Paragraphs: A paragraph is a grouping of text by subject or flow of thought. There is no standard for length. A paragraph is ended by inserting a hard return, meaning that the author physically strikes the Enter – Return key to move to the left margin.
Industry Use: New paragraphs are inserted when switching speakers in dialogue, when changing subjects in narrative, or there is a break in pattern. It’s better to have short paragraphs than long ones, for ease of reading. Take care not to split a thought too abruptly. When typing single spaced text, two hard returns are used to separate the paragraphs. When typing double spaced text, a single hard return is used, to avoid large gaps on the page.
Industry Use: There is much debate on where on the page to begin typing text upon starting a new book chapter. The two primary methods are: 1) Quad space (two double spaces) from the top margin, after which the words Chapter xx are center justified (and may be bolded, italicized, typed in ALL CAPITALS, or underscored), then drop down two more double spaces and begin to type; or 2) Double space until approximately 1/3 of the way down the page, center justify the words Chapter xx (and may be bolded, italicized, typed in all capitals, or underscored. Then drop down two more double spaces and begin to type. It is recommended that authors seek guidelines from publishers as to how they prefer chapter start points.
Proofreader's Marks: Handwritten notations made with colored pencil on a manuscript by an editor, using symbols that instruct the typesetter to add or subtract formatting or words.
Industry Use: Most publishers still use this method of editing of manuscripts, and it's a good idea for authors to learn how to read the marks so that editing goes smoothly.
Sentence Spacing: When the end of a sentence is reached, a period is inserted, after which either one or two spaces are inserted using the space bar.
Industry Use: When publishers format a book for press, they reduce spacing between sentences to a single space. Because the full justification of the printed page will add or subtract microspaces to achieve the proper length. However, most people learned to type or keyboard using two spaces, which is the standard for business. For the purpose of submitting a manuscript, an author may insert either one or two spaces, as they choose. If a publisher or agency has preferences as to single space or double space after periods, they will state this. Word processing software allows for global replacement of this, if necessary. WordPerfect allows you to automatically choose under Tools> Quick Correct> Format-As-You-Go. Under End Of Sentence Corrections.
Fonts
A few words before we get into fonts. I use Century Schoolbook font while developing my own manuscript. My writing partner prefers Courier New for chapters in our series. While you might be tempted to use a font pleasing to your eye, submission of you manuscript must follow industry standards. You can work in any font but change the font to Courier New before your submit. Another distinction is Serif vs San Serif (Serifs" are the tags at the edges of the top and bottom of the letters. San Serif means without serifs) Serif fonts are considered easier to read on the printed page.
Times New Roman.
Definition: This font style is normally the default font in most if not all word processing programs. It is a serif font and is considered a "proportional" font. This means each letter is given a different amount of space on the page.
Industry Use: While it is a stylish font, it is quite a bit smaller than Courier New and, therefore, harder to read for long periods. It is discouraged when submitting manuscripts, but probably wouldn’t result in rejection of the work on its own.
Bold Font: Usually used for headings or to make text stand out from surrounding text, "bold" is an appearance attribute that is available in most word processing programs.
Industry Use: Bolding text is most commonly used in non-fiction and article writing for headings, hyperlinks and lists within a paragraph. It’s seldom used in fiction writing, because italics take the place of bold to bring attention to text.
Courier 12 – Courier New
Courier 12 is the name of a font style. The number ‘12' does not have any bearing on the font size. Because of confusion in the size issue, the font name was changed to ‘Courier New’ in word processing programs. They are the same font, and the names can be used interchangeably. For clarity I will use the name Courier New.
Industry Use: Courier New is industry standard for book manuscript preparation. I strongly encouraged writer and authors of both fiction and non-fiction are to use Courier New when submitting manuscripts to publishers or agents. Courier New
Courier New: A fixed size, serif font. This means that each letter takes up the same amount of space, side to side, as any other letter. For instance, the letter ‘i’ takes the same space as the letter ‘m’ or ‘w’ on the page.) "
Courier New This is Courier New. (A Serif Font)
Ariel This is Arial (A sans serif font)
Industry Use: Industry standard for book manuscript preparation and submission is Courier New. I strongly encouraged authors of both fiction and non-fiction to use Courier New when submitting manuscripts to publishers or agents.
Cover Sheet: The cover sheet is a blank title page separate from the story or manuscript. On this page is the author's name, full postal address, email address, word count of submission, whether the submission has been published before, and name of publication, date, etc.
Industry Use: While not often requested by American publishers or magazines, it appears to be a common guideline for submissions in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth, Australia and New Zealand. It's strongly suggested that authors seek out guidelines from foreign publishers before submitting manuscripts.
Font Size: Unlike typewriters, word processors fonts are ‘scalable.’ Most fonts are available in sizes ranging from 6 point to 48 point and above.
Industry Use: The industry standard is 12 point type. This is the default setting of most word processors. Again I strongly recommend authors use this point size when submitting manuscripts to publishers or agents.
Underscoring: Usually used for headings or to make text stand out from surrounding text, "underscore" is an appearance attribute that is available in most word processing programs.
Industry Use: Underscoring text is most commonly used in non-fiction and article writing for headings, and hyperlinks. It’s seldom used in fiction writing by itself, because italics take the place of underscoring to bring attention to text. However, underscoring is recommended to identify italicized text in a manuscript you are submitting.
Word Count
Word Processor vs Manual Count
Word Processors: Word processors include a function to tell an author how many words a chapter or entire manuscript. In WordPerfect, you can find this by selecting File > Properties > Information. In Word, it can be found in File > Properties > Statistics.
Industry Use: The word processor word count has become the norm in the publishing industry. However, because the word processor counts every single word, from "a" to "publishing" as one word, it’s difficult for a publisher to use it to determine page count after printing. For this, some publisher still rely on the 250 word per page method. Many publishers and agencies still request that an author provide the word count using the other method.
With the advent of WordPerfect ver X4 and X5 this should disappear quickly WordPerfect added a wonderful function on the bottom of the main screen To the left of the box indicating wether you are using the insert or typeover function there is another box ‘<COUNT>’. Mouse click here and you will see the word count of the document you are working in. Highlight a portion of the document and click, the word count of the highlighted portion appears. You can highlight a paragraph, page, chapter or any portion of a document, click and the word count appear immediately. No more counting words on a page by hand.
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