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Entry tags:
Formatting, grammar, spellcheck
Lesson One. How to shoot yourself in the foot, before you even get it in the door.
Standard manuscript format is important. The overall basics are:
- Bright white paper
- 1 inch margins all around
- Double-spaced
- 12 point Courier (preferred) or 12 point Times New Roman font
Yes, Courier is a boring font, and Times New Roman isn't much better. But these fonts are readable, and in particular Courier works well for those involved in the editing and production stages of the manuscript.
When you send in your manuscript printed in Brush Script on scented purple paper, you are not making your manuscript stand out from the pack. Instead you are sending the signal that you don't understand the industry, or worse that you do understand the rules but have decided that they don't apply to you. In either case, the editor/agent will take away the impression that you are going to be difficult to work with. These are busy people with lots of demands on their time. If your manuscript is hard for them to read, then they won't bother.
Once they've started reading, you need to keep them reading. This is where spelling and grammar come in. When the reader encounters a misspelled word, it can jerk them out of the story as they pause to try and decide what the author meant to say. Just running spellcheck isn't enough-- spellcheck won't catch the difference between who's and whose, their or there, or allusion versus illusion. Run spellcheck, then carefully edit your manuscript before running spellcheck a final time to make sure you haven't introduced new errors. Frequent spelling errors are a sign of a sloppy author, or someone who doesn't care enough about their story to invest the time needed to clean it up.
The same goes for grammar. Poor grammar is a red-flag for "this author doesn't know her craft" and can often prevent the reader from following the storyline. Only your mother or best friend are going to take the time to struggle through your bad grammar to try and figure out what you meant to say. An editor or agent is simply going to toss your manuscript aside.
To explain it in a different way, it doesn't matter if you're the next Stephen King or Nora Roberts. No one is going to discover your talent if you can't convince them to read your story. Give yourself the best chance possible by taking care of the details so your manuscript makes a good first impression. Format, spelling, grammar should all be clean so there's nothing to distract from your writing.
Tomorrow, I'll talk about starting your story.
Standard manuscript format is important. The overall basics are:
- Bright white paper
- 1 inch margins all around
- Double-spaced
- 12 point Courier (preferred) or 12 point Times New Roman font
Yes, Courier is a boring font, and Times New Roman isn't much better. But these fonts are readable, and in particular Courier works well for those involved in the editing and production stages of the manuscript.
When you send in your manuscript printed in Brush Script on scented purple paper, you are not making your manuscript stand out from the pack. Instead you are sending the signal that you don't understand the industry, or worse that you do understand the rules but have decided that they don't apply to you. In either case, the editor/agent will take away the impression that you are going to be difficult to work with. These are busy people with lots of demands on their time. If your manuscript is hard for them to read, then they won't bother.
Once they've started reading, you need to keep them reading. This is where spelling and grammar come in. When the reader encounters a misspelled word, it can jerk them out of the story as they pause to try and decide what the author meant to say. Just running spellcheck isn't enough-- spellcheck won't catch the difference between who's and whose, their or there, or allusion versus illusion. Run spellcheck, then carefully edit your manuscript before running spellcheck a final time to make sure you haven't introduced new errors. Frequent spelling errors are a sign of a sloppy author, or someone who doesn't care enough about their story to invest the time needed to clean it up.
The same goes for grammar. Poor grammar is a red-flag for "this author doesn't know her craft" and can often prevent the reader from following the storyline. Only your mother or best friend are going to take the time to struggle through your bad grammar to try and figure out what you meant to say. An editor or agent is simply going to toss your manuscript aside.
To explain it in a different way, it doesn't matter if you're the next Stephen King or Nora Roberts. No one is going to discover your talent if you can't convince them to read your story. Give yourself the best chance possible by taking care of the details so your manuscript makes a good first impression. Format, spelling, grammar should all be clean so there's nothing to distract from your writing.
Tomorrow, I'll talk about starting your story.
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I suppose left-justified goes without saying for courier, (At least, it should--I don't know if MS Word lets you double-justify what should be a monospaced font.) But the issue could pop up with Times New Roman.
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But you wouldn't believe how many people miss the basics-- people who think that printing each chapter on a different color of paper lets the editor see how creative they are, or who insist that the beauty of a font is far more important than its readability.
And we won't even mention those people who think that packing a surprise in the box is the way to grab an editor's attention....
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"And we won't even mention those people who think that packing a surprise in the box is the way to grab an editor's attention...."
My brain supplied this mental picture: Opens MS box. The editor shrieks, "Snake!" and flings the box across the room at high velocity. Silly brain.
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Editors and agents tell many stories of the bizarre submissions they've received, but I've noticed that none of these ever start with "When I saw the box shaped like a miniature coffin and the vial of holy water inside, I knew I had to read this author's story immediately and make them an offer."
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(Anonymous) 2005-09-13 02:28 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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The pages don't move around, and don't get the ink smeared on them from the tyvek envelope they're sent in, and don't get that dented/ripped thing from a too-tight rubber band. Plus, unlike binder clips, in my experience these stay with the submission, and are usually returned (MUCH the worse for wear) by the editor/agent.
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"tyvek envelope"?? I thought the manuscript went lose and bare (that sounded terrible) into a Manuscript box.
Hmmm...Could you two add a How to Package Your Manuscript segment?
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When I was submitting shorter works (65-75,000 words) I sent them priority mail either bound by a single rubber band, or inserted into a plastic folder and then put in the envelope.
Now that my manuscripts run over 400 pages, I mail the manuscript in a box. You can buy boxes at office supply stores, but I've found recycled Amazon.com book boxes are usually the perfect size.
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Does it help to send your manuscript in a smiling box? : )
What about double sided printing?
Re: What about double sided printing?
Everything I have run across about submitting your manuscript says NO to double sided printing.
Re: What about double sided printing?
(Anonymous) 2005-09-15 12:58 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
Personally, I tend to use Book Antiqua, because that's what my primary publisher wants. And if someone takes electronic submissions, that's what they get. If they only take printed submissions, I'll convert to courier before printing.
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Grammar
Re: Grammar
Way back when I was learning how to type on actual honest to god typewriters, we were taught two spaces after the period. This was the accepted convention, because when working with a monospaced typewriter font the two spaces made the sentence break clear and improved readability. Those of us who graduated from typewriters to wordprocessors continue to automatically add two spaces after a period.
But in a printed book that is in a proportional font, you don't need the extra space to clarify the end of the sentence. So printed books took the extra space out.
Once wordprocessors and proportional fonts became common, students were no longer taught to add the extra space. Now manuals of style state that one space is preferred, although most also note that in American usage two spaces is still acceptable.
Bottom line, if you are submitting a paper manuscript, you can use either one or two spaces. Just be consistent. My personal preference is for two, especially if you're using Courier (a monospace font).
If you are submitting to an e-publisher, check their style guidelines to see if they require one space. If they don't specify a house style, then again it's up to you.
Re: Grammar
Oh good. That is one little thing I won't have to relearn. : )
Thanks.