Hi everyone,
I wanted to give everyone a reminder about how to handle asterisks because it
can get confusing about when to use them and when not to use them.
Asterisks should be used to signify breaks in the text, but they are not always
helpful or useful for EVERY extra blank line. For example, I'd never add
asterisks into the copyright page where there are blank lines. On the copyright
page, you don't lose anything if you remove the blank lines. I only would use
an asterisk when there is a doodad or huge break in the text that's put there
to signify a change in scene or narrator. The way I approach it is: if I remove
this blank line, is the text suddenly confusing? If not, then I don't add an
asterisk. If yes, I add an asterisk.
I know this is a bit of a change from the idea of preserving the book exactly
as it is, but we always have to work to make the book both as close to the
author's original intent, and make sure the quality of the reading experience
is as good as possible. We also do not ask our vendors/outsourcers or staff to
do this anymore.
We also no longer need to "preserve" page breaks with asterisks on either side
of page breaks. We don't need to add them to show new chapters (on either side
of chapters) either, as the word "chapter" followed by a number is usually
enough of a clue for anyone to figure out that there's a new chapter.
Questions? Concerns? Comments??
Best,
Madeleine Linares
Volunteer Coordinator
Bookshare, a Benetech Initiative
650-644-3459
volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
