I’ve encountered a question that hopefully learned readers of this blog will be able to assist me with, to wit: at what point do maps enter into the publication process for manuscripts?
This question leads to a host of other related questions, which are all the more interesting to me given that the most often viewed complaint during reviews of historical works (particularly military ones) is a lack of maps. Is it the author’s job to find a cartographer and arrange for maps, or the publisher? Is a publisher even interested in looking at a manuscript without maps? Who pays the cartographer? Should the author make rough maps for clarity before beginning the search for a cartographer?
Far more questions than answers, but perhaps this will spark a discussion.
Regular Cavalry in the Civil War 
Don,You need to have your maps ready to go once your manuscript is complete and you are ready to submit it to a publisher.Eric
Hi When you turn your manuscript into a publisher you should already have marked the areas in the book where you want maps to be inserted – for instance, in the middle of a chapter on Fairfield, put a blank sheet of typing paper and mark it simply as map of battle of Fairfield or some such notation. The publisher will work getting the maps you need for insertion.
Hmm, thanks for the comments, guys, but that looks like one of each. Does it vary by publisher?
On second and third thought, each publisher does have its own set of manuscript submission guidelines. You would need to send a request to whichever publishers you have in mind and request this information.
Don,As you know, I have written sixteen books. On all 16 occasions, I submitted the maps with the final manuscript. I also am entirely unaware of the publisher providing the maps, as your other poster says. Besides, if you provide the maps, then they are drawn as you want them, not some mix-and-match thing like your other poster suggests.Eric
Eric,Excellent point. Which must of course lead at some point to "where does an author find cartographers?" But I think that discussion will wait a week or so.
I can draw any map you want, any way you want, for a reasonable price.contactnancy@architecturalgraphics.com