The Incompetent Writer: Manuscript Preparation

Whether you’re self-publishing or submitting your book to an editor or agent, perfection is key. Here are manuscript preparation mistakes to avoid so you do not appear incompetent.

Two spaces after a period:  Forget what your high school typing teacher said. The rule has changed. Only one space after a period is required. Here’s a helpful hint: Do a Find and Replace Search in your manuscript by putting a period with two spaces after it in the Find field and a period with one space in it in the Replace field. This search will save you from laboriously reading the entire manuscript to make corrections. Do the same with a question mark, an explanation point, semi-colon, and quotation mark.

Invisibles:  Read the manuscript with the Invisible function turned on so you can see every space, paragraph and page break. Catching odd formatting errors will save time and frustration during book layout and approving the final proofs.

Spell check:  Always spell check, but do not rely on it. Misspelled words are now rare in books, but missing words remain a glaring error. Don’t take shortcuts. Hire a good proofreader.

Copyright:  Do not write copyright or put a copyright symbol on the title page. Writing is copyrighted the moment you put it on paper. An editor is not going to steal your book.

Loose pages:  Bind the manuscript. No editor wants to drop the manuscript and have to put three hundred pages back in order. Query the editor regarding the preferred binding if you are submitting more than a few sample chapters.

Page order:  No editor wants to find page 6 mysteriously upside-down backwards between 118 and 119. Make sure every page is in order.

Manuscript appearance may seem like a small thing, but editors and agents receive dozens of proposals each day, so first impressions are vital. Only good writing is more important.

Contributor

Tyler TichelaarTyler R. Tichelaar is editor and contributing author of Authors Access: 30 Secrets for Authors and Publishers, the regionally bestselling Marquette Trilogy and the newly published Narrow Lives. He is the Associate Editor of Reader Views, he has interviewed over 200 authors, written more than 60 book reviews, and edited and evaluated manuscripts for publication.

 

 

 

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