How to Format a Manuscript for Submission

Every industry has standards and the writing community is no different. However, since the advent of email submissions, the rules have gotten muddy. Today I’ll share some general rules to follow that will help you present yourself professionally.

Font Size and Selection
Times New Roman or Courier – 12 point – are still the gold standard. Try not to vary from these two options unless the submission guidelines request it.

Spaces Between Words and Sentences
There should only be ONE space between words and sentences. Many of us learned to type during a time when it was the rule to hit the space bar twice after the ending punctuation of a sentence. This is no longer the case. There are many reasons for this change, but one is that it saves paper on a book length manuscript.

Justification
Always justify your margins left. NEVER justify them left and right (like a newspaper).

Line Spacing
There are two ways to space a document for submission. In times past, there was only one acceptable spacing option, double spacing. This has changed with the formatting needs of the Internet.

Special Note: When submitting the sample chapters of a book length manuscript double spacing is the ONLY industry standard accepted.


Single Spaced Document
The entire document is single spaced and paragraphs are NOT indented. An extra space is added between paragraphs.

Example:
When painting your garage floor the first thing you have to do is prepare the surface. You need to give it a thorough cleaning. Consider using a pressure washer to save time when you need to remove stubborn dirt and debris. If the garage floor has been painted in the past, it’ll be necessary to remove all traces of the old paint.

After cleaning, allow the concrete time to dry. This may take several days depending on the climate and weather. After it’s dry you’ll need to fill any cracks or holes. You can find the correct supplies at your local hardware store. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions when applying.

Double Spaced Document
The entire document is double spaced and paragraphs ARE indented. There is NO extra space between paragraphs.

Example:
      When painting your garage floor the first thing you have to

 do is prepare the surface. You need to give it a thorough cleaning.

Consider using a pressure washer to save time when you need to

remove stubborn dirt and debris. If the garage floor has been

painted in the past, it’ll be necessary to remove all traces of the

old paint.

      After cleaning, allow the concrete time to dry. This may take

several days depending on the climate and weather. After it’s dry

 you’ll need to fill any cracks or holes. You can find the correct

 supplies at your local hardware store. Be sure to follow the

manufacturer’s directions when applying.

All of these rules are not just arbitrary. They help an editor avoid eyestrain when reading hundreds of manuscripts during the course of a week. They also help those who upload or in rare cases, typeset the submitted material.