Say "43,000 words." Page and Stanza and Chapter Breaks If your word processor does the word countįor you, and you get a number such as 43,127 words, it's a good idea to just Page Counts and Word CountsĬount on the first page I think that information belongs in a cover letterĪlong with the page count, but either way is fine. If you're still following the old typewriting rule of two spaces, and can't break yourself of the habit, do a find-and-replace before you send out the manuscript and turn all of them into single spaces. One space between sentences is now standard. Use the default settings for your word processor. There's no need to play around with spacing between words or sentences. Always double space between lines, even with poetry. Your word processor's HELP information, and try different settings to see Manuscripts should be "left justified" and ragged right. Theīook's designer can do that when the book reaches the design stage-and you'llīe able to make suggestions. That, and do not play around with typefaces and sizes in the manuscript. You might set a very short, very simple manuscriptįor a picture book in 14-point type, but do not go larger than San serif fonts like the one used on this webpage you are reading (Arial) are OK for articles or short pieces but not a good idea for manuscripts. It could be Georgia, or a similarįamiliar serif typeface, one that does not call attention to itself. Must be Times Roman, but it must be in an easy-to-read font. You want the manuscript to be as physically easy to read as possible. Do not tab to create the indent, as that will make it more work to change or remove it later. Use your paragraph settings to create a half-inch indent for paragraphs. White paper, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. Type the story itself upper and lower case on plain Other pages need nothing more than the page numberĪnd your name in one upper corner or another (in case the pages get out of order). Gets separated from your cover letter, the company will still have On the first page, in the upper right-hand or left-hand corner (if the manuscript The ManuscriptĪlong with the title, put your name and return address They apply manuscripts sent by email as attachments or printed and mailed, except as noted. These rules are based on my experience working in children's trade publishing and should apply to books for other kinds of publishers also. Follow these fewīasic rules, and you'll be more than OK. But at the manuscript submission stage, most publishers are fairly broad-minded. I'll address what you might be asked to do then at the end of this. May have specific requirements when you deliver a final manuscriptįor approval, copy-editing, and production purposes. I will keep adding to this as more come in. Here, I cover the basics, and answer the common questions: I get a lot of questions about how to format
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