As you are typing the
beginning of your book, there is one thing you can do to save you time
later—start formatting your manuscript for submission. Knowing how to format a
manuscript in the beginning will prevent you from having to go back after
finishing your book to format each page one-by-one. It’s not that difficult as
long as you do it right.
Follow these simple instructions:
* Use a 12-point font.
Whether you use Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier New is your judgment call.
*
Double-space
* 1-inch margins
* Indent paragraphs using
tab (not an extra line spacing). I like to use .3 for my tabs
* Create a header for the
top of each page. Word lets you insert a header that’ll appear automatically on
each page and even allows you to insert page numbers. The header should
look like this:
Last
Name/TITLE/Manuscript
Page 1
* When starting a new
chapter go about a handful of spaces down the page from the header (3-5 is a
good number). This is where you type in all caps:
CHAPTER ONE - THE CHAPTER
TITLE (if needed)
* After you write the
chapter number, go down about 5 line-spaces, indent using tab, and start
writing the first paragraph.
* At the end of the
manuscript, go a few lines spaces under the last sentence (or half-way between
the last line and the bottom of the page) and type in all caps:
THE
END