Problem With the Format of A Manuscript

[Margarita Skies]

Here's how my manuscript looks.


http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j360/christinamonday/problemmanuscript.png


How do I get it to look like a normal Microsoft Word Document? I've tried everything, changing the page size because it was a template that was originally formatted in 6x9 and I changed it to 8.5x11, and it still looks weird like that. Any help?

[alleycat]

It looks like you have your Zoom set to two pages. Check it under View > Zoom (or wherever it is on your version of Word; I'm still using 2003).

[kurzon]

Presuming you're in 2007/10

- Click on the View tab of the toolbars.
- Select "One Page"

You can also choose whether you're in Draft or Print Layout on this tab.

BTW - really narrow outer margin?

[RJK]

It looks like you've set mirror margins, which is causing your MS to display two pages and your margins are unequal. Revert back to equal margins and uncheck the mirror margins box.

Highlight (Ctrl + A) the MS then right click and select "Paragraph" Select double line spacing. Everything else looks normal.

[Julie Worth]

Open a new document with the format you want. Type a few lines, then copy paste your old document into it.

[Margarita Skies]

Thanks to the three AWers who responded!! I am going to try each one of your suggestions and tell you how it went for me, ok? Thanks a million!!

[Margarita Skies]

Open a new document with the format you want. Type a few lines, then copy paste your old document into it.


Awesome suggestion!! I am going to try it to see how that works for me and then tell you how it went. Thanks!!

[Margarita Skies]

Open a new document with the format you want. Type a few lines, then copy paste your old document into it.


Just tried that and it didn't work, but I guess I am going to leave it the way it is because I am going to publish it POD again with Createspace, and regardless, it's going to come out like that so I won't fuss about it.

[Julie Worth]

Just tried that and it didn't work, but I guess I am going to leave it the way it is because I am going to publish it POD again with Createspace, and regardless, it's going to come out like that so I won't fuss about it.

Okay, try this. Type a few lines in the new document, then copy and paste beginning with the first line of the first paragraph, and leaving off the chapter heading.

[Margarita Skies]

All right I decided to publish it the way it was published originally. I am not going to make any changes to it as large as it is, 700 pages, and I am not going to rewrite it like I am doing the others, so que sera, sera. If it sells, wonderful. If it doesn't, not the end of the world. One thing I do know is that from now on I am not going to use stupid templates like the stupid 6x9 template I used because I didn't know how to resize the page right from Word, but I know how to do that now, and this will be my last POD book, so I don't have to worry about this anymore.

[Margarita Skies]

Spam luncheon meat anyone?

[Rhoda Nightingale]

Hijacking this thread for my own question, if that's all right:

This is what my WIP looked like when I opened it up today: link (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v51/FireWing47/timeghost_screenshot.png)

This is what it's supposed to look like: link (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v51/FireWing47/dusty_screenshot.png)

(Different document on that second one, but you get the idea.) See all that extraneous white space on the right-hand side? Like the paper's too big and not centered? That's the problem.

I actually tried Julie Worth's trick of copy-pasting the whole thing into a new document, and that worked, but I'd really like to know why this happened in the first place. It's never done that before, and it freaked me out and pissed me off.

[Maryn]

Rhoda, that one I know.

Somewhere in that document, you have a comment appearing in the vastly expanded right margin. A single comment causes the entire document to shift to one side. If you were to print it, it'd print that way, too.

Find it, delete it, and all should be well.

Maryn, who puzzled this out for herself once, long ago

[Susan Littlefield]

Here's how my manuscript looks.


http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j360/christinamonday/problemmanuscript.png


How do I get it to look like a normal Microsoft Word Document? I've tried everything, changing the page size because it was a template that was originally formatted in 6x9 and I changed it to 8.5x11, and it still looks weird like that. Any help?

Go up to toolbar at the top- on my word, in between the paragraph symbol and the question mark near the right hand side of the toolbar is a percentage number with a drop down bar. If you put it to 100%, it will go back to one page. You might want to go to the View and hit print layout too.

[Margarita Skies]

Thank you so, so much, Susan Littlefield! :) Will do and tell you how it goes.

[Susan Littlefield]

You are welcome.

By the way, I want read more of those pages....:D

[Margarita Skies]

You are welcome.

By the way, I want read more of those pages....:D


Ok. Send me a PM with your email address on it so I can send you a copy of the file. It's published thru Createspace anyway, almost, just I haven't been able to buy the proof to approve it so it will be live on Amazon.com. Wouldn't mind some feedback. It won't be a beta read, really, since I am not going to submit it to an agent because it's been published POD before, just retired after a few weeks, but this time I am not retiring it. The MS is a little over 600 pages, though, formatted in 6x9 layout. The original manuscript which I don't have a copy of is a little over 400 pages formatted in 8.5x11. I trust you because you've been so kind to me. :Thumbs: