Manuscript Guidelines

• All manuscripts are to be submitted in electronic form as a Microsoft Word document.

• Manuscripts must be double-spaced throughout, with new paragraphs indicated by the indentation of the first line. The text should be 12-point Cambria font. The manuscript should have 1-inch margins on all sides.

• Footnotes and bibliography should be formatted according to Chicago/Turabian style. Footnotes are to be employed instead of endnotes, and a full bibliography should appear at the end of the manuscript. Footnotes should be numbered sequentially throughout the manuscript (rather than restarting with #1 at the beginning of each chapter). Footnotes should be 12-point Cambria font. NOTE: These are manuscript guidelines, and the use of footnotes is primarily for ease of editing. Should the author desire endnotes, rather than footnotes, to appear in the work as published, this may be decided in consultation with Seminary Hill Press during the design/layout phase of production.

• New chapters should begin at the top of the page following the last page of the preceding chapter. The chapter number and title should be bolded and centered on the first line of the page and should follow this format: “Chapter #: Title”

• Non-English words (such as Greek and Hebrew) should be italicized.

• When used in reference to the first four books of the New Testament as well as to the good news of Jesus Christ, the word “Gospel” should be capitalized.

• All references to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit should be capitalized (e.g. He, Him, His, etc.).

• For consistency’s sake, the official Bible translation of Seminary Hill Press is the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). As such, all Scripture quotations in a manuscript should be taken from the CSB. If the author chooses to employ a different translation in a few instances, he/she is free to do so provided the alternate translation is cited. Quotations from the CSB do not need to be cited, as a note will be included on the copyright page indicating that, unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from that translation.

• When citing a Scripture quotation, write the full reference (do not abbreviate the name of the biblical book) in parentheses following the quotation. No footnote is necessary. For example: Paul writes to the church at Philippi that “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

• Regarding the use of tables and figures (such as photographs, maps, charts, graphs, etc.)…
  • Each item must be submitted as a PDF file separate from the main text. Files should be labeled according to the author’s name, the chapter number, and the number indicating where the item should appear sequentially within the chapter. For example, the third item appearing in chapter 2 of a book by “John Doe” should be labeled: “Doe, 2.3”
  • To indicate the placement of an item within the manuscript, the author should place a bracketed, sequentially numbered “callout” on a separate line between paragraphs. For example: “[Figure 2.3 placed here]”
  • If the author intends for a caption to accompany a particular item, assuming the caption cannot be attached to the PDF file mentioned above, the caption should be placed in a separate Word document and labeled in the same manner as the item to which it is attached (that is, the chapter number followed by the number indicating where the item should appear sequentially within the chapter). For example: “2.1 Caption.” If there are multiple captions, they should be presented in a list format.

• Keep formatting simple.
  • Do not assign styles or do special formatting of the text. The default style “normal” should be the only style in the manuscript.
  • Do not use the space bar to achieve tabs or indents or to align text.
  • Do not use the space bar or the tab key to start a new line, format block quotations, or create hanging indents for your bibliography.
  • Format block quotations with your word processor’s feature for indenting paragraphs (0.5 inch).

• Along with the completed manuscript, the author should also include proposed copy for the back cover (two to three paragraphs, 100-150 words total—may include a quote from the manuscript). In addition, the author should submit a brief (roughly 75 words) biographical description of him/herself for an “About the Author” section on the back cover. This should include the person’s full title at Southwestern Seminary (if applicable).

For additional stylistic questions, refer to the Chicago/Turabian manual of style.