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How to Format a Manuscript for Publication

Be it a novel, a nonfiction book, a short story or a magazine article, there is a short list of rules for every manuscript. "Editors and publishers are human and subject to first impressions," wrote Seli Groves and Dian Buchman for Writer's Digest; anything other than the proper format and "your Good Impression index plummets to zero." Agents and publishers use formatting as a measure of professionalism and interest, and it is a quick way to weed out amateurs.

Instructions

    • 1

      Use high-quality 20-lb white paper, only. While most agents and publishers take electronic submissions, some still prefer the printed manuscript. Any color other than white is simply unacceptable.

    • 2

      Use 1-inch margins on all sides. You will not bind your manuscript, and these margins allow for more printing per page.

    • 3

      Use 10- or 12-point type, Times New Roman font, throughout. Doublespace your paragraphs, with a ½-inch indent on the first line. (In Microsoft Word, you use the Paragraph dialogue box to make those settings.) Set space between paragraphs to 0.

    • 4

      Create a cover page, for a novel or nonfiction book. At the top of the page, in the left-hand margin, type on separate lines (single spaced) the author's name; address; telephone number, with the word "Phone" before it; fax number (if applicable) with the word "Fax" before it; and email address.

      On the same line as the author's name, type toward the right margin the number of words, for example, "70,000 words."

      About one-third down the page, type (double-spaced and centered) in this format:

      TITLE
      A Novel
      By
      Author's Name

      (Skip "A Novel" for a nonfiction book.)

    • 5

      Create a header for the manuscript body. For Dwight Stain's manuscript "Dogs and Health," the format would be:

      Stain/DOGS AND HEALTH 1

      Where the name and title are left justified, and the page number is against the right-hand margin.

    • 6

      Type chapter headings one-third down the page, left justified, in this format:

      CHAPTER 1---THE ANGRY DOG

      Put a page break at the end of every chapter.

    • 7

      Format articles and short stories this way:

      Use the same name/address/telephone/email format described above for the title page, single spaced and left justified.

      On the first two lines (opposite the author's name and first two lines of her address), and near the right margin, type the rights (typically First North American Rights); then word count (for example, 7,500 words); single spaced against the left margin.

      Return to one-third down the page, and type the title, centered and doublespaced, as follows:

      Title (in boldface)
      Subtitle (in italics)
      by
      Author's Name

    • 8

      End every manuscript with three pound signs (###), centered.

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