Whether you are self-publishing or querying agents and publishing houses, you need to apply industry standard formatting to manuscript prior to sending it out.
It is best to format your manuscript prior to sending to beta readers, agents, publishing houses, or e-book conversion and distribution service providers.
Industry Standards
General Setup
Use Times New Roman, 12pt, font. Note: Arial and Courier can be used as substitutes, and chapter headers and titles may use a larger font, such as 14pt
Set your page margins to 1 inch on each side. Note: Text should be aligned with the left margin, and show as jagged on the right
Paragraphs should be double spaced. Note: There should be no extra spacing needed between paragraphs
Paragraphs should have a .25 inch indent. Note: The first paragraph of a new chapter or scene break should be left aligned
Header information should be in the top right corner and include last name, title, and pagination
Cover page
Centered 1/4 way down the page:
TITLE OF YOUR WORK IN ALL CAPS
"by" on the next line by itself
Your name/pen name
Word count
Right aligned 3/4 way down the page:
Author's Name
Address
Phone number
Email
Website, if you have one. If you don't have one, you should probably look into that
Paragraph Text
New chapters should begin about 1/3 way down the page
Begin a new chapter by inserting a page break. Note: do not just hit Enter until you have correct placement – it makes e-book conversion really tough
Leave spaces between a centered
Chapter Header
And your first paragraph. And remember to keep the first line of this first paragraph left aligned, not indented.
Use single spacing after periods. Period.
Use an em dash to elaborate, add an aside, or if you wish to convey someone who is speaking and gets interup–
Use ellipses to indicate a lost or trailing thought, or. . .
Indicate scene breaks by a space, then centered hash mark(s), then another space before adding your next paragraph. Note: Some authors like to get fancy with their scene break markers
# or ** or §§§ are all fine
Indicate the end of your book by either centering a hash mark or writing
The End
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