How to Format a Manuscript NOTE: I'm currently in the process of updating these pages, but it might take a while before I get to this one, and I don't want to lead anybody astray. In 2006, Steeple Hill Books (as well as all of the Harlequin/Silhouette lines and imprints) began using ACTUAL COMPUTER WORD COUNT, not the old-fashioned method outlined on this page. The word count for Love Inspired books used to be up to 75K, but is now 65-70K by your MS Word or WordPerfect count. Right off the bat you need to understand there isn't just one correct way to do this. It isn't as if a consortium of romance editors has handed down a set of commandments for formatting manuscripts. There are, however, some conventions in manuscript formatting, and that's what we're going to talk about here. You may choose to follow them or ignore them, but you should know them. Then if you break the "rules," it will be a conscious decision on your part, and you'll have had some good reason for doing it. Do romance editors really care how you format your manuscript? Oh, you betcha. You see, they're not just looking for hot new authors. They're looking for hot new authors who know how to behave like professionals. Let's imagine what Emma Editor might be thinking after she reads an "iffy" submission: I just don't know. It's an okay story, if a bit rocky in places. It might work with some extensive revisions, but....   Nah. With these narrow margins and this weird typeface I can't even tell whether the length is right for our line. And I don't have the patience to play around with an author who can't be bothered to format her manuscript properly, anyway. Either she was too lazy to do her homework or she's a person who just doesn't like playing by rules.   Well, never mind. The story probably wouldn't have worked for us, anyway.  The cold, hard fact is that while some manuscript submissions scream, "Buy me right now!" and most others say quite the opposite just as loudly, many fall into the "well, maybe" category. If you knew that "your" editor was sitting on the fence, wouldn't you do every little thing in your power to nudge her over to your side?   Yeah, I thought you would. Okay, then. Here are the basics: Unless cost is a huge consideration, start with the best paper: 20-pound, bright white. This heavier paper eliminates see-through pages that can cause Editor's Eyestrain, which can lead to crankiness and ill will toward Certain Authors. And if you buy "bright" white paper, your black ink will appear even darker on the page. Editors love that. Margins: one-inch, all around. Top and bottom, left and right. Do not "justify" the right margin. Let the lines end where they will. Font: use Courier New, 12-point or Times New Roman, 14 point. They are roughly the same size. (TNR 12 point is way too small.) Tweak your word-processing program until it gives you exactly 25 lines of text per page. Double-space everything. No extra line-feeds between paragraphs. Indent five spaces to begin paragraphs. Turn off "widows and orphans" in your word processor. This will prevent some pages from ending up with too few lines of text. Put a header on every page except the first one: "Your Name/STORY TITLE" on the left side and "PAGE (insert #)" on the right.  (Don't put a header or page number on the title page, which is page one.  You will do all that on the second page.  Call that one "Page 2," because it is.) Before we continue, let's play a quick game of "Word Count." How many words are in the  first ten lines of page 213 of my imaginary manuscript? "Hello, Sam." Rita lowered her coffee cup. "How have you been?"   "Lonely."   "That was your choice. You were the one who wanted 'space', remember?"   "I've changed my mind."   "Too late," she snapped. Okay, how many words did you get? Did you count 11 + 1 + 12 + 4 + 4 = 32 ?   Too bad, because the correct answer is 50. Yes, there are 50 "words" in that bit of dialogue, because -- now fix this firmly in your mind --each line counts as ten words, no matter what!   What's more, each page counts as 250 words, even if there are only a couple of lines on the page, as there might be at the end of a chapter.   It's all about averages, and that's how editors have figured word-count since the typewriter age. Yes, many publishing houses have stopped doing that and are now using computer word counts. But most of you reading this page are romance writers targeting Harlequin/Silhouette/Steeple Hill, and the Mighty Harlequin Machine does NOT use computer word count. So each page is 250 words. That's 25 lines at 10 words per line, which means: 100 pages =  25,000 words (100 pages times 250 words per page gives you 25,000 words) 200 pages =  50,000 words 240 pages =  60,000 words 280 pages = 70,000 words 300 pages = 75,000 words 400 pages = 100,000 words 500 pages = 125,000 words Isn't this fun? Just pick your target word-count, then divide by 250 to find out how many pages you'll need to write. The beauty of this system is that with just one glance at your manuscript, an editor can judge the length of your story.   Now let's talk about your title page: In the top-left corner, single-spaced: your name, address, and other contact information.   In the top-right corner, single-spaced: type of  story (for instance, "Inspirational Romance"), and setting (for instance, "Present-day, rural Texas.") On the third line put your word count. Don't say "approximately" and don't give a range.  Just boldly type: "75,000 words." Or whatever. Editors know these are estimates.   Center your title in the absolute middle of the page. You want to leave the editor plenty of "scribble room" at the top of the manuscript.   Under the title put your real name or your pseudonym, whichever of you wants credit for the story. Remember that your real name and contact info are already at the top-left corner of this page. Editors are pretty sharp, so if they see a different name on this line, they'll understand that you're using a pseudonym. Or stealing somebody else's manuscript. Don't number "Page 1." (Duh!) Don't label "Chapter One." (But if you're beginning with a prologue, say so. Then a few pages later when you start Chapter One, you will label it.) Now start your story. You're only going to get a few lines of text on your first page, maybe eight or so, and it's going to look a bit strange.  Deal with it.    Here's a trick I use to make my first page a little more exciting: I play with my lines of text (adding or deleting one or two lines, as necessary) so that my first page ends with an interesting sentence. For example, the last line on page one of a manuscript I once submitted looked like this: "Lauren's in there," Susannah confided. "She's naked." After reading the first seven lines, my editor already knew this was a five-year-old girl speaking to a 30-year-old man about a beautiful young woman. I figured the "she's naked" line would give my editor something interesting to think about while she was turning the page!   Now let's address scene changes. This isn't a biggie, and many authors use different approaches. All you need to do is indicate a break. You can double-double-space (hit "enter" twice) and then go on to your next scene, or you can center a "#" (or maybe an asterisk) on its own line to show that one scene has ended and another is about to begin. Finally, a word about chapter headings: Some authors start in the middle of the page, but I start them one third of the way down. Again, this isn't a biggie. You just need to save room for the editor to write comments and instructions at the beginning of every chapter. So center "Chapter Two" (or whatever) on a line and then leave a couple of blank lines before you begin your first paragraph. Like this: Stuff happens, then the hero and heroine kiss. That's the end of this scene. # The next day, even more stuff happens. And so on.   I think that's everything. Please let me know if I left something out!         Return to Brenda's Writing Tips Go back to home page: Brenda Coulter, Inspirational Romance Novelist