Ah, spring, the time when all writers’ thoughts turn to…standard format?
May 7th, 2007I devoted most of last week’s posts to discussing how something as simple as name repetition might render your manuscript (and, equally important, your submission) harder for a professional reader to peruse with joy. As is the case with so many rules one encounters in the course of a rich and full life, there is an exception to this: there is one last name that should appear on every single page of the manuscript, unless it is a contest entry.
I am referring, naturally, to YOURS. The author’s last name is an integral part of the slug line that should appear on every page of the text.
Most writing handbooks and courses tend to be a trifle vague about this particular requirement, so allow me to clarify. A slug line is used to identify each page of the text – and it’s used for a very, very good reason. Since manuscripts are never bound in any way (you knew that, right?), it’s not all that uncommon for a page or two to slip out of sequence, or even for an entire manuscript to go SPLAT! onto the floor. All that information in the slug line helps the page get back into the proper order within the proper manuscript.
If you’re picturing two interns colliding in an agency hallway, a blizzard of flying papers, and the two combatants rehashing that old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup™commercial’s dialogue (“You got romance novel in my literary fiction!” “You got literary fiction in my romance novel!”), you’re understanding the need for the slug line clearly.
A well-constructed slug line should include the author’s last name, book title, and page number. Traditionally, these appear all in capital letters, but it’s not strictly necessary. Being something of a traditionalist, the third page of my memoir has a slug line that looks like this:
MINI/A FAMILY DARKLY/3
The slug line should appear in the upper left-hand margin (although no one will sue you if you put it in the upper right-hand margin, left is the time-honored location) of every page of the text EXCEPT the title page (which should have nothing in the header or footer at all). Since the ONLY place a page number should appear on a page of text is in the slug line, if you are in the habit of placing numbers wacky places like the middle of the footer, do be aware that it does not look strictly professional to, well, professionals
In case anyone is wondering, it is not called a slug line because it slithers across the top of a page. In printer-speak, a slug is an unchanging line of type that is reused multiple times. (If memory serves, a slug is technically 30 characters long.)
While I’ve been writing this, it occurred to me: I had planned to continue with my self-editing theme for the rest of the week, but since knowing what the professional standards are – and knowing that they exist can often make the difference between a well-written manuscript that makes it past an agency screener and one that doesn’t, I’m going to take the time to revisit it now.
That’s right, boys and girls, I’m going to launch once again on the most spectacularly unsexy topic of them all, and perhaps the single most necessary for any aspiring writer to know: how to format a manuscript for submission.
Stop rolling your eyes, long-time readers. This is necessary information for anyone who ever intends to submit a manuscript, and it’s not as though most agencies and publishing houses post a list of technical requirements for writers’ benefit. (Although that’s a darned fine idea.) If posting these rules helps a single good writer’s submission from rejection, it’s worth doing periodically.
To begin with the basics: standard format for manuscripts is NOT the same as standard format for published books. Nor is it identical to what your word processor’s grammar checker will ask you to do – nor, heaven help us, business format. All of these will not look correct to an agent or editor.
It is VERY much to your advantage to be aware of this salient fact. Since standard manuscript format differs in a number of significant ways from all of the above, agency screeners, agents, editors, and contest judges tend to regard submissions formatted in any other way as either unpolished (if they’re feeling generous) or unprofessional (if they’re not). The end result: improperly-formatted manuscripts are often not read beyond the first paragraph or two.
Got your attention now?
Why should they be so hard-line about nit-picky technicalities? Long-time readers, pull out your hymnals and sing along with me now: because agencies and publishing houses get so many submissions that a screener’s PRIMARY goal is to weed out the one he is reading at the moment. The faster he can do that, the better, to move through that mountain of paper on his desk.
The more professional your manuscript looks, the more likely it is to be read with interest by a screener in a hurry. Period. And I don’t know about you, but I’m all for anything that helps all of our work get taken more seriously.
So on to the rules.
A couple of disclaimers at the start. I fully realize that many of the tiny-but-pervasive changes I am about to suggest that you make to your manuscript are going to be irksome to implement. Reformatting a manuscript is time-consuming and tedious – and I would be the first to admit that some of these rules are pretty absurd. But, as I believe I may have mentioned once or twice before, I do not run the universe, and thus do not make the rules.
