check cutter guides if your book has die-cut holes or guides for features such as sliders or tabs.

Hopefully you won’t have found many corrections at this stage so the book can go to print. The next stage is checking proofs from the printer!