Standard Format for Manuscripts @Sirra_Girl #Writing
A fantastic Guest Post by Su, a great multi-talented editor who does’t hide behind words. I strongly recommend in following her on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/sirra_girl
Standard format for manuscripts. This was not unfamiliar term to me as a translator/editor. In fact, it’s common sense. Each MS should error-free in every sense including the format when submitting to a literary agency or a publisher. Well, I knew that, but not all writers did. So I decided to do a post for all the writers. I hope this helps.
Standard Manuscript Format
1) Margin: 1-inch all around
2) Font Size: 12
3) Font Type: Times, Times New Roman, Courier New (may change with the trend)
4) Indentation before paragraph: 10-space (Use a set tab instead of spacing 10 times)
5) Space between all text: Double
6) Space between sentences: Single space after period
7) Scene break: Use special characters (***, ###, —, etc) in a new line, centered
8) Do not use bold or italics throughout the entire MS
9) Do not underline text to emphasize. Put quotation marks or italicize the text
10) Book title, your last name, and page number: On the right-justified header (upper right corner)
11) Chapter heading: On top of the page in either same or different sized fonts, centered or left justified. The first line of the paragraph about a third way down.
12) The End: The end of the manuscript should be marked with a clear ending.
13) Title pages should include: Your book information (Genre, word-count, no. of pages depending on publishers) in the upper left corner. The title should be in the middle of the page followed by your name (pen name) underneath it. Your contact information and your real name should be at the bottom, right corner.
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Thanks again to Su for this 
