Preparing
Your Manuscript for Submission to Publishers
by Rebecca
Brandewyne
copyright 1998, all rights reserved, used by permission.
One of the
questions most often asked by aspiring writers is
how to properly prepare a manuscript for
submission to publishers. It's not hard, but there
are some rules you do need to
follow:
Use only
white bond paper, minimum 20 lb. weight. Do not
use erasable or colored bond paper. Now
is not the time to "think pink,"
hoping it will attract attention to your
manuscript. It will --- but not the kind of
attention you want, since manuscripts written
on colored paper are invariably returned
unread to their authors by publishers.
Set your
margins at one inch all the way around each
page.
Choose an
easy-to-read typeface. The most-common
typeface employed by romance writers is
Courier 12 pt. Courier is popular for
word-count reasons that have now, however,
been rendered obsolete by today's
wordprocessing programs, which count words
accurately. Rebecca herself uses Times New
Roman 12 pt., as she much prefers its printed
appearance over that of Courier and finds it
much easier to read and check for errors.
Some
average word counts for today's romance novels
are:
Contemporary Categories: 55,000 - 85,000
words, depending on the line.
Mainstream Contemporaries: 90,000 - 150,000
words.
Historicals: 100,000 words.
Centered on
your manuscript's cover page, type your name,
address, telephone number, fax number (if
any), and email address. You may also put your
manuscript's copyright notice and approximate
word count here, if you so desire.
In the upper
left-hand corner of each subsequent page, type
the title of your manuscript and your name
and/or pseudonym.
In the upper
right-hand corner of each subsequent page,
type each new page number.
Drop down your
page about halfway to start each new chapter,
and label it as such, for example: Chapter
One, Chapter Two, and so on.
Double
space your entire manuscript. No
publisher whatsoever will read a single-spaced
manuscript.
Note all time
breaks with three asterisks (* * *) or number
signs (# # #) centered alone on a line between
the last paragraph of the preceding section
and the first paragraph of the subsequent
section.
Use a
spellchecker. There is no reason whatsoever
--- especially in this day and age --- to
submit a manuscript that is chock-full of
spelling errors, and it won't endear you to
editors, either!
You do not need
to type "The End," "# #
#," or "30" on your
manuscript's final page unless you wish to do
so. Rebecca does not. Instead, on her final
page, she drops down to the bottom of the page
and places her copyright notice and
approximate word count there.
If possible,
use a laser printer to print out your finished
manuscript. If you do not have access to a
laser printer, use a good, letter-quality
printer. Most all publishers will not
accept anything else.
Do not
bind your manuscript pages together in any
fashion whatsoever --- this includes putting
your pages in a three-ring notebook. Instead,
place a large, sturdy rubberband around your
entire manuscript to hold the loose pages
together.
You may ship
your manuscript to publishers in any number of
ways...express mail, first-class mail, or
fourth-class mail. If you want your manuscript
sent back to you in the event that it is
rejected by a publisher, enclose sufficient
postage to ensure its return. Ship your
manuscript in either an appropriately sized
box or envelope. Rebecca's ships her in a
FedPak, via Federal Express.
If you submit
your manuscript to more than one publisher at
a time (multiple submissions), notify each
publisher of same. Note: Except in the case of
auctions conducted by agents, this practice is
generally frowned on by publishers.
Enclose a cover
letter with your manuscript, addressed by name
to a specific editor at the publisher. Keep it
short, businesslike, and to the point, listing
your writing background and creditials (if
any) and a brief summary of your manuscript's
basic premise. Do not make statements
such as "This is the greatest novel
you'll ever read!"
Always
keep a complete copy of your manuscript
yourself.
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