Glen and Karen Bledsoe --> articles --> Submissions --> Manuscript Format
Articles Index: Site Index: It seems like the simplest thing:
type up the manuscript and send it in. Yet we've seen on
writer's boards how new writers fret about the right
typeface and font, the right margins, the right kind of
paper, as though the correct combination might prove to
be a magical ticket to publication. Let's clear up some
of the mysteries of manuscript formatting. It's not
terribly difficult, but there are a few rules to
follow. Professionalism, first and
foremost Your manuscript submission is a
business proposition. You are offering a product, and the
editor must decide whether or not that product can be
sold at a profit. The state of your manuscript should
reflect your understanding of the professional nature of
writing and publishing. Use standard-sized white paper (8
1/2" x 11" in the U.S.), with margins of at least 1"
(some guides suggest 1 1/4", allowing plenty of room for
editors to make comments). Good quality copy paper,
usually 24 pound, is sufficient. Heavier paper weighs
more per sheet, raising your postage costs. Thinner
paper, such as the old onionskin that manual typists used
to use for drafts, is horrible, smeary, and hard to read.
Choose either Times (Times New
Roman in Windows) or Courier for your font. A few
publishers, especially in science fiction, still want
monospaced Courier and snub proportional fonts such as
Times, but most publishers are satisfied with a good,
clear font that is easy on the eyes, and the
proportional-spaced Times is actually easier to read than
a monospaced type. Do not use sans-serif types such as
Arial or Verdana. These are easy to read on-screen, but
less so on paper. Double-space your manuscript
throughout. Cover letters and queries should be
single-spaced, and short synopses are often
single-spaced, but the manuscript itself must be
double-spaced. The cover
letter Always include a cover letter,
even if you are responding to a request for a manuscript,
in which case the cover letter serves to remind the
editor that this is something she asked you for. Your
cover letter is an introduction. Just as you wouldn't
want a salesperson walking into your house without
stating what he's about, the editor would like to know a
bit about the contents of the submission before she reads
through it. Letterhead is a nice touch if
it's understated and completely professional. You can
have your local print shop design and print high-quality
letterhead, or your word processing program may have some
professional-looking templates. Choose a template that is
plain and dignified, without fancy graphics and without
fancy fonts, or simply type in your name and contact
information, centered at the top of the page in the same
font you use for the body of the letter. Don't dress your
letter up with cheap clip art, and don't give yourself
imaginary titles such as, "Jacob Jones, Wordsmith." Even
adding "author" after your name can be a bit superfluous.
Your letterhead should give your name, address, telephone
number, email address, and website if you have one. Print
your letterhead in black or some sober color such as navy
blue. Save the eye-searing colors and wild graphics for
letters to your friends. As for email address, try to use
one that incorporates your own name. Having a website
with your own domain name is nice, because many hosting
services include email accounts, and you'll be able to
give your email name as "jacobjones@jacobjones.com."
However, your clever screen name on your favorite
internet service, such as "naughtypunkmeister@my-isp.com"
isn't going to sound very professional. Don't use it for
business. Create a business email somewhere, and use it
ONLY for business. With all the free email services that
are now available, there's no excuse for having to use
your "naughtypunkmeister" account for every
purpose. What do you put in the cover
letter? This depends on what the purpose of the letter
is. If you are sending an unsolicited manuscript, then
the cover letter should read much like a query letter
(see our article "Writing
the query, synopsis, and non-fiction
proposal" for more on
composing queries). It should start with a hook,
introduce your idea, introduce yourself, and end by
thanking the editor for her time and expressing a desire
to hear from her soon. Cover letters for manuscripts
that have already been requested, either at a conference
or as a result of a query, should begin with thanks for
the editor's kind request, which serves as a reminder
that the editor did, indeed, ask for the material. You
may include a brief description of the story or concept,
then end with a polite closing. Here is an
example: [Date] Ms. Mary Smith, Senior Editor Dear Ms. Smith: Thank you for your letter of May
7 expressing your interest in seeing the proposal for my
book, Teaching Your Elephant to Tango. Enclosed is the proposal, which
includes an overview, author's bio, market analysis,
annotated table of contents, and sample chapters. We've
also included information on the availability of
photographs. I have included a self-addressed
stamped envelope for your convenience. Thank you for your time and
consideration. I look forward to hearing from you
soon. Sincerely Jacob Jones Encl: proposal, SASE The manuscript itself (or the
sample chapters) On the title page: On the top right corner, put the
approximate word count in round figures (i.e. 50,000
words rather than 52,451 words). Drop down about 16 lines (8
double-spaced), about 1/3 of the way down the page, and
place your title in all caps (that is, TEACHING YOUR
ELEPHANT TO TANGO). Drop 2 lines and put "A novel by" or
"a how-to book by" or "a story by" or whatever is an
appropriate description. Drop down two more lines and put
your name. Why put your name here if it's already in the
contact information at the top left corner? Because the
name you use under the title is the exact name that you
want on the cover of your book or as your byline in a
magazine, which might not be the same as your legal name.
