[From the Archive] Standard Manuscript Format
Because every year or two, we have to trot this out… this is from early 2010… Feel free to comment and debate at will.
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One of the fundamental tenants of professional writing is to put every manuscript into “Standard Manuscript Format”. What few people tell new writers is that there’s no longer a set standard, kind of like the Pirate’s Code, they’re more…guidelines. There are still things new writers need to do in order to be taken seriously, but as far as standard goes, 21st Century Publishing is a changing beast. But for those who make the effort, here are some things that are still fairly consistent.
• Paper – As long as there are paper submissions anywhere, I doubt serious this one will change. Always use white paper for both submissions and cover letters. Never, ever use colored paper. You will stand out, and it won’t be in a good way.
• Margins – Traditionally margins have been one inch all the way around the page, and probably still should be. However, this has relaxed somewhat when Microsoft Word became the industry standard word processing program and it defaults to 1.25″ right and left. I still reset my defaults to 1″ all around.
• Spacing – I’m referring to Line Spacing. 8 times out of 10 you’re going to double space your pages with no extra “return/enter” line between paragraphs with a 5 space/.5″ indention for paragraphs. The other 2 times out of 10, you’ll single space your manuscripts with a blank line between paragraphs, but these are generally for online publications so they can see the space. The double spacing may seem “environmentally unfriendly”, but that space allows editors to make notes and is easier on eyes that need to read a ton of stories in a short amount of time. You don’t want to strain the eyes of your editor/publisher. Really you don’t.
• Fonts and Styles – Here’s where the greatest debate still lies. Style refers to bold, underline, and italics – first of all, new writers should use special styles sparingly and with great thought. Traditionally, this is still indicated not with the word processing styling, but with the old style of text marking: underline = italics, _word_ = underline (don’t know why), and *word* is bold face. This is a fall back from typesetting days when typewriters didn’t do styles and everything was done manually. Does it make sense? Probably not, but it’s how it’s done.
FONTS are the hot button topic right now, still. Traditionally, you’ll still use Courier or Courier New. It’s the old fall back to typewriter days where the publisher could judge page counts and word counts by the look of the page. Then Microsoft Word started defaulting to Times New Roman. Now it’s Calibri. Though I do this column in Calibri, I would never send a manuscript in it. Some say it’s okay – to use an Arial/Calibri type font – they look good on a screen, but are harder to read on paper to some. Times New Roman is hard to read on screen, but traditionally a print (paper) font. Courier annoys some but for the most part, it’s still a safe font to use in submissions. ALWAYS USE A 12 POINT FONT. It doesn’t strain eyes.
Now, however, what is most important is to read the publication’s guidelines. If they say “SMF” or Standard Manuscript Format, I would go with Courier New, 1″ margins, double space, and underline your italics. Sometimes a publication will ask for specific things within their guidelines. Follow their rules, some call it a “weeding out process” to see who’s reading the guidelines and who isn’t – at that point, I stop and ask myself how much I want to submit to that market versus getting back to writing. It’s a crazy thing, but welcome to the publishing industry. Have fun.