More on Formatting : Page 5
Formatting email submissions
A reader writes to ask: Thanks for all the useful, easy-to-follow information about formatting on your web site. If I were submitting pages by snail mail, I think I'd be set. But the vast majority of agents I'm planning on...
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Proper manuscript format for the 21st century
I wrote the original version of my manuscript formatting guide in 1993, modeling it after a much older two-page guide I received from Damon Knight in 1985. Back in those days, even for those who'd made the switch to composing...
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Publishers who ask for camera-ready copy
A reader writes to ask: I read your article on proper manuscript submission and found it to be very informative. I submitted my manuscript to a publisher and received an email that they would like to print but it is...
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Composing a cover letter
A reader writes to ask: I am going to FEDEX my short fiction story to [a certain American] magazine, who were the only gracious ones to send me a response to my e-mail query (out of hundreds of e-mail queries...
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Word counts for proposal submissions
A reader writes to ask: I am submitting a short story collection, but the publisher requests just the first 50 pages. How do I handle this in terms of what I would write for word count? Do I include the...
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Labeling scenes within a chapter
A reader writes to ask: My question is in regards to formatting a prologue. My story is a fantasy/sci-fi tale that has two separate events that occur to two separate groups that lay the foundation for the actual "chapter 1"...
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Uncorrecting the ellipsis character
A reader writes to ask: I've been writing in Microsoft Works, which I believe is similar but not identical to Word. When I type an ellipse by typing three periods in succession, the program automatically compresses them together, rendering the...
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Ending your manuscript
A reader writes to ask: Please-does anyone out there know how to end a manuscript for a short story or novel? Do you skip a line and write -END- (margin left) or THE END (Centered) or... I've seen both methods...
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Positioning chapter headers on the page
A reader writes to ask: I have a children's fiction novel. Once the second chapter starts, do I type the chapter at the top of the next page or 1/3 of the way down, like mid-way the page? Start the...
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Confusing book design with manuscript formatting
A reader writes to ask: I came upon your blog when asking a question about short story indentation at ask.com. I don't know if you'll ever read this, but if you do and can spare some time, I'd appreciate a...
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