How the story physically appears on the page is a matter of great importance. The publishing industry has a standard that must be followed. I know the idea of having to lay out our work a particuarly way sounds trivial and creatively confining. After all, shouldn't it be the story that counts? Obviously, the story and how well it's told is of primary importance.

However, think about the format question from the editor's perspective. In some cases they wade through thousands of submission a year. They're overworked, overtired and put up with all the garbage because they dream of finding authors who know how to tell a dynamite story and can present it in a professional manner. Each publisher has a set number of slots per year, and there are a lot of talented writers vying for each one. Competition is nasty and getting worse all the time. If an editor must choose between two equally good stories, but one has the earmarks of having been put together by a professional, and the other looks like it was put together by a bored gorilla, which author is likely to get the contract?

With that said, here are the the rules.

MARGINS: One inch on all four sides. This gives the page a balanced "picture frame" look.

HEADER LINE: One inch from the top edge of the paper create a line that has the manuscript title and author name. Separate these two by a hyphen or forward slash. Put them flush against the left margin. Do not center. A header line also needs a page number. Most common placement is flush against the right margin. It may be next to the author name and separated with a hyphen or forward slash.

TOP LINE OF TEXT: On all pages except the first page of each chapter, the first line of the manuscript must be tripled spaced down from the header.

FONT: Use a standard 12 point font. No oversized or undersized words anywhere. No fancy fonts of any kind, not even on the header. Save the creativity for the story. If a word needs to appear in italics in the printed book, then either put it in all caps or underline it. Do not put italics in the manuscript.

PAGE NUMBERS: These must be consecutive from beginning to end. Do not start over at number one at the beginning of each chapter. Do not put page numbers at the bottom. They must be on the header line.

FIRST PAGE OF MANUSCRIPT: The author has a little flexibility here for personal style but not much. Header line may start on page one or page two. On the first page of the manuscript, drop 1/3 to 1/2 of the way down the page and type the manuscript title. Make sure it's centered. Drop down two more spaces and type "Chapter 1" or "Prologue" whichever the case may be. This must be centered, too. Drop down two more spaces and begin your story.

PAGE LAYOUT: Text must be doubled spaced. No extra spaces between paragraphs. Indent 5 spaces at the beginning of each new paragraph.

Manuscript Format Basics