Setting page size and margins a few key terms before you start. If you use the correct font, one in which each letter takes up the same amount of space, it becomes very easy for the publisher to know how many pages the final book will need. Heres how to format your novel or memoir so it looks. Manuscript format for fiction writers, the way the professionals do it. You will need a template for the inside pages of the book, and a template for the outside cover of your book. First steps in formatting for print the editors blog. These templates will provide you with the overall size, as well as suggested margins. Standard manuscript format is a formatting style for manuscripts of short stories, novels, poems and other literary works. Created by hugo and nebula award nominated author william shunn. Yes, sure, agents are looking for wonderful writing above all, so in that sense the way you format your manuscript is secondary. Manuscript templates as one of the top book publishing companies, we make book publishing easy. Before sending your novel out to potential agents and publishers, be sure its sent in the standard manuscript format by following these guidelines. At diggypod, we offer free book templates for the author wanting to publish a book. Click the page layout tab on the menu bar, then click and open margins.
Ensure there is at least a 1 inch 2 centimetre margin all the way around your text. Use a standard font times new roman or arial the most common print font is the serif font times new roman. On the layout tab, in the page setup group, click margins. Or, go to page layout, margins, custom margins, and choose one inch for the top, bottom, left, and right settings. Despite some slight variations in style, experts invariably recommend that you include as a header your last name, the title or abbreviated title, and the page number along the top right of each page of the manuscript text. How to format your manuscript even if you hate computers. Standard manuscript format is a formatting style for manuscripts of short stories, novels, poems. If you intend to selfpublish print books i can recommend the experience as a positive one, then having a few tips. The templates at the top of this page have page numbers added already. May 16, 2016 to convert your manuscripts font to times new roman, go to the home tab on the toolbar.
Skip a couple of lines before beginning the text of the chapter. Picture book manuscript template mary kole editorial picture book manuscript formatting doesnt need to be intimidating. These steps include including setting up the correct trim size, setting up the correct margins, formatting the. Typesetting and formatting your book completelynovel.
Our manuscript templates can be used in microsoft word, adobe indesign, quark xpress, or pages by importing the. For a book design with running heads and folios that are centered at the bottom of the page on a 6. Its the online formatting guide more editors point to than any other. Manuscripts submitted to master press must be in microsoft word format. Book manuscript format templates interior book design. After all, when your eyes are the only ones observing your work, worrying about things like proper page layout, mirror margins. Manuscript format is a small, but important factor in the publishing process. How to format your novel manuscript the editors blog.
It is a preproduction tool, a tool for the writing and development of your material for publishing. Luckily for you, formatting your manuscript can be summarized in a few bullet points. This ultimate guide shows you how to format your book stepbystep. Begin numbering with the first page of the text of the book, usually the introduction, prologue, or chapter one. Start formatting by deciding on three major issuestrim, font, and margin sizes. After all, when your eyes are the only ones observing your work, worrying about things like proper page layout, mirror margins, section breaks. May 02, 2016 formatting a manuscript for a print book isnt hard, but youll want to take advantage of the expertise of book designers. For a professional interior book layout, we recommend that you keep any elements you dont want trimmed off, at least a. Our printing and binding process requires minimum margin settings of. Enter your books trim size into the width and height fields. When many firsttime selfpublishers consider the design elements of their book they only think of the front cover. Understanding book layouts and page margins by joel friedlander on august 14, 20 78 comments when authors decide to format their own books, they dont always make the best choices. Nov 26, 2018 picture book manuscript format flummoxes a lot of aspiring childrens book writers because there is so much potential variety. Also remember to select mirror margins, when setting up your custom page size in microsoft word.
Use twelve point times new roman in black type only. Use oneinch margins all the way around the manuscript. A manuscript is essentially the earliest draft of a book. Your margins should be 1 all around, indents going out to. But the design of the pages inside those covers have just as much impact and require the same amount of careful consideration. In this video ill show you how to set page size, margins and gutter as well as the right sizes for novels and nonfiction books. Use a single space between individual lines, and doublespacing between new stanzas. Feb 27, 2017 in this video ill show you how to set page size, margins and gutter as well as the right sizes for novels and nonfiction books. Click the format list the dropdown at the bottom of the dialog box and choose paragraph. How to format a manuscript for an ebook working writers. When youre writing the first paragraph of your new manuscript, its easy to ignore the formatting. How to format your childrens book manuscript dummies. Do you know how to prepare your manuscript for your editor, proofreader, and especially your book designer.
