There’s a reason for the standard manuscript format

In this day and age, many submissions are handled through email. Agents and acquisition editors will often look at the submissions sent to them on an electronic device, commonly a computer or tablet screen. For many submissions, the initial contact is contained in the body of an email (no attachments). If additional materials are asked for, agents and editors expect things to be in the standard manuscript format. Yet, agents and editors will still look at those added materials using electronic devices.

So, if everything is now electronic, why must we format our manuscripts using a format that was devised back in the day when everything was printed? Well, believe it or not, the standard manuscript format is very specific for a reason.

Standard manuscript formatting

For those who don't know, the standard manuscript format specifies not only the font and paragraph formatting, but it also defines paper size, headers and footers, and title page information. A manuscript formatted using standard manuscript formatting will use the following:

• Courier 12pt (although Times New Roman and Arial are also acceptable in most cases)
• letter paper
• 1-inch margins
• double-spaced lines
• left justification of text
• half-inch first-line indentation
• chapter numbers and titles centered, in full capitals (using the same font as the main body text)
• Name/TITLE/page# included on the upper right-hand corner on every page except page 1
• all special text colors, highlighting, and hyperlinks are removed

Depending on the type of particular prescribed formatting you are using, italics might also be replaced with underlining; special characters (i.e., em-dashes and ellipses) might also be removed.

I could write a full post about exactly how to format your manuscript using the standard manuscript format, but why should I reinvent the wheel? Lara Willard has a step-by-step post on what you need to do using Times New Roman. However, many publishers request that you follow the Shunn manuscript formatting (detailed here).

The reasons for the formatting

The standardized formatting is actually for the benefit of the editor. When you remove any funky formatting, editors are able to focus on the words and the story itself.

In addition, the standard format limits the word count for a page to approximately 250 words. The editor knows that if they have read through 50 pages, then they have read through approximately 12,500 words. A 100,000-word manuscript should be in the order of 400 pages.

The little nuances of the prescribed format have their necessary uses too.

The first-line indentation allows for a reader to see where the paragraphs start.

The left justification removes any bizarre line kerning that might occur on a given line.

The double-line spacing helps to keep the lines separated, slowing a reader down, so they can focus on the details. The double-line spacing also allows for comments.

The prescribed header helps to identify the manuscript.

All of this might seem minor and insignificant to the writer, but when you have a large number of pages to go through, as the editor, you NEED to work with a format that will give you known values.

Why I prefer the standard manuscript formatting for editing

When working with clients, I also like to receive manuscripts in the standard manuscript format. The modern world might be an electronic world, but I prefer to read manuscripts on my reMarkable tablet, making notes in the margins and in the gaps between lines. It helps me to focus on what is on the page rather than dealing with eyestrain and being tempted to shift into full-scale editing mode before I've finished reading.

The eyes register different things when they read off of paper or an eInk tablet (with no backlighting). I am often found with the red pen in my hand while reading work I'm editing. And back in the day, I used to actually print everything out... until the cat jumped on my lap the the pages went flying. Man, I was grumpy, trying to put those pages back in order... and if the writer didn't include the header identification information... Swearing is always an option. Thankfully, shifting to an eInk tablet has saved the forests that I was printing out... and save the cat from my wrath when he jumps on my lap and demands attention.

When reading in on a digital devise, it is beyond irritating when a writer ignores standard formatting practices and doesn't apply a first-line indentation. The result on my eReader is one long paragraph. This causes confusion. (And for those who are wondering, I have encountered manuscripts where I could not change the formatting with a few clicks of the mouse, simply because a writer chose not to use standard word-processing practices either.)

Whenever I come across a manuscript that doesn't follow standard formatting, I comment on it — regardless whether a writer is intending to self-publish or pursue traditional publication. Some copyeditors will take the time to correct the formatting issues, but I won't. That's not what I'm being paid for.

There are digital manuscript formatting practices that we should be following now too, but that's a topic for another day.

If you are heading down traditional publication roads, just know that the standard manuscript formatting exists for a reason. Follow it! If you choose not to (especially if the submission guidelines specify it), then don't be surprised if your story is rejected.