Saltydoghayden

I have finished a book that I want to send off to a publisher but I need to know how to correctly structure the page and all that. My questions are:

Do publishers normally mind what font the piece is presented in or is there a considered standard?

Do I have to indent each paragraph and all the dialogue? if so, then how do I do it?


Well that's all the questions I can think of, but if there is anything else that i would need to do then someone please tell me.

thanks

-Hayden

Talia_Brie

The generally accepted font format is 12 point, double spaced. You will be able to get away with 11pt, 1 1/2 spaced lines. Your margins are supposed to be 2.5 cm (in Australia), but you can get away with 2 cm if you have to.

In terms of indenting paragraphs, yes you have to. There's no getting around that. If you're using Word, then click the following.

Edit, Select All (which will highlight the whole document)
Format, Paragraph. This gets you a little box which has 2 tabs. Select Indents and Spacing (which should be the default).

Go to Indentation (second section), Select Special and from the dropdown list select First Line. Then under "By" insert a distance (e.g. 1cm).

That should indent the 1st line of every new paragraph by 1cm.

Just like magic.

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Talia_Brie

In terms of what else do you need to know, find the following:

Do not send your whole manuscript unless the publisher has requested it. Contact each publisher you are considering and find out what their submission guidelines are. It'll porbably be 3 chapters. Some ask for the 1st 3 chapters, and some will accept any 3 chapters.

Send a covering letter explaining who you are, what genre you write in and why you think you're books is unique. Do a Google Search on "Query Letter", and you should get a couple of templates to use.

You may find you'll be better off submitting to literary agents, rather than publishers. Very few publishers will read unsolicited manuscripts anymore. The same submission guidelines apply, however there is generally a little more research involved.

Mammamaia has a link to a site called preditors and editors. She will probably provide that to you if you ask nicely (she's like that). That site will tell you which agents and what type of agents you should stay away from (i.e. anyone charging a 'reading fee'). But you'll still need to make sure the agency you are submitting to represents people who write in your genre. If you have a favourite author and you can find out who their agent is, that's as good a place as any to start.

Good luck, and well done on finishing.

Let me know if you need anything else.

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pgoroncy

I believe this is the site that Talia was talking about:
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

And you didn't even have to ask me.

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Saltydoghayden

thanks for the help.

Does it matter what font and layout I use for chapter names?

and How do I change the margins correctly...and yes, I am in Australia.


-Hayden

Talia_Brie

That's the one, Voltron.

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Kane

I've read that you should get an agent before you send your manuscript off, or is it once you have someone show interest? I think an agent would be able to increase your chances of success when sending something in.

Talia_Brie

Again, in Word.

File, Page Setup. One of the tabs is margins.

They default to 3.17cm (at least on my computer), and you should be able to just overwrite them. 2.5cm is probably a good size. Any less than that an it's going to look small. The agents/publishers will want to be able to write notes in the margins.

"Saltydog". I should have known you were an Australian.

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Spudley

Moderator's note: Moved topic to "Publishers & Publishing" section.

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Talia_Brie

In my experience it's generally accepted that you should get an agent rather than a publisher. They tend to say that if an agent is willing to take you on as a client you're pretty much guaranteed a sale, because agents don't get paid until they sell something.

A lot of publishing companies (as in all the major companies) don't accept unsolicited manuscripts anymore. They'll only read submissions that come from an agent. Additionally, some agents will only read submissions that come accompanied by a favourable manuscript assessment. That's just adding another link in the chain.

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Julianne

Saltydog,

Do you have a specific publisher in mind? If you do, then check their web site for submission guidelines.

Standard manuscript format (if the publisher doesn't say otherwise):

Courier New 12 pt.
Double-spaced
1" (2.5 cm) margins on all four sides
Plus some more stuff...

Here's a good link to an article on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America site:

http://www.sfwa.org/writing/format_rothman.htm

If you back up to just:

http://www.sfwa.org/writing

you'll find some other good articles about the craft of writing.

Saltydoghayden

Could someone tell me how to put in a table of contents for my story. I've heard you can make a contents page that has links that you can make link to each chapter.

could someone please tell me how to do this?

thanks

-Hayden

Talia_Brie

no idea. but what's the point of linking to chapters? Aren't you going to print it out to send it to an agent?

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Mike C

Whilst it's true that many publishing houses won't touch an unrepresented author (they rely on agents to winnow), getting an agent is no guarantee of a sale. It is a big step towards one though!

Having seen the experiences of many friends of mine I would suggest soliciting some agents if you want your novel to find a worthy publisher. And before finding an agent, consider having a competent editor review your work. It'll cost you a bit, but may make all the difference. You don't get to make a second first impression.

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bobgelinas

Hayden,

Most of the information the folks here are giving you is sound advice. Here's my two-cents from one who makes the decisions which books to publish.

1. Yes, do your best to find the a good Literary Agent. It's no guaranatee someone will buy your book, but it will allow more publishing houses to have the opportunity to review it, due to the fact that many won't accept submissions from authors directly. We do that, simply because we're small, and we'd be inundated with submissions if we didn't have at least one layer of "filtering" before the submissions get to us. Established (reputable) Literary Agencies can be found by consulting the Writer's Market. This will also give you an idea of what types of books Agencies specialize in and what their submission requirements are. Don't waste your time on any agency that charges any kinds of fees, reading or otherwise.

2. Consult the Literary Marketplace (LMP), the Writers Market, or Ralan's (www.ralan.com) for publishers, to find one suitable for your type of book. Most reputable publishers publicly post their submission requirements for manuscript format, content, etc. Ours does, on the Agents page of our website.

3. Spend some time learning how to write a strong Book Proposal. This can often do more good for you than your book itself. Anyone who is in a position to buy wants to be sold. Learn how to sell your work. FYI, get a copy of an article on our website called "The Art of the Book Proposal" in our Author's Corner if you would like instructions on how to do that.

4. Keep an eye out for writing contests. That's one of the best ways for authors without agents to get a break. Many of them offer cash prizes as well as publication opportunities.

5. Lastly...write something people might actually want to read, and enjoy doing so.

Best,

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