Get Your Work Out – Correctly

One of the most surprising things I’ve learned in the last six weeks in my master degree program is that more than half of my classmates have very little writing experience and do not know how to properly format a manuscript before sending it out. Just in case you’ve been writing for a while but never thought there was anything you really needed to know, let me make some suggestions.

First, in a general sense, your manuscript should be formatted with one inch margins all around (1 1/2″ margins left and right are acceptable), double-spaced, single-sided (sorry, rainforest, but not everything will be printed every time), with your name and the manuscript title and the page number on every page. Paragraphs are indented one-half inch with no extra return between them, and with dialogue in new paragraphs for each speaker. Be sure to use quality paper with dark black ink when you print.

There are a lot of resources in the library, the bookstore and online that will help you with just about every question you might have. Here are just a few examples:

Beginning Writer’s Answer Book – This is one of the first books I bought when I started writing. I found it full of useful information for several years before I passed it on to another writer.

Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript – One of several books that will help you properly format your novel synopsis and manuscript (did you know your synopsis is generally formatted differently than your manuscript pages?), your magazine articles, non-fiction books and proposals and more.

Blogs, web sites, and author web sites with articles – We all have our favorites, don’t we?!    One of my favorite authors who shares so much information with other writers is Jennifer Crusie. Click on her name here to see a long list of articles she wrote just for you! One of my favorite agent blogs is Nathan Bransford. He has a knack for being both informative and entertaining. He also has a list of links to posts where he answered commonly asked questions.

If you want your work to have a shot at being taken seriously, prove you take it seriously yourself. I used to be a Hollywood reader and if I got a script in the wrong format, I assumed the writer didn’t know much and their work was rarely passed on to a producer. (Once the story was good enough that I passed it to my boss in spite of the unprofessional look.) You hear the same story from editors at every publishing house that gets a lot of submissions.

Where else do you go for information? How do you make sure your work is being presented in the most professional light? Share your favorite books and web sites!

Note: Here is another great article on how to give and take a good critique. I thought I’d pass it on to you.