Formatting
Standard manuscript format is 12 pt. Courier or Courier New font with spacing "exactly 24pt" or double-spaced. Chapter headings and titles start on the seventh line down. Margins should be 1" and text aligned left, with the first line of paragraphs at .5" (to save your future formatter a headache, don't use the tab). Please put name/title/page# on the right header.
For scene breaks, use # instead of a blank line. Traditionally, italics should be underlined instead, but if you want to leave them in italics, I personally don't have a problem with that, as long as it's consistent.
Don't use Word's ellipsis symbol. An ellipsis should have a space between each period. Instead of using Word's em dash symbol, denote em dashes with --
This is the traditional way to format manuscripts; however when submitting your work, always check the publication's, editor's, or agent's submission guidelines.
Standard manuscript format maintains an average of 250 words per page, which helps with estimates. In Courier, all characters are the same width.
Please send your work in a Microsoft Word file or as an RTF.
If for some reason you are unable to meet the formatting requirements, please let me know, and I can help or try to find a workaround.
