LaTeX Book Quality Audit

Helpful: 4. What font is specified in the preamble? (Needed to check for fake bold/italic issues.) 5. Does the interior contain any color images or color design elements? (Determines CMYK vs. grayscale requirements.)

Audit Categories

Every finding maps to one of five categories. Run them in order.

Category 1: memoir Class Correctness

memoir has specific usage patterns. Deviating from them produces subtle errors that are hard to diagnose after the fact.

\checkandfixthelayout placement:

• Must appear after ALL geometry commands (\setstocksize, \settrimmedsize, \settrims, \setlrmarginsandblock, \setulmarginsandblock) and before \begin{document}.
• Never called more than once. If geometry changes after the initial call, call it again — but only once per final geometry state.
• Missing \checkandfixthelayout: margins silently fail to apply. This is the most common memoir geometry error.

Page style aliases — the three required:

\aliaspagestyle{cleared}{empty}    % blank pages: no header, no footer
\aliaspagestyle{chapter}{plain}    % chapter opening pages: page number only
\aliaspagestyle{title}{empty}      % title page: nothing

Missing these means blank pages display running heads (looks like a layout error in print) and chapter opening pages carry a full running head (against typographic convention).

\frontmatter / \mainmatter / \backmatter sequence:

• \frontmatter: Roman numeral page numbering, no chapter numbering. Must precede the first front matter file.
• \mainmatter: Resets page counter to 1, Arabic numerals, chapter numbering active. Must precede Chapter 1.
• \backmatter: No chapter numbering, but page numbering continues. Must precede back matter.
• All three must appear in this order, once each. Missing any one produces wrong page numbers in the TOC.

openright and blank pages:

• openright (set in \documentclass) forces chapters to begin on recto (odd/right) pages.
• This creates intentional blank pages. They must be styled empty via \aliaspagestyle{cleared}{empty}.
• Check: is openright set? Is cleared aliased to empty?

\raggedbottom vs \flushbottom:

• memoir defaults to \flushbottom for two-sided documents — it stretches vertical space to align bottom margins across facing pages.
• For most trade nonfiction: \raggedbottom looks better and avoids ugly inter-paragraph gaps on pages with headings or short paragraphs.
• Recommendation: use \raggedbottom unless the book has uniform paragraph density throughout. Add it to the preamble explicitly — don't rely on the default.

\epigraph for chapter epigraphs:

• memoir provides \epigraph{text}{attribution}. Use it rather than manual \begin{quote} formatting.
• Correct: \epigraph{The quote text.}{---Author, \textit{Source}}
• Anti-pattern: a manually formatted blockquote with \hfill attribution.

Float placement:

• Use [tbp] not [h] alone. [h] forces the float exactly at that position even if it doesn't fit — this causes ugly column gaps and page overflows in print.
• For full-page figures: [p] (figures-only page).

Category 2: XeLaTeX and fontspec Correctness

Fake bold and fake italic detection:

• If \textbf{} is used with a font that has no dedicated bold face, XeLaTeX synthesizes a "fake bold" by thickening strokes algorithmically. This looks bad in print and is rejected by some prepress workflows.
• Check: does the font specified in \setmainfont have explicit BoldFont and BoldItalicFont entries, or are they being resolved automatically?
• EB Garamond requires explicit specification — it has no traditional bold:

  \setmainfont{EB Garamond}[
    Ligatures=TeX,
    ItalicFont={EB Garamond Italic},
    BoldFont={EB Garamond Medium},
    BoldItalicFont={EB Garamond Medium Italic}
  ]
  

• Palatino and Linux Libertine have proper bold faces and resolve automatically.

Ligature settings:

• Ligatures=TeX is required for correct handling of -- (en dash), --- (em dash), and backtick quotes.
• Ligatures=Common enables standard typographic ligatures (fi, fl, ff, ffi, ffl). Recommended for all serif body fonts.
• Anti-pattern: \setmainfont{Font Name} with no options — em dashes and ligatures may not render correctly.

microtype with XeLaTeX:

• Character expansion does not work with XeLaTeX. Use:

  \usepackage[protrusion=true, expansion=false]{microtype}
  

• expansion=true with XeLaTeX causes a compile warning and is silently ignored — but it signals the preamble was not written for XeLaTeX. Fix it explicitly.

csquotes for all quotation marks:

• Never use raw "..." or ...'' `` in LaTeX source. Use \enquote{...} from the csquotes package.
• csquotes is language-aware (respects babel/polyglossia settings) and handles nested quotes automatically.
• In the preamble: \usepackage[autostyle]{csquotes}
• In the text: \enquote{This is a quote.} not "This is a quote."
• Anti-pattern: any raw double quote character in the .tex source outside of code/verbatim blocks.

babel or polyglossia for hyphenation:

• XeLaTeX requires correct language settings to load the right hyphenation patterns.
• For American English: \usepackage[american]{babel} or \usepackage{polyglossia} \setdefaultlanguage[variant=american]{english}
• Missing language package: LaTeX falls back to English hyphenation patterns, which may be fine for most US English text but can fail on specific words.

Category 3: Typography Quality

Widow and orphan penalties: Every book preamble must set these. Their absence allows widows and orphans that are invisible at compile time but embarrassing in print:

\widowpenalty=10000        % prevents last line of paragraph alone at top of page
\clubpenalty=10000         % prevents first line of paragraph alone at bottom of page
\displaywidowpenalty=10000 % prevents widows before display math

A value of 10000 prohibits the condition entirely. LaTeX will adjust spacing elsewhere to avoid it. Values of 9000+ strongly discourage but allow as a last resort.

