A Guide to Manuscript Writing

For the writer who wishes to have his or herthem all before submitting your work.
work published, making sure the submittedMeanwhile, follow the basic rules of manuscript
manuscript is formatted correctly is as importantsubmission outlined below:
as completing the work. A poorly — orMake sure you use double spacing throughout
wrongly — submitted manuscript will notyour manuscript to enable efficient editing. This is
even be considered, and all the hard work wasteda universal rule that is unlikely to be omitted by
as a result, hence understanding the requirementsanyone.
for submission and formatting is absolutelyWhen writing numbers in your manuscript use
essential... Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /*words — this is a general rule that applies
Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTableas it makes recognition easier.
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";Avoid italics in the manuscript — underline
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;any script that is meant to be italicised in the final
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes;version.
mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0inUse words for certain things usually depicted by a
5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in;sign — ‘percent’,
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;‘pounds’, ‘dollars’ and so on
mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt;— again this is for added clarity.
font-family:"Times New Roman";}Use standard one inch margins on every page for
For the writer who wishes to have his or herthe same reason.
work published, making sure the submittedUse only one side of each sheet of paper.
manuscript is formatted correctly is as importantThe above points are all to do with clarity and
as completing the work. A poorly — orease of reading, and this is why adherence to
wrongly — submitted manuscript will notthese rules is absolutely essential. If a publisher or
even be considered, and all the hard work wastedagent — or other body the manuscript is
as a result, hence understanding the requirementssubmitted to — finds the manuscript hard
for submission and formatting is absolutelyto reads it will be discarded; to have your
essential.masterpiece overlooked thanks to a few simple
There are standard rules for formatting anmistakes in presentation is a waste of all the hard
acceptable manuscript, but the first thing youwork and effort that you have put into it.
must do before submitting is make sure that youThe rules are to keep to the basics above, and to
follow any particular rules outlined by those youenquire with the recipient as to the requirements
are submitting to. They may have particularthat they may have with regard to submitting
requirements with regard to fonts, paper sizesmanuscripts. Follow these rules and you stand a
and even the type of envelope you use, and theybetter chance of being read, and possibly
will certainly have strict address guidelines, so takeaccepted.
these on board and make sure you have covered