Breaking Down The Manuscript – How to format your manuscript
Subscribe to The Life Of a Writer YouTube channel for regular updates!
Are you a new or aspiring writer with no idea how to get started with formatting your manuscript? Well you’ve come to the right place!
Did you know that its very often the case that manuscripts are rejected not because of the content, but because it did not follow the submission guidelines of the publishing company or publishing agent? Wouldn’t you love to know how to ensure your manuscript gets read?
Please enjoy the first video in my video series Breaking Down The Manuscript series - How To Format Your Manuscript:
Here are the highlights for your reference:
- 1″ margins
- 12 pt font
- Times New Roman font
- Double spaced
- Title page (includes physical & email address, title, and word count)
- Header (includes name and title of manuscript on the left and page number on the right)
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below.
Latest posts by Stefanie Newell (see all)
![The Life Of A Writer: A dream realized [Part 1]](http://thewriteoneblog.com/wp-content/themes/arthemia-premium/scripts/timthumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/believe.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1&q=100)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Five Star Writing, WriteOnePublications. WriteOnePublications said: Breaking Down The Manuscript – How to format your manuscript http://bit.ly/ea7jYr @scsmith42 @ResellRightsEbo [...]
Hi Stefanie!
Question: I have my manuscript on my computer – just sitting there at about 48,000 words – which I feel is a little light weight and know it could probably benefit from another few rounds of content and conceptual editing, but my question is: how do I divide my work into chapters?
So for fiction you need to get up to about 80,000 words. As far as chapters, divide them as your story transitions or when the setting changes. It should be long enough to establish the purpose. In my experience, I wrote in chapters so it made it a little easier.
You'll notice a natural transition in your writing no matter what genre, and as you see that transition you would then create a new chapter. As far as word count on non-fiction, I'm not too sure.