Formatting Your Novel Manuscript

In between coats of paint yesterday I decided to format my novel manuscript properly, or at least the part that I've edited and rewritten.

After reading several websites, posts and forum discussions on the best way to format your novel manuscript ahead of submissions to agents and publishers, I've found that some standards put forward are universal - and some vary drastically from person to person!

What everyone seems to agree about:

1. Cover page
At the beginning of the manuscript, put your name, address and contact details at the top left hand side (single-spaced), the name of your novel and your name/pen name centred half-way down the page, and the approximate word count rounded up to the nearest thousand centred at the bottom. The header and page count should not appear on this page.

2. Header
Right align: Your surname / ONE OR TWO WORDS FROM YOUR NOVEL TITLE / Page #.
So my novel heading is: Reilly / DECALOGUE / Page #
The header should appear on every page apart from the cover page.

3. Chapter headings
Start each chapter on a new page. The chapter heading should be centred and begin either a third/half the way down the page. Follow the same format for each new chapter.

4. Body text
Double-space the text, indent the first line of each paragraph by 5pt and don't use too small a font. Use styles if you can so that if you decide to change the body text you can do so more easily.

5. Scene breaks
Indicate breaks in scene by inserting a centred '#' character. (No need to insert this at the end of a chapter though.)

Unfortunately here is where much of the advice diverges:

1. Font
There isn't a full consensus about which font to use. Traditionally you would use Courier 12pt because it is a monospaced serif font (meaning that each character is the same width), therefore the editor will be able to see how many pages your novel would run to when published.

But some agents have professed Courier to be ugly and difficult to read, and prefer another serif font like Times New Roman.

The general advice - check the agent's submission guidelines. If a font is not given, use Courier 12pt. That's why using styles is so helpful; you can change the entire body text with a few clicks.

2. Word count
Traditionally each page of a manuscript is 25 lines long with each line averaging 10 words (60 monospaced characters, hence the use of Courier). The editor would count each page as 250 words. (To get 25 lines in a page, select 'Exactly 25pt spacing' instead of 'Double-spacing'.)

However, in the age of word processing and automated word counts, this has changed somewhat. I couldn't find out if editors still used this format as each novel is now printed with different font types and sizes. As it doesn't seem like a deal-breaker I'll be using the word count given by Word until told otherwise.

3. Spacing after a full stop
Traditionally you would always put two spaces after the end of each sentence. Some agents/publishers seem to prefer this still, but others are put off by it as it has fallen out of favour. I'm using one space, but if I change my mind or am told otherwise I can use the find and replace tool in Word.


A disclaimer: please don't take this post as gospel, I just thought I'd share the results of my research like a jumping off point - I'm merely a beginner! Here are some links to some people with way more experience in the publishing industry:

Holly Lisle
William Shunn
BBC Style Guidelines
Charlotte Dillon (includes step-by-step Word setup - very handy!)
Miss Snark

Plot

After my mind map I worked on a summary/synopsis of my novel yesterday. With the amount that I've been banging on about the first draft it felt strange not to share the plot with you all.

This is just the start of it obviously (I'll fill in the rest as each story's plot and link is more solid) but it should give you a rough idea:

'The Decalogue' consists of ten short stories loosely based upon each of the Ten Commandments and set in modern-day Dublin. The Dubliners each face a moral dilemma in a society where Catholic values clash with an encroaching materialist and permissive way of life.

(I must add that 'The Dubliners' refer to my characters and not the traditional Irish band. Hmm, maybe I should change that bit.)