#Cover sheet for manuscript professional#

This is usually the default setting in Word, but check the settings on your computer to be sure.Īlign to the left the right-hand side should remain ragged. Set the margins for your manuscript to 1 inch (2.5cm) on all four sides. A title page isn’t necessary.īelow are the complete formatting rules you need to apply to your short story manuscript: At the top right of each page put a header with your last name, story title, and page number. To format a short story manuscript, use 1 inch (2.5cm) margins, 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced lines, and half-inch (1.25cm) indents for paragraphs. The rules are there to make all manuscripts equally legible, so that the editor can quickly read many of them in a day.

#Cover sheet for manuscript professional#

You want to look like a professional writer who knows their way around the industry.īesides looking amateurish, a short story manuscript that doesn’t follow industry-standard formatting rules makes it harder for the editor to read.

And that’s never the impression you want to give to the person reading and judging your writing. When an editor recieves a manuscript that’s formatted in a quirky, unusual, or unexpected way, it makes the author look like an amateur. The best way you can do that is to make sure it looks how they expect it to look-i.e., professionally-formatted. Lucky for you, applying industry-standard formatting to your short story manuscript is pretty easy! Why does short story manuscript formatting matter?Įditors of magazines and anthologies are just as busy as agents and publishers, so it’s important that their first impression of your manuscript is a good one. Short story manuscript formatting is slightly different from novel and book manuscript formatting, and it’s always a good idea to check submission guidelines for each magazine or anthology you wish to submit to, as they can-and do-differ.