Turn off the function that takes an entire paragraph at the bottom of the page to the following page if the paragraph is split between two pages. Use a 1 margin on all sides use a title page, set up the same as the title. Leave the gutter setting at zero and gutter position at left. If youre not sure how to change the page size, or the margins in microsoft word, then you can take a look at the help here. If the correct font size is used, and if the margins are set so that lines contain an average of 60 characters, the. It is the unpublished version of a book submitted to agents and editors for publication consideration. Word 2003 changing page size changing margin size word 2007 changing. In the apply to list, select whole document and click ok. On the dropdown menu, click custom margins at the bottom of the menu. Build your book format a paperback manuscript word for. Apr 23, 2014 click the page layout tab on the menu bar, then click and open margins.
Things like font size, page color, word count, page number, line spacing, paragraph breakseverything that. Under indentation special, set first line indent to 0. Go to page layout, margins, and choose the normal setting, which assigns one inch evenly around the page. This is to allow annotation to be written onto a printed copy. Lefthand pages tend to have a narrow lefthand margin and a wide righthand margin. How to format and submit your poetry manuscript 2020. To help you stand out in the slush as polished and professional, ive developed a picture book manuscript template handout that ive used over. Manuscript presentation makes a big difference to the way literary agents receive your work. Dec 09, 2014 you do not need a cover page for picture books. Here are the basics steps on formatting your manuscript in microsoft word for self publication.
The templates at the top of this page have page numbers added. These steps include including setting up the correct trim size, setting up the correct margins, formatting the text, and numbering the pages. The stepbystep guide to formatting your print book for kdp. Ensure your book title page and first chapter starts on odd numbered pages whether these are numbered or not in your book manuscript.
Aug 14, 20 understanding book layouts and page margins by joel friedlander on august 14, 20 78 comments when authors decide to format their own books, they dont always make the best choices. The following steps will then apply to the entire manuscript. Even with the advent of desktop publishing, making it possible for anyone to. Authors submit manuscripts in a hodgepodge of formats. Proper manuscript format for fiction writers william shunn. How to format a nonfiction manuscript book editing services. To create a header in microsoft word, move your cursor into the margin above the top line and click twice. Picture book manuscript format flummoxes a lot of aspiring childrens book writers because there is so much potential variety. In my career, i have seen hundreds of examples of picture. Manuscript format for novels how to write a book now. Proper manuscript format for a novel first manuscript.
This article is the first in a series to address formatting for print books. How to format a picture book manuscript for publishers. How do i format my manuscript to the industry standard. But as i mentioned, i firmly believe making the book a little weighty goes a long way in increasing customer satisfaction, so if your print book is under 100 pages for example, id increase the line height and margins to push it up closer to 200 pages. All odd pages in your book manuscript 1, 3, 5 etc whether numbered or not are right hand pages in the printed book i. Typically, a manuscript should start each poem on a new page. Indent lines that run across the length of the page.
Please save each chapter as a separate file and zip the files into one file. The generic of the format is that when the manuscript is scent to formatting for publish it creates a flowing book without creating extra work of having to go through and fix spacing and other errors created from spacing start of paragraphs instead of using the paragraph indent option, or justifying a line, that type of thing. The directions below are for ms word 7 and 10 the most. These unequal mirror margins are what make the magic happens in print formatting, because they leave space for the books binding. How to format a novel manuscript writing academy scribophile. Choose the margin settings in the relevant fields see below. Please save each chapter as a separate file and zip the files into one file named after the title of the book. How to format your book for self publication bookstand.
Centre the chapter title, even if its only chapter one or chapter 1, about onethird of the way down the page. In my career, i have seen hundreds of examples of picture book format. Standard manuscript format news newspapers books scholar jstor november 2015. If you use a nonstandard manuscript format with different spacing. Download our free guide to typesetting and uploading your book on completelynovel. A novel manuscript requires a title page formatted in this manner click to see example contact. Use 12point times new roman or arial font unless the publishers submission guidelines indicate otherwise. Picture book format and how to format your manuscript kidlit. On the far right hand side of the toolbar, click on select, then select all on the dropdown. How to format a manuscript the specifics guidelines you. After all, when your eyes are the only ones observing your work, worrying about things like proper page layout, mirror margins, section breaks, and whether or not your hyphens are in the right place can feel like obstacles to simply putting your ideas down on paper. About 12 the way down the page, centered, enter the full manuscript title all caps or mixed caps.
Download your free book outline template and leverage this fillintheblank template. Use a 1 margin on all sides use a title page, set up the same as the title page in your package see page 159. For your manuscript it should show your last name at the left, the book title centered, and the page number to the right. Under spacing, set before and after to 0 pt, and line spacing to single. Download a free manuscript format template for your novel. Part of my job as a copy editor is to fix the formatting to publishers standards. This resizes your pages and changes your page count, which you need to know for setting your margins. While scrivener includes the ability to export the information as an ebook and material. These templates will provide you with the overall size, as well as suggested margins for text. For a 6x9 book, shoot for an average of 350 words per page for a 5x8, around 300.