Bite Sized Beta 002: Formatting a Manuscript
As an editor, I have seen my share creative document formatting. Don’t get me wrong. I love funky experimentation with text placement, font changes, fancy chapter headings. They’re great things to play with when you’re in the creation stage, but there is a time and place for glam-ifying your manuscript. If you have reached the point where you’re ready to put that project in front of other people’s eyeballs, you are going to want to dress that document down and use the industry standard.
I will provide the basics of how to prepare your manuscript for submission below, but I’ll also talk about why we do it this way.
There are a many reasons you may need to prepare your manuscript for submission. Maybe you are looking to send it into a literary magazine or a competition, or preparing to query literary agents. Maybe you’re looking to hire an editor like my good self or you’re shipping out to a handful of beta readers.
Note: Preparing a manuscript for self-publishing—with all the fancy fonts and formatting choices—is another conversation entirely. It’s fine to play with that while you’re writing if it helps your brain in the drafting process. If you decide you write best in copperplate gothic, by all means! When it comes to putting that manuscript in front of another human to read, however, you’ll want to stick to the standard.
Standard Formatting
If you are submitting your work, particularly to a professional like an editor or an agent for consideration, you will want to ensure the following:
You have exported the file as a Word Document (.doc or .docx).
You have chosen a serif font—Times New Roman is standard, and most will demand that.
Your font is all sized at 12pt.
You have not manually indented the manuscript (either with ‘tab’ or a random number of spaces)—instead use Word’s margin feature for consistent indentation.
You have made the entire document double spaced (2.0)
These are the absolute basics. There are other things that will help make your editor happy if you include them (such as using a page break at the end of your chapter rather than simply hitting enter until you reach a new page). For editing purposes, I don’t consider them deal breakers, but it’s always nice to not have to fuss over while I’m in the heat of an edit. Natalia Leigh has a wonderfully thorough video detailing this process that I recommend if you want a deep dive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gssg68ZUkw4&t=130s
It’s possible if you’re submitting to things like competitions or lit mags they may ask for a .pdf instead of a .docx. As with all submissions, you will want to read their directions carefully and follow them precisely.
Why We Do This
I can hear the arguments.
But I hate Times New Roman. The font I picked is so much prettier! I don’t like the look of double spacing. Aren’t regular books single spaced anyway? Why not make it look more like a published book? I spent so much time making it look good! Why do you want me to ruin that by making it look like every other boring 12pt Times manuscript. I want to stand out!
I get it. Times is far from my favorite font to look at. Yet despite what you may feel, we don’t impose these standards because we are cruel and artless gremlins who want to dull your sparkle. So, let’s talk about the why behind it.
Ease of Reading
Editors and agents aren’t just reading your book, they are analyzing, scanning for errors, evaluating the content. Using serif fonts and double spacing your book makes it infinitely easier on the eye. We are better able to read it, catch those mistakes you’ve hired us to detect, deliver feedback, and become much less fatigued in the process.
Consider that your average literary agent is receiving hundreds of submissions a day while they’re open to queries. That stacks up to countless of unpaid hours reading the first few pages of hundreds, even thousands, of books. You may think your manuscript looks better at 10pt font, single spaced, but if you’re the 400th query they’re picking up, the fact that you’ve chosen to make it harder on them is not going to bode well.
As an editor, I often work with people who are looking to publish or pursue querying. If I receive a manuscript with wild formatting, I will politely ask the author to consider applying the changes to make it standard before taking on their project. It’s something I can do for them, but it will cost me more time that I would much rather spend reading your work. And more time spent will mean a steeper quote. For your own sake and ours, it’s important to learn how to make the lives of your collaborators easier!
Filtering Out Submissions
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you are submitting your work anywhere, particularly to a literary agent, the best advice I have is to follow their submission guidelines to the letter. If an agent says 12pt Times New Roman, you submit in 12pt Times New Roman. If they say to make your font lime green, you better select all and make it so. No one has ever requested that, of course, but they will often have their own preferences and you need to watch for them. In part, this is a test to see that you can follow basic directions and give them what they’ve asked for. By submitting to an agent, you’re asking them to consider a business partnership with you; they want to know that you can read instructions and be respectful enough to follow them.
By having a submission protocol, an agent also creates a filter to sift out the people who couldn’t be bothered to read the guidelines. Say the agent requests that you submit through their QueryTracker form. If you decide you want to email your manuscript instead, you aren’t being clever. You’re clogging their inbox with something they didn’t want, and ensuring your query goes straight into the round file, unread and unanswered. If that sounds harsh, remember the literal thousands of submissions that agents receive, on top of juggling work for their signed clients. It’s a necessary measure.
For contests or magazine submissions, it’s no different. If the powers that be say their word count maximum is 5000, don’t drop your 40k masterwork novella just because you think it’s brilliant. It might be. But it’s not what they’re asking for, so be respectful of their time.
You’ve put in months or years of work into your book; don’t let those efforts go to waste by making yourself appear difficult to work with! I want to stress as well that neither agents nor editors are trying to trick you. The reason almost everyone defaults to the list above is both for their ease and for yours. You don’t have to do the guesswork of what an agent or editor wants because it’s been provided already.
Make it Pretty Later
You may have spent all this time and thought perfecting your chapter headings, splicing in specific fonts for a character’s handwritten letter or text message, and these are great things to play around with! There’s no need to erase all that work and sorrowfully dress your playful manuscript into its oxford business attire. I keep multiple copies of my manuscripts. In fact, any time I make significant enough changes, I make another copy and give the file a new name so I can preserve older drafts. You never know when you’ll want to go back and revisit a scene you’ve cut! The same can be done for formatting. Keep your pretty, formatted copy. Revise and edit with all the bells and whistles you want, but when it comes time to put the story in front a professional, make a new copy and follow the industry standard.
You wouldn’t decorate a room that’s about to undergo renovations. If you aim to publish, traditionally or independently, there will be a time to make it pretty. Right now, we’re still renovating.