Formatting question - Multiple Parts of a Novel?

Captain Ian · Feb 13, 2009

Hi gang! Back from the cold at 75,000 words in my WIP and heading into the final part -- only to realize that I have no idea of correctly formatting part breaks -- y'know Part One, Part Two lol.

Should the breaks take up an entire page? Or should they precede chapter breaks. How far down the page should "Part XX" be placed? All caps? Bold? Italics? What if I want to use headings instead of numbers?

I haven't been able to find any formatting rules in this regard.

Thanks in advance!

Danthia · Feb 13, 2009

If it were me, I'd just add a line over the chapter title and say "PART TWO" all caps, same as I do chapters. Maybe add a blank line or two to separate. As long as you're consistent and it's clear what you're doing, it doesn't really matter. You could do it as it's own page if you really wanted to. Pick what feels right and don't sweat it

It won't affect how they feel about the book.

scribbler1382 · Feb 13, 2009

Start a new page and center the part name 1/3 of the way down the page. Then start the next chapter on a new page. That's standard, but I don't think any editor will fault you on how you display part divisions.

Formatting question - Multiple Parts of a Novel?

Captain Ian

Danthia

scribbler1382

Write For You, Edit For The Reader