Author Guidelines for Manuscript Submission

These guidelines help ensure a smooth and efficient conversion of your manuscript into the final published monograph. Following them will significantly reduce production time, prevent errors, and improve output quality.

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1. Document Format

• Submit your manuscript as .docx (Microsoft Word). Do not use the older .doc format — it loses equation data and metadata.
• If you used Track Changes during writing, provide a clean accepted version alongside the tracked version.
• Remove all comments and tracked changes before final submission.
• Run spell check before submitting.
• Specify the language used (American English or British English) at the beginning of your manuscript.

Mac Users

If you are using Microsoft Word on macOS, please be aware that Mac Word can insert hidden characters (non-breaking spaces, special Unicode whitespace) that cause formatting problems such as extra spaces in expressions (e.g., km / s instead of km/s). To minimize these issues:

• Before submitting, use Find & Replace (Ctrl+H / Cmd+H) to search for double spaces and replace with single spaces. Repeat until no more are found.
• Check the manuscript for any garbled or unexpected characters, especially around mathematical symbols and units.
• If possible, save a copy as plain text (UTF-8) and compare it visually with the original to spot hidden characters. Note: the plain text version will lose heading formatting, so always submit the original .docx as well.

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2. Headings and Document Structure

Use Word's built-in Heading styles for all structural headings. This is the single most important formatting guideline.

Word Style	Becomes in the book
Heading 1	Chapter title (e.g., Chapter 4: Solid-Liquid Systems)
Heading 2	Section (e.g., 4.1 Introduction)
Heading 3	Subsection (e.g., 4.2.1 Immersed Boundary Method)
Heading 4	Sub-subsection (e.g., 4.2.4.1 Incipient Particle Motion)

Why this matters: Our conversion software uses paragraph styles — not visual formatting — to identify the document structure. A line formatted as bold+large font but using the "Normal" style will be treated as body text, not as a heading. This means it will not appear in the Table of Contents and must be manually identified and fixed.

How to verify: Open the Navigation Pane (View > Navigation Pane). All your chapter and section headings should appear there. If a heading is missing from the Navigation Pane, it is not using a Heading style.

Do not:

• Format headings manually with bold, italic, or font size changes on a "Normal" paragraph
• Use blank lines or spacing to visually separate sections instead of heading styles

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3. Equations

Use Word's built-in Equation Editor (Insert > Equation) for all mathematical content, including:

• Display equations (on their own line)
• Inline symbols such as Greek letters (epsilon, nu, rho), subscripts, and superscripts
• Simple expressions like Re = 100 or 10^3

Equation numbering

Number display equations using a right-aligned tab stop with the number in parentheses:

[equation]                                              (2.1)

• Number equations sequentially within each chapter (e.g., 2.1, 2.2, 2.3).
• Do not skip numbers (e.g., jumping from 2.12 to 2.14).
• For multi-line equations or piecewise functions, keep them inside a single equation editor block.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Text superscripts for exponents: Do not type 10 and then apply superscript formatting to 3 using Home > Font > Superscript. This produces text formatting, not math, and converts incorrectly. Instead, use the equation editor's superscript feature to write 10^3.
• Values outside the equation editor: If your equation is nu = U*L / Re = , make sure the final numeric value (e.g., 0.01) is inside the equation editor object, not typed as body text after it.
• Images of equations: Do not paste screenshots or images of equations. These cannot be converted to searchable, scalable text.

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4. Figures

Captions

Use Word's Insert > Caption feature for every figure caption. This creates structured, numbered captions (e.g., "Figure 3.1: Streamlines in a lid-driven cavity").

Do not type figure captions manually as bold text (e.g., "Figure 3.1. Streamlines..."). Manually typed captions cannot be automatically numbered, cross-referenced, or included in a List of Figures.

Cross-references

When referring to a figure in the text, use Insert > Cross-reference > Figure — never type the figure number manually. This ensures that if figures are reordered, the references update automatically.

Positional language

Do not rely on figure placement in the text. Avoid phrasing like "as shown below" or "the figure above shows." Instead, always reference by number: "Figure 3.1 shows the streamlines."

Image files

Provide all figure files as separate files alongside the Word document:

Type	Preferred format	Notes
Diagrams, charts, plots	PDF (vector), EPS, or SVG	Scales without quality loss
Photographs	TIFF or PNG at 300+ DPI	No JPEG compression artifacts
Charts from Excel	Original Excel file (.xlsx)	We can produce higher-quality output from the source data
Mathematica / MATLAB plots	Source file + exported PDF	Allows re-rendering if needed

• Name files descriptively: fig_3_1_lid_driven_cavity_streamlines.png is better than image3.tif.
• Do not embed only low-resolution screenshots or export from Word as PDF.
• You may embed figures in the Word document for reference, but always also provide the original files separately.
• Design images to be legible in grayscale. Color can be used for emphasis but should not be the sole means of conveying information.

Image rights

For each figure, specify the source and image rights in the caption or in a separate list. If the figure was generated or modified using AI tools, state which tool was used.

