Manuscript guidelines are not carved in stone. Use the
information provided only when you cannot obtain specific guidelines
from a publisher or when you plan to submit a manuscript to multiple
publishers. Also, while we can describe the format here, it is always
best to purchase a book with detailed sample pages from manuscripts.
All pages should have 1-inch margins, and text should be in a 12-point
Courier font. In a word processor, such as Word or WordPerfect, always
have horizontal and vertical rulers visible to assist you. Set the margins
as follows:
| Top | 1.75 inch / 10 picas |
| Bottom | 1.00 inch / 6 picas |
| Left | 1.00 inch / 6 picas |
| Right | 1.00 inch / 6 picas |
| Header | 1.00 inch / 6 picas |
| Footer | 0.75 inch / 4 picas |
Each page, excluding the title page, should have a
“slug” in the upper left-hand corner of page. The slug is in the
format “Short Title/Last Name” and should be 30 characters or less.
The “header” will contain the slug throughout the body of the document.
While most software defaults to a 1-inch margin and a 0.5-inch header margin,
these settings are not acceptable for a manuscript.
| Title Page | |
|---|---|
| Author’s Name & Contact Information |
Upper left-hand corner of the page. Remember a 1-inch margin around the page. |
| Word Count | Upper right-hand corner, on the same line as the author’s name. (“about xx,xxx words”) |
| Title | Center, 3.5 inches from the top of the page. Use “Title case” capitalization. First and last words capitalized, with lowercase articles, conjunctions, and short prepositions. No commas before “and” in a short list. |
| Agent’s Name & Contact Information |
Lower right-hand corner. Left-justify, about 2 inches from the right margin. |
| Table of Contents | |
| Slug | Upper left-hand corner of the page, within the “header” region. |
| “Contents” Heading |
3 inches from the top of the page, approximately 1.25 inches from the top margin. Indent left and right margins an extra 0.5 to 1 inch for the body of the contents. |
| Front Matter | From .75 to 1 inch below “Contents,” which is 6 lines in 12-point type. Skip 0.5 inch between front matter headings. Skip 0.75 inches between the last front matter heading and the first “part” entry. (There are approximately six lines per inch.) |
| Parts | Use uppercase letters for “PART” and Roman numerals for the part numbers. Skip two spaces, then use the title case for the part’s title. |
| Section Heading Entries | Begin .5 inch below the part title. Indent an extra .5 inch from the left margin. Skip one line between section headings. Section titles are in the title case. Use a “dot leader” from one space after the title to one space before the page number. |
| Subheading Entries | Skip one line below the section title. Indent 1 inch from the left margin, forming an outline effect. Single-space subheading titles. Use a dot leader, with page numbers aligned consistently with section heading page numbers. |
| List of Illustrations | |
| Slug | Optional in some formats, otherwise, upper left-hand corner. |
| Page Numbers | Most formats do no number front matter. However, some use lowercase Roman numeral page numbers. Numbers are placed in the upper right-hand corner, on the same line as the slug. |
| “Illustrations” Heading | 3 inches from the top of the page, approximately 1.25 inches from the top margin. |
| “Plate” and “Origin” Column Headings |
Drop .5 to .75 inches below the page heading. Traditionally, the drop was 4 lines, or .67 inches. Double-space the list of illustration images. |
| Plate Column | The left-hand column is numbered, with titles of the artwork included for publication with the manuscript. |
| Origin Column | Approximately 2 inches from the right margin, 3 inches from the edge of the page. List the artist, photographer, or other information needed to identify the origin of an image. |
| List of Tables | |
| Slug | Included in most formats, placed in the upper left-hand corner |
| Page Numbers | Most formats do not number front matter. However, some use lowercase Roman numeral page numbers. Numbers are placed in the upper right-hand corner, on the same line as the slug. |
| “Tables” Heading | 3 inches from the top of the page, approximately 1.25 inches from the top margin. |
| List of Tables | Drop .5 to .75 inch below the page heading. Traditionally, the drop was 4 lines, or .67 inch. Double-space the list of tables. Use a dot leader with page numbers right-justified. |