For example, if your legal name is Esmerelda Jemima
Forrest and you think that's quite a mouthful, you may
prefer putting E.J. Forrest on your work. Use your legal
name in your contact information, since this is the name
that will be used when drawing up your contract.
If you have an agent, your
agent's name and contact information goes in the bottom
right corner, such that the last line is about 1 1/2"
from the bottom. On the first page: Drop about 1/3 of the way down
the page and type "CHAPTER 1" followed by the name of the
chapter, if it has a title. Drop down a few more lines
and begin your text. The text should be double-spaced,
with a five-character indent at the beginning of each
paragraph. You don't need to put an extra space between
paragraphs. Your text should be flush with the left-hand
margin, but leave a jagged right-hand margin. Don't
justify your text -- that is, don't click the little
formatting button in your word processor that makes both
margins even. Let the typesetters at the publisher take
care of page layout considerations. Likewise, don't
hyphenate words in an attempt to get even margins. If you
need to, turn the hyphenating feature off in your word
processor. It only makes the text harder to read, and
anything that annoys a weary editor should be
avoided. Check the submission guidelines
for the publishers you want to target to see what their
formatting preferences are, if any. Some publishers
prefer that you use underlining instead of
italics. On the next page: At the start of the next
chapter At the end For short works Magazine articles and
stories: Picture book
manuscripts: Poetry collections: Recommended books: The
Writer's Digest Guide to Manuscript
Formats
4321 5th St
City, State, Zip
Telephone number
jacobjones@jacobjones.com
Marvelous Publishing
1234 1st St.
City, State, Zip
Use plain white paper, not your letterhead. Set your word
processor so that it will not put headers, footers, or
page numbers on the title page. Put your legal name,
address, telephone number, and email at the top left
corner, single-spaced.
Create a header that has the title of your work (or an
abbreviated version) and your last name on the left side
(example: TEACHING ELEPHANTS TO TANGO / Jones) and the
page number on the right (most word processors will allow
automatic page numbering). This header sometimes called a
"slug line," a term from journalism. It's critical
information. If a tired editor accidentally drops your
manuscript down a flight of stairs, it won't be hard to
put back together.
In a word processor, simply continue typing. If you've
set the indent, the program will take care of word
wrapping, indentation, etc.
Drop down about 6 or 8 lines below the top of the page,
and type the chapter title. Drop down another 6 lines and
begin typing your text.
To signify that the reader has reached the end of the
work and hasn't lost a last page or chapter, type "END"
or "THE END" or "-00-" a few lines below the last line of
text.
Include a cover letter as for a book manuscript. For a
long article you can include a title page. For short
articles (under 5 pages), you can place your contact
information and word count at the top of the page, type
the title and byline several lines below it, and a few
lines below that, begin typing your article. Format the
article as you would the first chapter of a book. Mark
the end by typing "THE END" several lines below the last
line.
Even though the text will be broken up over many pages,
don't do so in your manuscript. Simply type it up as you
would a short story. The editor, art director, and layout
crew will take care of breaking the text up and putting
the book together.
When submitting a collection of poetry for a book, or
multiple poems to a magazine, you can put each poem on a
separate page.
Dian Dincin Buchman, Seli Groves
Writer's Digest Books, 1988
Buchman and Groves' book on manuscript formatting is the one
we reach for again and again.
Glen and Karen Bledsoe --> articles --> Submissions --> Manuscript Format