Consecutive hyphenation:

\doublehyphendemerits=10000   % discourages two consecutive hyphenated lines
\finalhyphendemerits=5000     % discourages hyphen on second-to-last line of paragraph

Overfull \hbox — lines extending into the margin:

• Every Overfull \hbox warning in the compile log is a line that protrudes into the margin in the printed book.
• Causes: words LaTeX cannot hyphenate, URLs, long proper nouns.
• Fixes (in order of preference):
  1. Add hyphenation exception: \hyphenation{In-gram-Spark}
  2. Add discretionary hyphen in the source: In\-gram\-Spark
  3. Rewrite the offending sentence
  4. Use \sloppy locally as a last resort (increases word spacing — use sparingly)
• Zero overfull boxes is the target. Every one that ships is a visible error.

Underfull \vbox with \flushbottom:

• Common on pages where chapters end near the bottom.
• Fix: switch to \raggedbottom.

Category 4: Print-Ready PDF Requirements

Font embedding — non-negotiable:

• All fonts must be fully embedded in the output PDF. Unembedded fonts cause immediate rejection by every commercial printer.
• XeLaTeX embeds fonts by default when fonts are loaded via fontspec.
• Verify after compile: pdffonts main.pdf (command line). Every entry in the "emb" column must read "yes."
• If any font is not embedded: identify it, find where it enters the document (often a diagram or included PDF), and resolve.

PDF/X compliance:

• PDF/X is the print industry standard for "ready-to-print" PDFs. It enforces font embedding, color profiles, and no transparency among other requirements.
• PDF/X-1a: most widely required — all color must be CMYK or spot color, no transparency, all fonts embedded. Required by IngramSpark and most offset printers.
• PDF/X-3: allows RGB color — acceptable for some digital printers and KDP.
• Use the pdfx package:

  \usepackage[x-1a]{pdfx}   % or [x-3] for PDF/X-3
  

• pdfx must be loaded before hyperref — or it will be loaded instead of hyperref (it includes equivalent functionality).
• Check: is pdfx in the preamble? Is it loaded in the right order?

Color mode:

• Black-and-white interior (most trade nonfiction): grayscale. All images must be grayscale. Any RGB or CMYK image will be flagged in preflight.
• Color interior: CMYK. RGB images must be converted to CMYK before inclusion. XeLaTeX does not convert color spaces automatically.
• Check: does the color mode of every included image match the document's color requirement?

Crop marks:

• When bleed is present (stock size > trim size), crop marks show the cutter where to trim.
• POD vendors (KDP, IngramSpark): Do NOT include crop marks in the interior PDF. The vendor adds them. Submitting a PDF with crop marks to a POD vendor typically causes rejection.
• Offset printers: Require crop marks. Use the crop package or confirm with the printer whether to include them or deliver a bleed-only PDF.
• Check: is the bleed present? Is the vendor a POD service? If both yes — crop marks must be absent from the PDF.

PDF metadata:

\hypersetup{
  pdftitle={Exact Book Title},
  pdfauthor={Author Name},
  pdfsubject={Subject or genre},
  pdfkeywords={keyword1, keyword2},
  pdfproducer={XeLaTeX with memoir class},
}

Missing metadata won't reject a print job, but it is required for ISBN registration workflows and good practice for distribution.

Image resolution:

• Photographs and raster images: minimum 300 DPI at final printed size.
• Line art, diagrams, logos: minimum 600 DPI, or use vector format (PDF, EPS, or SVG converted to PDF).
• Check: are any included images raster? If so, verify DPI. An image that looks fine on screen at 72 DPI will be visibly pixelated at 300 DPI in print.

Category 5: Compile Log Errors and Warnings

After each compile, the log must be reviewed. Not all warnings are benign.

Errors (must fix before submitting):

• ! Font ... not loadable — font not installed or name wrong
• ! LaTeX Error: File '...' not found — missing image or included file
• ! Undefined control sequence — command typo or missing package
• ! Missing $ inserted — math mode entered unintentionally

Warnings that are print errors:

• Overfull \hbox — line protrudes into margin (see Category 3)
• Font shape ... not available, using ... instead — font fallback triggered; likely fake bold/italic

Warnings that can be ignored:

• Underfull \hbox (badness ...) — minor spacing adjustment, usually fine
• PDF inclusion: found PDF version 1.x, but at most 1.y allowed — version mismatch, usually harmless but worth noting

Two-Phase Process

Phase 1 — Audit: Read the .tex files and compile log. Document every finding in .agents/editorial-context.md under ## LaTeX Audit Issues:

### TX[#] — [Brief descriptor]
- **File:** [Which .tex file — preamble.tex, main.tex, ch01.tex, etc.]
- **Category:** [memoir / fontspec / Typography / PDF / Compile log]
- **Issue:** [What the problem is]
- **Fix:** [The specific correction to make]

Unlike the editorial skills, fixes are included in Phase 1 — LaTeX issues have definitive correct solutions, not author-judgment calls.

Phase 2 — Resolution: Work through each TX# issue in sequence, applying the fix directly to the .tex file. After all fixes, recompile and confirm the log is clean. Run the preflight checklist in references/PRINT-PREFLIGHT.md before declaring the file print-ready.

What This Skill Is Not

• It is not a substitute for the print vendor's own preflight — always run the vendor's preflight tool on the final PDF before submitting
• It is not a design review — whether the layout looks good is assessed by reading the compiled PDF, not the source
• It is not a proofreading pass — textual errors in the .tex source belong to editorial-proof

Companion Skills

• editorial-typesetting — generates the LaTeX this skill audits; invoke latex-book after the initial generation
• editorial-proof — proofreads the compiled PDF output; runs after latex-book confirms the source is clean

References

• PRINT-PREFLIGHT.md — Final checklist before submitting the PDF to a printer or POD vendor