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5. Tables

• Use actual Word tables (Insert > Table). Do not paste tables as images or use tab-separated text to simulate tables.
• Use simple table structures — avoid merged cells, split cells, or nested tables where possible.
• Avoid colored backgrounds or complex borders.
• For large tables with narrow columns: avoid justified text alignment inside cells (use left-aligned instead) and consider whether a slightly smaller font size would improve readability.
• If tables originate from Excel, provide the original .xlsx files alongside the Word document.
• Add a caption to each table using Insert > Caption (select "Table" as the label type).

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6. References and Citations

Reference management

Strongly recommended: Use a reference manager such as Zotero (free), Mendeley, or EndNote. These create structured citations that convert cleanly and can export a .bib file. If you use a reference manager, please also provide the exported .bib file alongside your manuscript.

If typing references manually

Use a strictly consistent format for the reference list:

Author1, A.B., Author2, C.D. Title of paper. Journal Name, Vol(Issue), Pages (Year). DOI: 10.xxxx/xxxxx

• Ensure every cited work appears in the reference list and vice versa.
• Double-check all years, page ranges, and author names.
• Use a period at the end of every reference entry.
• For multiple works by the same author in the same year, use letter suffixes: (2018a), (2018b).
• Use DOI numbers instead of URLs where available. If referencing websites, include the access date.
• Verify that all links are working.

In-text citations

Use Word's citation feature or Insert > Cross-reference to insert citations — do not type [Author Year] manually. Manually typed citations require individual matching and conversion, which is error-prone.

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7. Cross-References

For all references to figures, equations, tables, sections, and chapters, use Word's Insert > Cross-reference feature. Never type numbers manually.

This applies to:

• Figure references: "see Figure 3.1"
• Equation references: "from Eq. (2.5)"
• Table references: "Table 4.2 summarizes..."
• Section references: "as discussed in Section 4.2"
• Chapter references: "see Chapter 2"

After editing your document, press Ctrl+A then F9 to update all cross-reference fields.

Why this matters: Hardcoded numbers (e.g., typing "Figure 3.1" as plain text) break silently if any figure is added, removed, or reordered. With proper cross-references, Word and our conversion tools can maintain correct numbering automatically.

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8. Code and Pseudocode

If your monograph includes code listings, algorithms, or pseudocode:

• Strongly recommended: Provide code and pseudocode as separate plain-text files (e.g., algorithm_1_streaming.f90, pseudocode_collision.txt) alongside the Word document. These can be included directly in the final output with exact formatting preserved. In the Word document, add a placeholder: [Insert Algorithm 1 here — see file algorithm_1_streaming.f90]

• If code must be in the Word document:

  • Apply a monospaced font (Courier New) using a dedicated style (create a style named "Code" or "Source Code" if one does not exist)
  • Preserve indentation to show code structure (loops, conditionals)
  • Add a descriptive label above each code block (e.g., "Algorithm 1: Link-list for particle proximity detection")

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9. Nomenclature / Notation List

If your monograph includes a nomenclature or notation section:

• Format it as a two-column table (Symbol | Description), not as free-form text.
• Use the equation editor for all symbols in the nomenclature.
• Organize symbols logically (e.g., Latin letters, Greek letters, subscripts/superscripts, abbreviations).

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10. General Formatting

• Emphasis: Use italics or bold. Do not use underlining for emphasis — underlined text in manuscripts is often ambiguous (journal name? emphasis? hyperlink?).
• Line breaks: Do not use manual line breaks (Shift+Enter) where paragraph breaks (Enter) are intended.
• Alignment: Do not use tabs or spaces for alignment or indentation. Use Word's paragraph formatting, tab stops, or table features.
• Page breaks: Do not use manual page breaks for layout purposes.
• Text boxes: Avoid floating text boxes and other non-inline elements.
• Fractions in running text: Use a/b rather than stacked fractions for simple expressions in running text. Use the equation editor for complex fractions.
• Footnotes: Use Word's built-in footnote feature (Insert > Footnote / References > Insert Footnote). Do not type superscript numbers manually.

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11. Submission Checklist

Please provide the following:

• Word document (.docx) — clean version without tracked changes or comments
• All figure files separately — PDF/PNG/TIFF at 300+ DPI, descriptively named
• Excel source files for any charts or data-driven figures (.xlsx)
• Bibliography file (.bib) if using a reference manager
• Code/algorithm files as plain text if applicable
• Any special fonts used beyond standard system fonts
• A note listing any known issues, placeholders, or unresolved items in the text
• Author metadata: full name, affiliation, ORCID (if available), brief bio
• Language declaration: American English or British English

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Quick Reference Card

Element	Correct approach	Common mistake
Chapter/section titles	Heading 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 styles	Bold text on "Normal" style
Figure captions	Insert > Caption	Manually typed bold text
Equation input	Insert > Equation (Equation Editor)	Images of equations, text superscripts
Equation numbering	Right-aligned tab stop: (2.1)	Manually typed, inconsistent numbering
In-text citations	Reference manager or Insert > Cross-reference	Typed [Author Year]
Figure/table references	Insert > Cross-reference	Typed "Figure 3.1" as plain text
Code blocks	Separate files or "Code" style	Normal style with Courier font
Tables	Insert > Table	Pasted images of tables
File format	.docx	.doc

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