By Gabrielle Aleman
Have you ever written something amazing, only for it to be ignored? It might not be your
writing—it might be your formatting. Proper formatting can elevate your work in different ways-
organization, readability, presentation, and more. You could have the best story ever written for a
magazine, but if it isn’t properly formatted it might as well have been written by the average high
schooler.
A common misconception about formatting is that it’s “simple” or “easy”, when in fact
there is a multitude of ways to format text and a multitude of ways to mess them up. When
editors are receiving countless submissions, the easiest way to become favorable is by submitting
a well-formatted document. By meeting industry standards, it shows professionalism and
attention to detail, prevents your work from being dismissed, and creates less work for the editor.
This discussion will focus on several key formatting elements to guide writers through the
submission-ready process.
Standard Formatting Guidelines
Most editors and publishers follow standard industry guidelines when reviewing submissions. Author Brian Klems discusses some of the guidelines followed when editing work. He pinpoints those rules from “Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript” by Chuck Sambuchino.
Here are some essential formatting elements to keep in mind:
Font style, size, and color
Try to stay with readable and professional font style. The font should stay one size throughout the work (unless necessary for headings) and should only be black. It’s best to keep the font uniform and simple to avoid any distractions, making it difficult to read. According to Klems, it’s most appropriate to use “a standard font, 12-point type. Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier is fine”.
Spacing and margins
To make passages easier to read it’s essential to avoid a condensed word and line spacing and instead use a more relaxed spacing. Double-spacing is most preferred, as this best allows a more
comfortable read and creates annotations within phrases. To add, Klems states the correct way to separate paragraphs is to “Indent five spaces”. The one-inch margin is also typical as it looks most professional and gives even more space for editors to jot down notes.
Body structure
Klem’s analysis of Chuck Sambuchino’s “Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript” mainly discusses the structure and how to organize paragraphs and chapters for submissions. Assuming the work being submitted is physical and not digitized, it’s emphasized that new chapters should begin on their own page, and the chapter number and title should be capitalized. The title should be 4-6 lines ahead of the beginning of the new chapter, which should start further down the page, typically one-third of the way down. This is to ensure organization and clarify the chapter’s beginning and place in the story.
Final Product
To keep the work looking as official and professional as possible, you should follow guidelines to format the page as well as the body. Keeping headers and page numbers on each page will add to the look and professionalism of the document. Page numbers should begin on page 2, and headers should have the title in all caps and the name of the author.
Time to Submit
Following the submission guidelines of whichever publisher you’re submitting work to and ensuring formatting is correct is going to improve the chances of your work being chosen for editing and publishing. Author and editor Brian Klems provides great information on keeping a clean, organized, well formatted submission – especially since he speaks from experience.
Work Cited : What Are the Guidelines for Formatting a Manuscript? – Writer’s Digest