Manuscript format
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Manuscript format is the format in which most editors prefer to receive writers' submittals of text manuscripts for publication. Even with the advent of desktop publishing, making it possible for even an amateur to prepare text that appears typeset, most publishers still require that manuscripts be submitted in this format.
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Key formatting elements
Key elements of the format include:
- Pica-sized (12-point) Courier font
- Double-spaced lines
- Wide margins (1 to 1.5 inches on all four sides)
- Standard keyboard keystrokes only (for example, a double hyphen (--) instead of an em dash (—))
- Author's name and manuscript name on every page
- Page numbers on all but the first page
- First page has author's contact information and manuscript description at the top and the title of the manuscript halfway (or further) down the page
- Single-sided, unstapled pages
There are several reasons for these requirements.
Requirements for copy editing
The primary reason involves copyediting. The copy editor needs to be able to easily read all the letters that make up the words. If a proportional font is used, some letters are squeezed so closely together that it is difficult to distinguish them (for example, the Is and Ls in William). If a much smaller or larger font size is used, the text becomes more difficult for the copy editor to read; since most copy editors read dozens of manuscripts each day, an easily read manuscript is important.
The copy editor also needs plenty of space in and around letters, words, and lines to mark corrections on the manuscript. Proportional fonts often don't give sufficient space; double-spacing and wide margins are also mandatory to allow the copy editor to do his work. Leaving more than half the first page blank allows the editor or copy editor to write summary instructions to the typesetter that concern the entire manuscript.
Requirements for typesetting
The next reason involves the translation of the text into the final format, either by a typesetter typing the text in or by submittal of the text in some electronic format; in both cases, the text is then set in the typeface of the publisher's choosing. Some proportional fonts automatically insert ligatures, which is the combination of certain letters into a single, typographically pleasing, character—but which might not be easy for the typesetter to read or, if scanned or submitted electronically, might not translate to the correct characters in the destination format. The same is true for nonstandard keyboard characters.
Requirements for word count
Another reason involves word count. Most publishers pay writers based on a hypothetical number of words in the manuscript. However, this is not the physical count of actual words; this is a rough count of the number of characters divided to better estimate the space that the final text will consume in the published version. Normally, this involves counting every character in the manuscript, including spaces, and dividing by 6. If the correct font size is used, and if the margins are set so that lines contain an average of 60 characters, the editor can easily assume that there are 10 words per line. Furthermore, if the top and bottom margins are set so that there are, for example, 20 lines on each page, the editor can easily count 200 words per page.
Requirements for manuscript handling
The final reason involves how editors, copy editors, and typesetters handle manuscripts. They might work on an entire manuscript at one time or the editor might hand groups of pages to the typesetter at a time. Unstapled pages facilitate this. The copyeditor typically makes marks on every page; a page that lies flat is easily set aside and is out of the way of the next page. Typesetters often place the copy on a raised surface to view it better; stapled manuscripts are difficult to manage in this way.
Page numbers, author's name, and title on every page ensure that if an unstapled manuscript is shuffled on a table, shared among two or more people, or dropped, it can easily be reassembled, and if a stack of unstapled manuscripts is dropped, it can easily be sorted into the correct sets.
External links
SFWA Obligatory Manuscript Format Article (http://www.sfwa.org/writing/format_betancourt.htm)