Formatting
Specs: I work in industry standard formatting, otherwise known as standard manuscript formatting (SMF). The same format that is most widely accepted when submitting to agents and publishers. Check their specific submission guidelines, but if none are posted, or if there are not a lot of details, you can't go wrong with what's below.
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When you send me your manuscript, please adjust your Microsoft Word doc to:
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name/title/pg# right header
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12pnt New Courier or Times New Roman
(check guidelines -- I work in Courier) -
Alignment: left
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Outline Level: Body Text
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Indentation: 0"
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.5" first line indent (don't use your tab key!)
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Spacing "before" and "after": 0pnt
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spaced "Exactly 25pt" (this will give you 25 lines/pg with an average of 250 words/pg
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widow control off
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1" margins
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.5" header and footer
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titles & chapter headings on 7th line down
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don't use a blank line to indicate a scene break, use a single "#" on its own line
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don't use the Word symbol for em dashes, they're too easily confused with hyphens; use two keyboard dashes instead
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don't use the Word symbol for ellipses, use three periods as ellipsis points with spaces between each
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and please remember to use your serial commas (the comma before "and" in a list)
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*Note that you no longer need to underline to denote italics. I've spoken with many top editors at traditional publishing houses, like Tor, Penguin, & S&S, and all agree that it is no longer necessary.
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Please contact me with questions.