Chapter 28
Preparing the Final Manuscript
“When you send something in anything other than Times New Roman 12-point font, I immediately convert to that.”
—literary agent Janet Reid, a.k.a. Query Shark
You’ve done everything right. You created a worthy protagonist and wrote a terrific story. You’ve listened to criticism and revised. You’ve edited every chapter and polished the words so your prose is squeaky-clean. If your next step is to query agents or editors, you need to prepare a professional-looking, easy-to-read manuscript for submission.
Today, most agents and editors accept manuscripts they’ve requested as e-mail attachments in a Word or PDF file. To make the best impression, your manuscripts should be formatted the way agents and editors expect.
Begin with a title page, which should contain the title of your book, your name, and your contact information.
Here’s a checklist for the rest of the manuscript pages:
___ Text: double-spaced, left justified
___ Paragraphs: indent the first line five spaces
___ Margins: 1" to 1.25" on every side
___ Font: Times New Roman, 12 point (You might use other fonts in special circumstances, for instance to set off a text message or show that something is handwritten.)
___ Headers on each page: your name and contact information (phone or e-mail), and the title of the book flush left; page numbers flush right
___ Page numbers: numbered consecutively, not by chapter
___ No footers
___ Remove double spaces (even after a period)
___ Eliminate underlines and bold (use italics for emphasis)
___ Remove tracked changes and comments
___ No copyright notice is necessary; your story is protected under U.S. and International Copyright Laws.
On Your Own: Revise Your Manuscript to the Professional Standards
Use the checklist above to format your manuscript to professional standards.