What's that Format Called?

Printed? Or formatted for submission?

Open any book and you'll see most are printed single-spaced, justified, indented paragraphs with no extra space between. But the printed layout is not really your concern: it's the publisher's decision.

As for manuscript formatting, Mr. Ferret has pointed you to a good thread. As for name? I don't know. You mean is it some kind of style? I just call it "standard manuscript format." I think it's used globally (at least for English language).

I believe you're referring to the typeset. I'm not sure there's a standard typeset for published books, but this might give you some more terms that make up the typeset.

Nya RAyne said:

I know this is going to sound rather juvenile, but you can't see me, so I don't care......!! What's the name of the format that most, if not all, novels nowaday are printed in?

I think it goes something like this, double space throughout with no skipped spaces between dialogue or paragraphs unless you change to another scene.

Also, isn't this something that the publisher or editor will do, or should your ms be in this format before sending it out?

Just wondering...

Nya

Click to expand...

Double-spacing is for manuscript format. So is no skippoed spaces between paragraphs and dialogue unless you change scenes. You have to do this for yourself. This is simply called "manuscript format."

Printed books are single-spaced.

I set up a style in MS Word for my manuscripts, I call it Novel style. It has all the recommended attributes:
Left justified
First line 1/2 inch indent
Double line space
No space between paragraphs
One inch margins all around.
I manually add a # sign in its own line between scenes and start each new chapter with "Chapter #" on line 8, followed by a blank line, then the text.
I know the first line in a new paragraph is not indented, but I don't bother with that detail. The publisher, if I ever get one, can take care of it.