Imagine being a busy editor, your day crammed with meetings and chores. Your primary focus is being part of the team that puts together a fantastic magazine and that keeps you plenty busy. If you're like many magazine editors, the job of reading submissions is crammed into a jam-packed schedule. There's always something else more immediately productive you could be doing, but you read submissions because it's important to you to find those great stories for future issues. Because this is time squeezed in…little things can mean a lot.
I read a lot of manuscripts and I've discovered a psychological mechanism at work. A beautifully formatted, crisp, clean manuscript makes me want to read it. When there is plenty of white space, a clear 12-point font, and proper headings…I am predisposed to expect the content to be good. Sometimes I'm surprised, but almost always a carefully formatted manuscript is married to a well-crafted story. That same predisposition to expect good content out of a good-looking manuscript operates with the editors you are hoping to entice into reading your manuscripts. So, how do you make your manuscript look as good as possible?
FORMATTING 101
First, check your printer. Do you have enough ink or toner? If your printer seems to be printing more grey than black, it's worth the expense of a new ink cartridge. The sharp contrast of very dark ink on very white paper makes your manuscript pop.
Second, check your font. Unless the publisher has specified a font in the writer's guidelines (some do, but not many), you're virtually always safe with Times New Roman. It's a clean serif font and it looks good. It's easy to read, and it's what editors generally expect to see. Don't be creative with your fonts. Even though Arial is a pretty font and Comic Sans looks cute and childlike, editors really don't want to see those fonts in manuscript submissions. Sans serif fonts put a little more strain on the eyes to read on the printed page and anything that makes your manuscript harder to read is a bad thing.
You may be wondering what the heck a serif is…a serif is the cute little bits on each letter that tend to lead the eye from one letter to the next. A serif font is actually a little harder to read on a computer screen (which may be one reason why you feel that pull to switch to Arial) but it is much easier to read on a printed page.
When checking your font - also check the size. A 12-point font is standard. Don't switch to something smaller in order to squeeze more words into each page. I've known writers to go with a smaller font when an agent or publisher specifies a submission packet with the first ten pages of the manuscript. Don't do that. If your actual first ten pages doesn't grab the editor or agent, squeezing in an extra page or two will not help and using a smaller font makes the manuscript harder to read, thus tempting the editor/agent to set your submission aside until later - don't do anything to make your manuscript harder to read.
Finally, be certain your word processor is set to "justify left." This means that your left side of the printed words will be smooth and straight and your right side will be more uneven because of word breaks. This is the default setting for most word processors. DO NOT have the word processor try to make both sides even. It will force weird spacing between words (and within words) that is HIGHLY distracting to read.
HEADERS - KEEPING IN CONTACT
Make friends with your header function in your word processor. I'm amazed at the number of people who try to do their headers manually. This discourages revision (since even a few words difference on your page can mess up headers on every subsequent page). This can cause very strange things to happen when you print (since what you see is not always what you print). And editors are not impressed by headers that have drifted down into the manuscript text.
With automatic headers, the header will always be at the top of the page. The header will adjust to all revisions you do. The header will automatically keep up with what page you are on. And if you need to make changes in a header, it will automatically change all the headers at once.
Different word processors handle headers in different ways. In Microsoft Word (the most common word processor program), you can access your header by clicking on "VIEW" in the menu bar at the top of your screen. This will give you a drop-down menu and you'll see "header and footer" about halfway down the list. When you click on "header and footer," you'll get a little dotted-line box at the top and bottom of your manuscript. You'll also get a "header and footer" toolbar. As you look at the cute little pictures on the toolbar, you'll see one that looks like an open book. Click on that…you'll get new tools. (isn't technology exciting?) You may or may not get tabs at the top of this new box…if you do, click on the "layout" tab. Now, look for the "different first page" box. This will let you put full contact information on the front page of your manuscript and shorter contact information on each subsequent page.
One your first page, you'll need to put complete contact information. Complete. On the left side of the header, you'll put
Your Name
Your Mailing Address
Your phone number
Your email address
Then an editor or agent can contact you in whatever way he or she wishes. You'll also want that complete contact information on your cover letter. Never leave an editor wishing she had a quicker way to contact you. Even with email submissions, you'll need to send complete contact information - after all, you don't want to be tossed aside because your email provider was being difficult on the day the editor wanted to respond to you. Plus, you can't email a check for payment. So give full contact information - always.
I also include the word count in my first page header. For book manuscripts, approximate word count is usually enough. For magazines, guidelines are increasingly asking for exact word count - so I always put my exact word count. I've never had an editor be annoyed because my word count was too right.
By the way, the word count done by your word processor is close enough. I know it may be different from the count you get by estimating based on number of pages. I know it may be different from the count you get by counting every word. But an editor won't penalize you for using the word processor counting function - it's fine. Really.
One page two (and all subsequent pages) you'll need a much shorter header at the upper left. Mine looks like this
Fields/Story Title/page 2
After writing this "slug" (really, that's what it's called - icky isn't it?) I always include a few empty lines (some extra taps on the "enter" key) right in the header. That way my manuscript words won't look smooshed against my header.
MAKING THE MOST OF MARGINS
Margins are another way to add the coveted white space that makes an editor want to read your manuscript. Don't skimp on the 1/3 - 1/2 page drop on page one of your manuscript. Between your header and the title of your manuscript you want a nice wide bit of white space. Even in these days when an editor might not be writing tons in that empty space, there is still a psychological advantage in having a good-looking inviting first page.
One-inch margins are the bare minimum. Don't use less than one-inch margins EVER. Now, personally, I use one inch at the top (since my headers are going to give me a little extra space on top of that). I use one-and-a-half inch everywhere else. This gives each page a nice light look.
EXTRA EXTRA
Sometimes you'll need to include some extras with your manuscript - perhaps a bibliography or sidebars. I always put each of these on their own manuscript page (though it is considered acceptable to put sidebars at the end of the manuscript text with some kind of divider bar like this:
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SIDEBAR: Dealing With Sidebar Word Counts
Although sidebars are part of your manuscript package, they are actually separate entities with their own title and word count. When I'm adding sidebars, I'll put several word count numbers on the first page of my manuscript in that "header" section. When I have the addition of sidebars, my word count part of the header looks like this:
Article Word Count: 1200 words
Sidebar #1: 100 words
Sidebar #2: 95 words
Editors can add just fine but when planning how much of your article will fit on the page, it's helpful for them to know how much each piece takes up. That way, they can always drop a sidebar to make the fit.
When I am including a bibliography, I also simply start a new page with a title like "Bibliography" or "Source List" or "Sources Used." There is no rule about the title, it's just information for the editor so he/she knows what he/she is looking at. For a few tips on the format for bibliographies - you can use my favorite bibliographic cheat at http://www.easybib.com/ (psst…I only use the free bibliography maker).
DON'T DISTRACT THE EDITOR
If you're writing an article about collecting pony stickers, don't cover your manuscript with pony stickers. It might be clever but it's distracting and actually makes the manuscript slightly harder to read and follow. If you have sample electronic photos to show the editor, package them with the manuscript but don't print them on the manuscript - it makes the manuscript harder to read and follow. Don't slip odd things into your manuscript - I've never heard one "positive" report from editors on finding odd things in the manuscript. But I have heard horror stories of editors who opened manuscript envelopes only to have confetti or Kool-Aid crystals or glitter fall into their keyboards. And I've heard about manuscripts that came complete with ants because the writer chose to send a stick of gum or candy or other sugary product with a manuscript.
If you send a clean clear correctly formatted manuscript, if you take care with your punctuation and spelling, then your manuscript will stand out. Trust me on this.