Sorry. No matter how much I would like to absolve you from some of them, it is outside my power. Take it up with the fairy godmother who neglected to endow me with that gift at birth.
Also, every time I run a series of posts on standard format, I am inundated with comments pointing out that website X advises something different, that this agent said at a conference she doesn’t care what typeface you use, or that a certain manual said that standards have changed from the traditional guidelines I set out here.
I have no doubt that all of these comments are indeed pointing out legitimate differences in advice, but it is not my purpose here to police the net for standardization of advice. If you like guidelines you find elsewhere better, by all means follow them.
All I claim for these rules – and it is not an insubstantial claim – is that nothing I advise here will EVER strike an agent or editor as unprofessional. Adhering to them will mean that your writing is going to be judged on your writing, not your formatting.
And that, my friends, is nothing at which to sneeze, even on a pollen-filled spring afternoon.
Here are the rules of standard format — and no, NONE of them are negotiable. Santa Claus himself would have extreme difficulty sneaking a non-standard manuscript past an agency screener, even though he undoubtedly has the world’s best platform to write a book on flying reindeer. (If that last quip didn’t make you groan, if not chuckle, it’s time to brush up on your agent-speak.)
(1) All manuscripts should be printed or typed in black ink and double-spaced, with at least one-inch margins around all edges of the page, on 20-lb or better white paper.
No exceptions, unless someone in the industry (or a contest’s rules) SPECIFICALLY asks you to do otherwise. No ecru paper, no off-white. The only colored paper that ever goes anywhere near a manuscript is the single sheet that separates one copy of a submission or book proposal from the next, so it is easy for an agent to see where to break the stack. (But you don’t need to know about that until your agent asks you to send 15 copies of your book for submitting to editors. Put it out of your mind for now.)
Yes, buff or parchment can look very nice, but there’s a strategic reason to use bright white paper: very sharp black-white contrast is strongly preferred by virtually every professional reader out there, probably as a legacy of having read so many dim photocopies over the course of their lifetimes. (You’d be amazed at how poor the printing quality is on some submissions; it’s as though the author dunked in a swiftly-flowing river several times before popping it in the mail.)
Why the heavier paper? A submission often passes through three or four hands in the course of its road to acceptance — often more, at a large agency or publishing house. Lower-quality paper will wilt after a reading or two; 20-lb or better will not. Keep it crisp.
(2) All manuscripts should be printed on ONE side of the page (unless you are specifically asked to do otherwise).
Yes, this IS criminally wasteful of paper, especially when you consider the literally millions of pages of submissions that go flying into the agencies and publishing houses every month. Most agencies do not even recycle; the vast majority of agencies did not even consider accepting e-mailed queries at all until the anthrax-in-envelopes scare. (I swear I’m not making that up.)
I assure you, if I ran the universe paper conservation would be the norm, and recycling mandatory. Also, writers would all be granted thirteen hours each week more than other mortals in which to write, free domestic help, excellent and inexpensive child care, tax breaks for book purchases, and a freshly-baked pie on Truman Capote’s birthday. Perhaps some puff pastry on Flaubert’s birthday as well, in affluent years, and dancing on Mme. de Staël’s.
But since the unhappy reality is that I do NOT run the universe (see disclaimer above), we shall all have to live with the status quo.
Which is to say: the publishing industry is one vast paper-wasting enterprise. Sorry.
(3) The text should be left-justified, NOT block-justified, as published books tend to be.
Many writers find this one nearly impossible to accept, because it is one of the most visually obvious ways in which a professional manuscript differs from a printed book. They believe, wrongly, that anything that makes their submission look more like what’s on the shelves at Barnes & Noble is inherently professional.
Yes, books feature text that runs in straight vertical lines along both side margins, and yes, your word processing program can replicate that practically effortlessly, if you ask it nicely to do so.
But don’t: the straight margin should be the left one; the right should be ragged, as if you had produced the manuscript on a typewriter.
(4) The preferred typefaces are 12-point Times, Times New Roman, Courier, or Courier New.
I would never dream of allowing a client of mine to submit a manuscript in anything but Times New Roman, nor would I ever submit any of my work in anything else. It is the standard typeface of the industry. There are advocates of Courier, too, so you may use it, but I implore you, do not get any wackier than that.
Why? Manuscripts in these fonts tend to be taken far more seriously, and with good reason: these are the typefaces upon which the most commonly-used word count estimations are based. So a manuscript in one of these typefaces simply looks more professional to agents and editors than the same manuscript in other typefaces.
