MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING
[©2024 Terri Branson • All Rights Reserved]

One big challenge publishers face these days is deciding how to deal with poorly formatted submission manuscripts.

It is the author’s responsibility to submit properly formatted word processor files. Some publishers will pay editing fees to fix bad files, while others choose to pass those fees along to the authors.

If a publisher fixes a manuscript file without charging the author, that usually means in-house editors will scrub the file through a plain text editor such as Notepad. Washing a file through any plain text editor is a severe process that removes all special formatting, including essential things like tabs, Italics, long dashes, page breaks, extra lines, centering, ellipses, embedded notes, font settings, and all symbols. Plain text washing process strips out everything except what is seen on a standard keyboard: letters, numerals, and basic punctuation. It’s called plain text for a reason.

The only way to avoid having your file stripped to plain text is to provide a properly formatted submission file. Manuscript files should be created in the simplest format possible, so the file will transport across platforms and open cleanly in most word processors. Here are a few tips on creating a simple manuscript file.

Producing a properly formatted file requires a moderate level of word processor expertise. Not a lot, but enough to handle the basics. A basic word processor text file is what a publisher needs.

If you cannot format your own manuscript file, then find someone you trust to do it for you prior to submission.

FORMAT SETTINGS

• Accepted FILE FORMATS include: DOCX, DOC, ODF (Open Document Format), and the older RTF (Rich Text Format). At this time, most publishers prefer DOCX.

• Set the PAGE SIZE to 8.5″ x 11″ (standard letter) with 1.0″ margins all around.

• Set the FONT to standard Times New Roman size-12 (TNR-12). This means the whole document, including the Body, Header, and Footer.

• Set the BODY text to justified (not ragged right).

• Set a LEFT TAB at 0.5″ (1/2 inch) in the body text. [Option: If you know how, set a 1/2-inch AUTO-TAB instead of manual tabs. Most publishers now format with auto-tabbing, because it creates better ebook files.]

• Adjust PARAGRAPH settings for 1-line space with no extra space between paragraphs. Disable both “keep with” and “widow/orphan.”

• Disable all STYLE CODES, including smart tags, editing notes, and the like.

• Leave the FOOTER blank, but make sure it’s set to TNR-12 centered or justified.

• Make sure the HEADER is set to TNR-12 justified. Do not set any tabs in the header, as those can cause problems going from one word processor to another. On the left add your document information, such as: MY WORK by Jane Doe [Submitted: 05/01/2024]. Don't add page numbers, because those are functions which do not always work well from one word processor to another.

• Disable and clear out all EDIT TRACKING and REVIEW NOTES, because such special functions can leave trace macros that could corrupt the file.

WRITING TEMPLATE

An easy way to ensure all of your writing compositions are in the proper formatting is to create a blank manuscript file. If you do work other than basic writing and cannot reset the word processor's default template (i.e. Normal) to writing mode, then creating a blank writing file is the simplest approach.

Using your preferred word processor, create a blank file using the above basic file settings. Create working pages in this order: TITLE, CREDITS, TOC (Table of Contents), DEDICATION, CHAPTER, AUTHOR (the biography page at the end). The real work will be done in each CHAPTER, so create a blank chapter template that you can copy/paste as needed.

In that blank chapter, set up your basic header and then 3-4 scene breaks with three centered asterisks (* * *). If you know how, set up each scene with the first paragraph flush left and the second paragraph with a half-inch (0.5) auto-tab. That way, when you hit the hard line return key to go to the next paragraph, it will create an auto-indent. When you finish the scene, there should be three asterisks and below those a new scene structure just waiting to be filled.

If you prefer to create an outline or notes as you write, then one simple method is to create a flush-left note inside [brackets]. For genre fiction in third person, this is a handy way to denote the POV character of each scene. This creates an easy way to generate a simple outline. However, before submitting a finished, polished manuscript to a publisher, you will need to remove those POV and other notes.

To use your writing template file, simply SAVE AS to create a new file with a different name. As a safety valve, it is a good idea to keep a back-up of that blank writing file on another drive or back-up medium. That way if you accidentally start typing on the blank, you can do a quick SAVE AS to keep your work. Then import the blank from the back-up.

WORD PROCESSORS

If you use Microsoft Word, be sure its "Normal Template" settings (what appears when you click to create a new file) adhere to the basics with Times New Roman (font size 12) in all zones: the body, header, and footer. Otherwise, you will need apply the proper formatting to each new manuscript file.

A very good and affordable word processor for Windows is Atlantis Word Processsor (AWP). Easy to download and to install, AWP is a powerful word processor with a modern GUI (graphic user interface) and yet the feel of the older versions of MS Word. It is easy to learn and has many useful features.

Free word processors that work very well include Open Office Writer and Libre Office Writer. Open source programs generally use the default ODF (Open Document Format) file type and will convert easily to DOCX.