I started walking. I went across the wooden bridge at the Academia and found locks. Lots and lots of locks. They were attached to every attachable surface of the bridge, with names and hearts and pluses scrolled over their surfaces. I don't know what they mean. I don't know why they're there. But there is a weird beauty to them, and a definite saturation of emotion around them. They're a mysterious and weird thing. This is not the only bridge with them, just the bridge with the most ardent gathering.
Formatting
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
Bonus Points!
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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 do not 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.