Monday 19 October 2009

How do you format a manuscript?

Source: here

Novel:
  • Page Information
     
    • Margins -- 1.5 inches all the way around
       
    • Font -- Courier, Courier New, or other clean monospace serif font from 10-12 pt. (I use 12 pt. Dark Courier.)
       
    • Line spacing -- Double-space
       
    • Paragraph indent -- first line, 5 pt.
       
    • Header -- right justified, contains the following information:

      Last name/ TITLE/ page#

      A header does not belong on the cover page.
      Start headers on page one of the actual manuscript.
       
  • Cover page -- depends on whether you're agented or not.
     
    • Unagented:
       
      • Contact information -- Name and address, phone number and e-mail address in the top left corner of the page, single spaced, left-justified
      • Title -- centered, just above the middle of the page
      • by -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the title
      • Name or pen name -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the word by
      • Word count -- centered and rounded to the nearest thousand, one double-spaced line beneath your name or pen name
         
    • Agented:
       
      • Title -- centered, just above the middle of the page
      • by -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the title
      • Name or pen name -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the word by
      • Word count -- centered and rounded to the nearest thousand, one double-spaced line beneath your name or pen name
      • Agent's contact information -- Name, business name, mailing address, phone number (e-mail address if you have the agent's okay first), left justified, single spaced, bottom of the page
         
  • First page
     
    • Header -- should be in the upper right-hand corner of the page, and page number should be 1.
       
    • Chapter header -- can be anywhere from one to six double-spaced lines down from the top of the page, and can be centered or left justified. You can title your chapters, or just write Chapter One or Chapter 1.
       
    • Body text -- drop down two double-spaced lines to begin your story.
       
    • Scene breaks -- drop down two double-spaced lines, insert and center the # character, drop down two more double-spaced lines, and begin your new scene.
       
    • Subsequent chapters -- start each chapter on a fresh page. Keep chapter formatting and titling consistent with your first chapter.
Short work
  • Page Information
     
    • Margins -- 1.5 inches all the way around
       
    • Font -- Courier, Courier New, or other clean monospace serif font from 10-12 pt. (I use 12 pt. Dark Courier.)
       
    • Line spacing -- Double-space
       
    • Paragraph indent -- first line, 5 pt.
       
    • Header -- right justified, contains the following information:

      Last name/ TITLE/ page#

      A header does not belong on the title page. Start headers on page two of the actual manuscript. First labeled page number should be 2.
       
  • Cover page
     
    • Do not use a cover page with short work, either fiction or non-fiction
       
  • First page
     
    • Contact information -- Name and address, phone number and e-mail address in the top left corner of the page, single spaced, left-justified

    • Word count -- top line, right justified (you'll have to do this with a table if you're working with a word processor), either exact count, or rounded to the nearest ten
       
    • Title -- drop down four double-spaced lines, centered
       
    • by -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the title
       
    • Name or pen name -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the word by
       
    • Body of the story or article -- drop down two lines and begin.
       
    • Scene or section breaks -- drop down two double-spaced lines, insert and center the # character, drop down two more double-spaced lines, and begin your new scene.
       
  • Second and subsequent pages
     
    • Header -- should be in the upper right-hand corner of the page, and page number should be 2.
       
    • Body text -- begins on the first line, doublespaced throughout.

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