When You Send In Your Work

 

I’m reading my students papers this week (woefully late and I ask their patience and forgiveness). And once again I’m feeling like an editor getting submissions and I’ll tell you what immediately makes my head hurt : no proper manuscript form. I know this makes me sound like a cranky English teacher but it’s such an immediate reaction to someone’s work no matter how wonderful their writing is. If you’re submitting your book or essay  to publishers you must adhere to some rules. It’s like showing up at a job interview in flip flops or jogging clothes – like you just don’t care about  what impression you make.  And what a real editor in a publishing house or an agent would do if your work came in sloppy is not read it. (which I’m going to start threatening my students with.)  When you read hundreds of pages you don’t want to squint at tiny type or try to figure out the page number so you can make comments connected to the page.

 

What you want is for a manuscript to be invisible – only the writing shows.  The minute you use a tiny font or an odd curly font or are erratic with paragraphs or quotation marks an editor starts focusing on that, not the writing  Your work needs to be in 12 point font and in a font that isn’t cute or curly or dramatic – try New Times Roman or Arial, and unless it’s a poem or a children’s picture book text you need to format your manuscript with paragraphs (indent five or six spaces!) and double space. Number your pages. Put your name or the title in the upper left hand corner. It’s easy once you figure it out – and more than worth it.  

Comments

[Susan N.]

Many courts are now requiring 14 point font for briefs and 1.5 inch margins at the top and bottom of the page. One justice told me that she needs to see some space around the words. How writing appears on a page makes a huge difference, so I would not call you "cranky," just Very Wise, and Right!

[elizabeth]

I still haven't figured out how to put my name on each page. Embarrassing...

[Barbara]

Trying to figure all this out on my own was one reason why I became discouraged with my writing.
I am 75 and have dementia yet am determined not to stop writing if I never submit anything in my lifetime.
For mE it was much simpler on a plain old typewriter back in the day.
B.

[Sharon Bray]

Thank you, Barbara...it's a common complaint among those of us who teach. I plan to quote you with my own writing students!

Happy Holidays,
Sharon B.

[Loren Stephens]

Great comments. Might add -- don't rely on spell check alone to make sure that you haven't made an error. And those headers -- still haven't figured out how to insert them. Happy holidays to all, Loren

[Marilynn]

For the name at the top of a page: I use a Mac laptop and a student form of Microsoft Word. When in Word, I go to view on the top menu bar and scroll down to Header and Footer and click on it (a check mark is left by it --so when you are through with your story--you can uncheck). Next go back to your page in Word and the curser will be in a blank Header at the top of the page. I type in my last name which will then be on every page in the left corner except the first automatically.

[Denise Emanuel Clemen]

I remember learning that from you!

[Barbara]

Susan - Thank you. And editors like white space too -
Elizabeth - I was about to tell you exactly how to do it and my PC tool bar just went crazy. You find Header and type it in starting on page 2.
Barbara - But once you get the hang of it computers are easier - and I'm someone who hung on to her typewriter until 1991!
Loren - I'll do a post about headers one of these days! And I agree about spell check!
Marilynn - Thank you. Here's how to do it everybody! Check Marilynn's comment.
Denise - I'm so glad you did - I guess a lot of people just don't listen.

[graduate admissions essay]

Took me time to read all the comments, but I enjoyed the article.

[FuessalsSes]

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[Saksit]

Uhhhh, KT Hmmm not sure if you've had a chance to check out how many Likes you have for your 2nd ciagmapn challenge entry but uh, you are kicking assets up and down the block. And as much I had fun with my own, yours floored me. I couldn't get to the Like button quick enough.As for how I feel about what I write, well, I'm good for letting people read it, mostly because I want to get feedback, I want and need to see if I'm getting my point across and I'm as nervous as a whore in church every time I hand off a paragraph, a page or 5k words. But I do it. It scares me but I do it.Right now I have a WIP called EVERVEIL. It started as a stand alone book until I noticed I had two other book ideas that would work brilliantly into making it book 1 of the Uncommon Chronicles. I'm tripping because I know the name of this book is one syllable away from Brodi Ashton's EVERNEATH which is due out in 3 months. I'm afraid people are going to compare books because of the titles, which I don't want happening because Brodi ROCKS. It has demigods and vampires and that feels like a horrible set up for comparisons to the likes of TWILIGHT and PERCY JACKSON and the half-blood camp series. For Jiminy Cricket's sake, just thinking of it has me panting and needing a glass of wine. But I'm taking this chance, because I love to write. And from what I've read, you've got a gift K.T. Work it out and let us see what marvelous works are in store for us

[Sjaak]

Hi, Lynette, glad you found this post hefplul, since yours was hefplul to me! I do think you will find Emma a good read. I was reminded of my favorite passage in Barack Obama's first memoir, Dreams from My Father, in which ten-year-old Barack is getting instruction from his step-father that his mother does not approve of. Obama the writer, who was in his early 30 s at the time, had an uncanny ability to recreate the inner motivations of all three characters in the story and to let the setting tell some of the story. A young man that knows his mother that well and knows how to write this well must be a good man, was my thought after reading that passage.

[MfrERhyfSA]

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