If you write screenplays, you may ONLY use Courier. Most screenplay agents will not read even the first page of a script in another typeface — which means that most contest judges will follow suit.
If you are a writer who likes to have different voices presented in different typefaces, or who chooses boldface for emphasis, a submission is not a forum where you can express those preferences freely. Yes, one sees this in a published book occasionally, but I assure you, the choice to indulge in these formatting differences was the editor’s, not the author’s.
Sorry. (See my earlier disclaimer about proprietorship of the universe.)
All right, I’ve run very long indeed today, so I’m going to stop here for the nonce. More rules follow tomorrow. In the meantime, keep up the good work!
Anne,
I’ve loved your blog since I stumbled upon it last fall. So I don’t read through my allotted writing time, I’ve treat myself to one current and one backdated entry each morning as part of my pre-writing routine. Thanks!
Formatting also threatens my precious writing schedule — but in not nearly as good a way. I’d rather weed our “lagoon” (I won’t tell you where THAT water comes from) than unearth how to create a proper slug line in Windows XP. The page number refuses to stay dutifully next to the title but jumps into center-justified territory instead!
I promise good throughts each time I tap out a properly aligned page from me to anyone who shares the secret! Please?
Jen J
Hi Anne,
I have an off-subject question regarding electronic queries. Due to the quickness, lack of wasted time, paper, and expense of some recent solisited queries I sent in this manner, I decided to try some initial queries via email. I queried agents who specifically said they accepted electronic queries and followed their instructions to the letter. Their sites all said “responds to electronic queries in two weeks.” None of them said a non-respomnse could be considered a rejection. Well, it’s been five weeks and I haven’t heard back from a one of them. So, I am tempted to send the same queries via snail mail. My thought: either they didn’t get them, or they are too rude to send a rejection (which could be done with a flick of the finger), and they deserve to see it twice. Do you think I should wait longer? Or is it a bad idea altogether?
I have talked to other writers who have had the same problem and have quit submitting through email for this reason. Does email, apparently, negate the need for civil business correspondence? To you agents who may be reading: don’t advertise that you are open to this approach if you don’t intend to follow through!
Cindy W
Ooh, that IS a problem, Jen. I will ask around, but does anyone have any good suggestions?
I’ve heard about this problem a LOT in the last 6 months or so, Cindy, so I’m glad you wrote in about it. Yes, it’s rude; yes, you have every right to follow up with a snail mail query PROVIDED that you are saintly enough NOT to mention in the paper copy that you already e-queried.
Mentioning that they haven’t gotten around to reading their e-mail (as promised) might raise hackles in a disorganized office — which is probably the source of the slowness. I’ve been hearing tales of agencies where someone thought that e-queries would save them oodles of time — and then they didn’t realize quickly enough that they should have hired a screener SPECIFICALLY to handle the e-queries. So they get backed up or, still worse, ignored.
But it’s not your responsibility to fix their dysfunctional office, right? Just pretend that they lost it and try again on paper, because we KNOW they’re set up to process that.
I think you’ve been more than reasonable about the time, too. Generally speaking, with any kind of query or submission, if it’s been more than twice their stated turn-around time, I think an author should assume something has gone unaccountably astray.
But fie upon them. Fie!
Jen J. — Are you putting your slug line in the header of your manuscript? I’ve never had a problem with the page number jumping around when I do this. I use Word on a Windows XP operating system.
I just select “insert page number”–the command with the “number” symbol–that’s on the far left of the small “Header and Footer” pop-up box.
On the Layout screen of the Page Set-up command, don’t forget to select “Different first page” so the header doesn’t appear on the first page of your MS.
Susan, Your note got me there. Thanks! I was using the View – Header and Footer drop downs and then typing my text before inserting the page number.
I tried positioning the curser before hitting the # box — which put my page nos. where they need to be. I didn’t realize I’d allowed my curser to roam in the box…Thanks!! Jen
Hooray! A big gold star for Susan!
Her method sounds easier than what my source at a software-giant-that-shall-remain-nameless suggested. Off the record, of course: “Formatting in Word is privately sponsored by a chain of very profitable hypertension clinics and is best avoided like the bubonic. However, assuming your blogger is doing this in the header (or footer), I have personally found that highlighting the page title and then clicking the text align buttons does the job. It is also advisable to complete this task in a room with no windows. This lessens the desire to hurl the computer through one.”
