#APA MANUSCRIPT FORMAT HOW TO#
#APA MANUSCRIPT FORMAT MANUAL#
#APA MANUSCRIPT FORMAT DOWNLOAD#

This way your new paragraphs are automatically indented when you hit Enter at the end of the previous one. This tells the word processor, “Wherever you see two spaces together, change that to one space.”įinally, click “Replace All.” Indent Each Paragraph Half an Inch:Ĭhoose this option in the menu shown here, not by hitting the space bar several times at the beginning of each paragraph. You should see a box labeled “Find and Replace.” In the first box, type two spaces. There’s a shortcut to fixing this in Microsoft Word. So if you’ve already written your manuscript with two spaces between sentences, don’t despair. But you never see more than one space between sentences in published books. Those of us who learned to type on typewriters were taught to hit the space bar twice between sentences, and it’s a hard habit to break. 8 points extra between paragraphs, so you’ll want to change that this way (and make it your default):

Unfortunately, Word is often defaulted to adding. (And if they do, it’s an indication the book was self-published.). Notice the extra space between the paragraphs of this blog post? Manuscripts shouldn’t have those because published books customarily don’t. Set your word processor to double space using this button: That will result in such garbled formatting that it’s an almost automatic rejection. You do not want to accomplish this by hitting Enter at the end of each line. This is an example of double spacing, as opposed to the single spacing of the rest of this blog post. This means your manuscript will a space between lines, like this:

#APA MANUSCRIPT FORMAT HOW TO#

Here’s how to change your font, if necessary, using the same procedure we used to change the type size:

Choose Times New Roman, and you can’t go wrong. Serifs are those small projects that finish off a letter, as in Times Roman type. Use a Serif Font:įonts are the various designs of typefaces. You can apply this same procedure to any editorial change you wish to make in an entire file at a time. To format your document all at once, press and hold Ctrl and press A to select the whole document, then use the font change box to change all the text. Make sure your formatting is set to 12 by clicking this button in Word. Twelve-point is the size of the text (letters an inch high would be 72-point type). Here’s more detail on each of these rules to help you understand how to format your manuscript in Microsoft Word. It should be the same size and font as the rest of the text. Your title should be about a third of the the page from the top and centered. The header should appear on each page after the title page.Īdditionally, agents and publishers want your name, email, address, and phone number in the top left and word count to the nearest hundred in the top right of your title page. Create a header with the title followed by your last name and the page number.If you choose to add a line between paragraphs to indicate a change of location or passage of time, center a typographical dingbat (like ***) on the line.Text should be flush left and ragged right, not justified.

Indent each paragraph half an inch (setting a tab, not using several spaces).

Use a serif font the most common choice is Times Roman.

For more detail, refer to the “Implementing Formatting” section. If they wanted to change them, they can do it easily.Īs for how to layout your manuscript pages and determine their look, following certain general rules will make your manuscript look professional. If you’re submitting to one who specifies, naturally you want to give them what they want.īut some don’t give instructions beyond “standard manuscript format.” Then your best bet is to make your own choices, but be sure you’re consistent.įor instance, if you write out numbers between zero and nine and use digits for any after that, do it the same way every time.

#APA MANUSCRIPT FORMAT MANUAL#

What size font? What typeface? How are numbers rendered - as digits or written out? Manuscript Formatting GuidelinesĮach agent and publisher may have slightly different submission guidelines - some specifying that they prefer The Chicago Manual of Style or the AP (Associated Press) Style, and some offering style specifics of their own. This includes things like whether the lines are single- or double-spaced. What is Formatting?įormatting is how your manuscript looks. Getting Started: What is a Manuscript?Ī manuscript is your work of fiction or nonfiction that you submit to a publisher or agent in the hope that someone will turn it into a published book.

#APA MANUSCRIPT FORMAT DOWNLOAD#

Need help writing your book? Click here to download my ultimate 20-step guide.

Apa manuscript format