Write THE END at the end of the manuscript. This might mean your first page starts with a number 2 instead of 1, and we don’t want that! Go to Page Number > Format Page Numbers, and in the “Start at” box, type 0: You don’t want your header to be included on the cover page we’ll create later, so tick Different First Page. To add page numbers, go to Insert > Page Number. Type your last name and book title (make sure you’re still using size 12 Times New Roman). To do this, go to Insert > Header and choose a blank one. Make sure your manuscript is aligned to the left (chapter headings and scene break markers are fine to be centred).Īdd a header including your last name, the book title, and page numbers. Usually, margins are equal as standard in a document, so you shouldn’t have an issue if you don’t fiddle with them.Īlignment. One inch all around is a good rule of thumb. Don’t use the space bar! Click at the end of your chapter and go to Insert > Break > Page Break, and continue from there. You can use your word processor’s Find and Replace function to find two spaces and replace them with one. It can cause a lot of frustration if you submit a manuscript filled with double spaces between words. It’s old-fashioned (think the days of typewriters) to use two spaces, and no longer standard. Single spaces after periods and between words. This signals to the typesetter where a scene break should go, so it saves some time and effort further down the publishing pipeline. Scene breaks are traditionally marked with a centred hash sign (#) or asterisk (*).
And in this image you even get to see my blog post typo. There is a caveat here: the first paragraph of a new chapter, or a new scene, isn’t indented, so you’ll have to remove those indents manually afterwards. Under Indentation, set the First Line settings to 1.27cm, as shown below. Simply select your text and go to Format > Paragraph. You should use paragraph settings to do this. It’s standard to indent paragraphs – and I don’t mean with the tab or space bar (causing nightmares for editors all around the world). Simply select all your text and go to Format > Paragraph and set the Line Spacing to Double, as shown in the image below. This makes your manuscript both easier to read and easier to edit. Times New Roman is a font that’s likely to be on every computer, so you risk less issues on the other end.ĭouble line spacing. Use a standard font: size 12, Times New Roman, in black. The examples and screenshots below were done using Word for Mac, because that’s what I use, but there are equivalent settings on Windows.
NOVEL MANUSCRIPT TITLE PAGE SAMPLE HOW TO
So, how should you go about formatting your manuscript? How to format your manuscript to industry standards Agents get so many submissions that they’ll reject one if there are any warning signs the author hasn’t followed guidelines. But if you submit your manuscript like that, you risk appearing amateurish and losing out. When you’re writing a draft, you can go wild with fonts and colours. One of the easiest ways to do this is to learn how to format your manuscript.
NOVEL MANUSCRIPT TITLE PAGE SAMPLE PROFESSIONAL
An agent is more likely to read your work if you present a polished, professional manuscript to industry standards. Whether you’re submitting to agents or working with a freelance editor, you’ll want to make sure your manuscript looks professional.
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