Proper Manuscript Format

First of all, the title of this blog is misleading. There is no such thing as a single proper way to format a manuscript. Agents and editors read hundreds of queries, partials and full manuscripts every week. All most of them really care about is that it’s easy on the eyes.

Here is the bare minimum you need to do:

• leave plenty of margin (at least 1″ all around)
• have adequate line spacing (at least 1.5)
• use a simple 12 point serif font (one with the little feet, like Courier or Times New Roman)
• include a header with your title and last name on the left, page number on the right
• include a title page with the title, your name, and your contact info
• if you have an agent, include his/her contact info on the title page, too

And here are some important don’ts:

• don’t use a decorative font
• don’t use colored paper
• don’t include a copyright notice (it’s implied)
• don’t do anything cutesy or attention grabbing

I know it’s scary, but you have to trust the writing. All of the fancy gimmicks in the world won’t matter of the writing isn’t there. And, in fact, they might signal to the editor that you’re an amateur. If you don’t trust your own writing to do the trick, they why should she?

All the points above are the very basics, but I know some of you might want details about how I, specifically, format my manuscripts. My method is pretty uniquely mine, and I developed it so my manuscript page count would match the final book page count. Here’s what I do:

• top, left, right margins at 1.25″
• bottom margin at 1″
• line spacing at exactly 25
• 12 point Palatino Linotype font (it’s pretty and legible)

I have a lot of other little formatting things I do–like leaving 180pts before and 25pts after chapter headings, setting chapter headings in all caps, not indenting the first paragraph of each scene, and including my email address on the second line of the header–but these are all just personal preferences. Make your manuscript clean and easy to read, include important info (like your or your agent’s contact info), and–above all else–make the writing shine. Because if the writing is there… none of the rest of this matters.

Hugs,
TLC