Those of us who use Macs are really spoiled in this respect — there is almost always a couple of ways to do anything on a Mac, and the screen is pretty much WYSIWYG (meaning that What You See on the screen Is What You Get on the page.)
“I assure you, if I ran the universe paper conservation would be the norm, and recycling mandatory. Also, writers would all be granted thirteen hours each week more than other mortals in which to write, free domestic help, excellent and inexpensive child care, tax breaks for book purchases, and a freshly-baked pie on Truman Capote’s birthday. Perhaps some puff pastry on Flaubert’s birthday as well, in affluent years, and dancing on Mme. de Staël’s.”
And that is why I will be voting for you when we next get to elect the ruler of the universe.
Having been an assistant to a literary agent I can say you are dead-on with your suggestions. Block justifying is actually harder to read in a manuscript, you lose track of your lines too easily. Whacky fonts = whacky writer. And colored paper? Would you let your kid hand in a book report on colored paper? If the answer is “no” then why would you submit a novel on colored paper?
I’ve never had much of a problem getting my page number to go where it was supposed to. I have had some problems in getting the slugline to start on page 2 as page 2, in order to not have it on page 1. Probably operator error, by one who grew up thinking of computers as rooms full of tubes and reel to reel tape transports that clicked and whirred, and beeped, and blinked, and finally said 1 + 1 =10! No, that’s not an error. Binary speaking, it’s correct.
To change the subject slightly, I’m probably one of those who in the past has mentioned other sources and variations of standard format. I certainly don’t do it as any challenge to your (Anne’s) expertise. But for those of us fairly new to the writing world and publishing game, these differences can be confusing. My own belief is that one should choose a reputable source as to just what “standard format” is, follow those guidelines religiously, and not be swayed by every piece of contrary information that one should happen to run accross. I’m perfectly happy to accept your advice and information regarding standard format, and as time goes on, I find myself adhering more and more to it.
Finally, I believe that in those areas where there is some choice or leeway, blank, *, or # for section breaks, for example, one should choose on method and stick with it. If it is a legitimate way of doing it, I don’t think it could be thought of as being wrong. But if one uses one method in one part of the manuscript and another elsewhere, it would surely give the wrong message to the pros.
Dave
You’re right to be consistent, Dave — and actually, your and Mr K’s pointing up the differences amongst the various pieces of advice out there (which made me rather touchy the last time around, as I recall — sorry about that; there was a lot going on in my writing life at the time) was one of the primary reasons I wanted to address it head-on this time. Because you’re right: it is genuinely confusing for those new to the game.
Thank you, Sean! I’ll keep pushing for those universe-ruling elections.
And thanks for your insights about being a literary agent’s assistant — if you’d ever like to write a post about it here, PLEASE let me know. It’s SO hard to tell from the other side of the desk what reading manuscripts en masse is like.
Although now, of course, I’m picturing you reading a manuscript on purple paper, printed in orange ink…
Anne, I would love to write a post about that for you. I’ll put something together this week and send it to you for you to decide if you want to use it.
Oh, I’m TICKLED! Looking forward to it.
Dave,
At least you were interested enough to think about computers and use “binary” in a sentence. (I won’t check the math.)
I lost interest in computers the first time I saw would-be programers carrying boxes of hole-punched cards around campus. (I’m not old; technology moves at very brisk clip!) And yes, at that time computers DID fill rooms. Hard to picture now although your imagery helps!
So…how DO you get page 2 to show up on page 2? I’ll readily admit to operator error, mind-numbing boredom, and the necessity of a windowless room (and restraints) as I try to poke around figuring it out…
Truly appreciate the replies — I’ll have to research Macs next time. Jen
I suspect Dave was talking about a contest that required no page number on pg. 1. (I’ve never encountered that requirement outside that particular contest, btw.)
But there is a way to do it. In Word, there is a DIFFERENT FIRST PAGE option, which allows a different header on page 1 than on the others. (In my version of Word, it’s under Format/Document/Layout, then you check a box.) Once you’ve set that up, you can go into the header for page 1 and put in whatever the contest requires (in this case, a slug line with no page number in it), then go to the page 2 header and set the slug line for the rest of the document.
The result should be no number on page 1, and page 2 listed as page 2.