Hello, dreamers. It’s query season, and I’m hard at work in query prep. I’m working on my query letter, figuring out how to write a damn synopsis, and reviewing my list of target agents. On top of all that, I’m trying to keep, you know, writing. So I’ve got a lot going on. Most of it isn’t a lot of fun. But this week, I’m going to talk about perhaps the least-fun part of this process: formatting.

Formatting a Manuscript

To even be considered, a writer’s manuscript must follow standard manuscript formatting. Period. And there’s a lot involved in formatting a manuscript. Everything from the margins to the line spacing, even the typeface and size, is mandated. In very brief:

-All text must be double-spaced, without spaces between paragraphs. The exception is scene breaks, which some mandate must not be denoted by a space, but rather a pounds sign (#).

-Text must be in size twelve font, either Courier or Times New Roman. That applies to all text, including titles and chapter names, which cannot be bolded.

-Each chapter must begin halfway down the page following the conclusion of the previous chapter.

-Each page following the cover page must include a header displaying the author’s surname, one word of the work’s title, and the page number, each separated by a backslash. For instance, the third page of my manuscript would feature the header “Kuester/PIONEERS/3”.

-The manuscript must begin with a title page, featuring the author’s contact information and the word count, rounded to the nearest hundred words.

Part of what makes much of this so frustrating is the antiquated reasoning behind it. For instance, the text must be double-spaced to allow editors to write notes between the lines. The large space at the start of each chapter is reserved for copy editors jot down notes on formatting. The header is meant to make sure printed pages are kept in order, and show when one is missing. Even the font requirements date to the days of printed editing; some old-schoolers in the publishing industry still mandate the use of Courier, because the font was originally the standard on typewriters.

I’ve never used a typewriter. I have never physically printed out a word of any fiction I’ve written. I am confident no agent or copy editor will ever do so, either. And yet, here we are.

To be fair, part of the headache is of my own doing. I dislike writing directly into manuscript format. I find it hard to keep track of my work when doing so, and prefer to see it as it would likely be read by others. To avoid breaking up my flow, I often use shortcuts while writing (using hyphens in place of an em-dash, for instance).

Still, it’s deeply frustrating. Formatting is without a doubt the most tedious element of writing for me, especially when writing a novel. It’s a time-suck, and yet it’s crucial. The last thing I want is to write a truly fantastic story, one everyone loves, and have a prospective agent reject it because of the font, or type size, or improper indentation.

The good news is that, as of last week, I’m done with formatting on Pioneers (I hope). Now, I move into even more crucial pieces of the process. Keep an eye out next week for another “Dear Sir or Madam”, in which I’ll be discussing novel synopses. Which will be every bit as fun and engaging as formatting. – MK