How to Format a Manuscript

You've written a book. Yay! That's fantastic, really it is and all your writing peers are both jealous and secretly hoping you get rejected left and right. Well, they are. It's human nature. But you're going to fool them, aren't you? You're going to get that baby published and become famous!

Okay, well maybe not famous. But if you want to get published, you need to submit your manuscript somewhere. And if you submit a manuscript that doesn't at least follow the basic conventions in manuscript formatting, you're going to have a harder time getting your writing read.

Before we get into it, know this: there isn't one correct way to format a manuscript. There hasn't yet been a consortium of editors to hand down a 10 Commandments of Formatting. More's the pity.

What we're going to look at are the basics, the rules that apply to every genre of writing you'll ever do. They will be adjusted here and there depending on the submission guidelines of the publisher you're submitting to, but they won't change much.

You can follow the rules or ignore them, but you should know them - then, if you break them, it will be a conscious decision and you'll probably have a great reason for having done it.

Manuscript Formatting Basics

So does it really matter how your manuscript is formatted? Yes. It does.

Editors and agents aren't just looking for hot new authors. A great writing voice, gripping plot, and vivid description is all required, sure. They want to know, though, that you can present yourself as a professional. Act like an adult. Show that you're neither too lazy to do your homework nor someone who just doesn't like playing by the rules. Since they're looking at a bunch of paper with your writing on it, the appearance of that writing tells them everything they want to know.

Step-by-step, let's show them that you're a pro and that your work is worthy of massive publication (if only so you can poke your tongue out at your peers hoping for the worst and do the "neener-neener" dance).

1. Quality Paper: Unless you really, honestly can't afford it (like ... have you tried not eating today?), start with the very best quality paper you can get your worn-out little fingers on. That means 20-pound, bright white. Georgia Pacific and Hammermill are two companies that make great, inexpensive printer paper that will fulfill this criteria. The reason for being so specific is this: heavier paper eliminates "see through" pages that make them hard to read (and an editor isn't going to make life harder on themselves than necessary ... they won't try hard to read), and bright white paper makes your black ink look even blacker on the page. It looks crisp, clean ... and professional.

2. 1-inch Margins: Set your word processor to give every single page a one-inch margin all around the page. This is more than the "standard" margin, but it gives you a few brownie points. For one, it allows the editor to see if the length is right for their line without having to mess with word count. For another, it allows revision marks to be scratched right onto the page.

3. Right Alignment: Yes, justified margins look pretty. Yes, most printed books have justified margins. No, you're not going down that road. Make sure your entire manuscript (with the exception of chapter headings) is right-aligned. Let the sentences end naturally, and you won't have a lot of hyphenated words. Trust me.

4. Clear Serif Font: The difference between serif and sans-serif fonts is the extra little lines added to letters. Times New Roman is a serif font, Arial is a sans-serif font. You can visibly see the difference. What you might not be able to see is that a serif font is much easier to read on a printed page. Keep your entire manuscript in a larger-size, serif font. Times New Roman at 14 points, Courier New at 12 points, or Garamond at 14 points are all good options. Don't go lower than 12 or 14 points - it will make your writing much too small to read easily.

5. Double-space and Indent: From page one, set your page layout to automatically double-space between the lines of text. After that, make sure you haven't double-spaced between paragraphs - you don't want that much "white space" on a page. Instead, indent five spaces to begin paragraphs instead of adding extra space.

6. No Widows or Orphans: Go into the page setup of your word processor and turn off the "widows and orphans" option. Quite simply, this makes sure that all your pages have the same number of lines of text.

7. Head Every Page: Make it easy on the editor ... you're getting that theme by now, right? The editor is one of your first and definitely most important readers. Treat them with the same respect you would your "regular" readers - and one of the ways to do that is make sure that every page is identifiable. The only page you don't want to have a header on is the first page, your title page. Every single other page in your manuscript needs a header that has "Your name/Story Title" on the left side, and "Page #" on the right side.

8. Useful Title Page: Your title page is extremely important, for all the obvious reasons. What it should contain (and where): In the top left corner, single-spaced, you'll type your name, address, phone number, and email address. Opposite your contact information, in the top right corner, note what type of story you're submitting (paranormal romance, historical fiction, etc.), its setting, and the word count. After you type these little pieces of information, hit the Enter key a few times so that you can type your title in dead-center on the page. Under that, type your name or pseudonym (whichever of you gets credit for the story).

Here's where it gets a bit more ... well, scary: start your story right on the title page. Yup, you heard me right. Add the story right in there. Don't label "Chapter One" - just jump into the meat of your writing (unless you're beginning with a prologue, which you'll need to label ... but if you're not, it just looks better to get on with the story).

And with that, you're ready to submit your beautifully formatted manuscript to every agent or editor you can find. Prepare to poke out your tongue at your friends, kick back, and celebrate your hard-earned accomplishment.