Before an Acquisitions Editor or an Agent reads a word of your manuscript, they can tell if it’s properly formatted. Of course, this also applies to your book designer.

Why is formatting so important?

• Any errors will have to be fixed before printing — which adds costs on their end.
• Poor formatting indicates that either you didn’t read their submission guidelines or can’t follow directions.

Proper formatting doesn’t guarantee publication, nor does poor formatting guarantee rejection. But you’ve worked hard on your manuscript. You want to give it the best chance to become a book. (JerryJenkins.com)

Standard Manuscript Format:

1. Font: Generally 12-point Times New Roman.
2. Margins: One-inch margins, all sides
3. Indentation: Half-inch indent for the first line of new paragraph
4. Line Spacing: All lines double-spaced. Do not add extra space between paragraphs.
5. Alignment: Align text to left with ragged right (not justified)
6. Page Numbers: After the title, start with 1 and number continuously
7. Scene breaks: add a blank line or hashmark (#) or three asterisks (***)
8. Italics: use italics, not underlining for italic words
9. Sentence separation: One space between sentences after period.
10. Ending: Indicate end of manuscript with word “END”
11. Page Size: 8.5″ x 11″ (A4, standard letter size)

Title Page

Place your Book Title in the center of the document, one-third to halfway down the page.

1. Title and author name
2. Contact information, single spaced, left justified
3. Word Count

Whether you use Word, Open Office, Scrivener, or Notepad, you must adhere to submission guidelines.

Reading

How to format your book, (even if you hate computers)  — Jerry Jenkins. A step-by-step guide.

How to Format a Book Manuscript  — MasterClass