How to Format a Manuscript
Are you getting ready to send a query for a novel or a memoir?
Has a literary agent or acquisition editor asked to see your manuscript?
Here’s a list of tips on how to format your manuscript for submission to most houses.
Agents and acquisition editors have specific formatting requirements for fiction and creative non-fiction (i.e., memoir) submissions, generally adhering to the rules of The Chicago Manual of Style. There are a ton of websites and books devoted to formatting advice, so I’m just offering a quick list that I know, from experience, will be helpful. (Please note, these settings pertain to novels and creative non-fiction, not e-books or most academic texts.)
IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS WORD, AND IT HAD SETTINGS. AND IT WAS GOOD. And, boy, have the settings evolved. This is not the double-spaced, stretched justification from your (technological) youth. Of course, it’s best to set up your document before you begin . . . but who really does that? You usually hammer out at least forty-five pages before you realize you forgot to set chapter headings or change the font from Cambria. So, let’s say you’re a good chunk of the way into your masterpiece, or you’re done. Just “select all” and make the following changes to your Microsoft Word doc, which you will send as one email attachment.
This is not a list set in stone. Always be sure to check for quirky requests on submission forms. For instance, there are probably still two people out there who prefer a PDF to a doc. So, do what your teachers told you to do, read the instructions. And here’s mine:
• Use Word, not Pages. Or paper.
• BE CONSISTENT. One font style, one font size, one color for the bulk of the text. Pay attention to number usage.
• Use 1″ margins. Word comes preset with 1.25″ margins, a programmer’s revenge against Ms. Habernathy and her weekly five-page English essays.
• Double-space your text, including the Chapter Headings.
• Single-space and indent block material like letters or speeches, or, in non-fiction only, direct quotes longer than five lines.
• Fiction & Creative Non-Fiction: Indent with paragraph returns only; absolutely no tabbing and (grrrr) space-barring to create paragraph indents.
• Fiction & Creative Non-Fiction: No extra spaces between paragraphs. Sometimes Word’s default automatically adds the extra line, so you’ll need to reset that feature.
• Non-Fiction: Usually, the text uses block paragraphing, with no indent and a blank space between the paragraphs. But for memoir, see above.
• Change multiple fonts to one: Times New Roman, 12 point, black. Some editors don’t care about mixed fonts or sizes, but most do. And all editors hate colored, curlicued, specialty fonts for chapter headings, title pages, or, especially, the text. Seriously. All of them. That’s because the hodge-podge of fonts, sizes, colors, and random text boxes reminds them of their middle school newspaper . . . and editors were book nerds even then, thus they do not have fond memories of the lonely, bruised middle school years.
• At the end of each chapter, insert a page break. Do not tab or space down until the cursor is forced to the next page. This screams, “Hi, I’ve never written a book before.” Unless you’re John Grisham, then it screams, “Hi, that’s what my editor is for.” Are you John Grisham?
• Only one space between sentences. This is a tough one for those of us who grew up with the typing teacher crying out, “The cat ran through the door (period) (space) (space),” as your clumsy fingers clacked away on the typewriter. Today’s computers automatically adjust stuff (my technical term for it), so editors only want one space.
• Chapter titles should be bold, and best if they are in caps and centered. You can increase the size from 12 to 14 points, but it's not necessary. You can create a setting that automatically applies this to your headings after a page break.
• Header: Times New Roman, 12 point, centered: your last name / title
• Footer: page number, bottom center, don’t show on the first page
• Use italics for emphasis or titles, never underline.
• The first line of every chapter (or after an internal transition) must be flush left, with no indentation. I’m not a big fan of this requirement, but there ya’ go.
• Transitioning within a chapter (i.e. to show a shift in point of view or time) should not have a bunch of forced spaces, instead there should be a centered string of bold asterisks (******), with no extra line spacing.
• All numbers used within dialogue must be spelled out, and numbers under one hundred used elsewhere should also be spelled out, according to CMOS.
• Sticklers will want only the em-dash, with no spaces on either side: He had only one goal—to win.
• Sticklers will also want you to use the Chicago ellipse: He sniffed, then looked up . . . smoke. Notice it is: (space) period (space) period (space) period (space)
• Quoting/dialogue: I’m not going to get into the various dialogue punctuation rules (see the online Chicago Manual), but your basic dialogue, and dialogue within dialogue, should look like this (pay attention to the spacing):
Bob waved his arms in frustration. “I’m sorry to say, I pushed him and yelled, ‘You are one ignorant fool!’ “
Jennifer frowned, then replied, “He said you called him a genius, claiming, ‘I wish I was half as smart as you.’ So, which one of you is the liar, Bob?”
• Consider paying for a professional proofreader. If some editors or agents catch a whiff of extra lines, tabs instead of paragraph returns, mixed fonts . . . well, they may send your manuscript back and ask for it to be formatted properly, but most likely they will set it aside and pick up the next ms from the huge pile in front of them.
• You are not designing a book. You are submitting the equivalent of a long essay. The content is the focus, which is why the formatting has become standardized. Designing fancy art for the first letter in each chapter is likely a waste of time.
Finally, yes, you can hire a service to create a professionally formatted document, but it’s probably not necessary for writers who use Word. Most of the above suggestions can be figured out by dinking around in your menus. And don’t forget to use the online Chicago Manual to answer style questions; the search option on their site is a thing of beauty.
You can ignore me and assume you’ve made the correct setting modifications, or you can get on board the reality train and recognize that demons live in your computer and will mess with at least one paragraph, somewhere—it’s probably in the first fifty pages, and it will look just fine on your screen.