Printing out for editing - practical question

Devil Ledbetter · Jun 19, 2007

I'm leaving for vacation Friday, and plan to print out a hard copy of my WIP to take along for editing. Right now, it 286 pages laid out in a double-spaced, courier 10 font. That's an easy layout to edit, but a lot of paper to hole-punch.

For those of you who've printed out an entire novel at once, what do you find the most practical layout?

Robin Bayne · Jun 19, 2007

I would print it out single-spaced.

Calla Lily · Jun 19, 2007

10 point, 1.5 space, .5" margins

Makes my eyes cross after awhile, but doesn't weigh a ton.

ap123 · Jun 19, 2007

I know it's an incredible waste of paper, but I leave it as is to print. Easier on the eyes, and it lets me see it as it will look to an editor/agent.

ORION · Jun 19, 2007

I have kinkos print mine out (12 pt font double space) double sided and spiral bind it -- makes for very easy editing and you have room to write. I do the same for my beta readers.

CaroGirl · Jun 19, 2007

If it's only for myself, I print it double-spaced, 10 point, double-sided with 1" margins. I typically don't mark up the copy except for line-edits. Otherwise, I stick in a number and write or rewrite on a legal pad with a corresponding number so I know where it goes (if that makes sense).

For betas, I increase the font size.

Willowmound · Jun 19, 2007

4 point, 0.5 space, .01" margins, huge magnifying glass, tiny-tipped editing pen.

Steady hand.

BlueBadger · Jun 19, 2007

I have kinkos print mine out (12 pt font double space) double sided and spiral bind it -- makes for very easy editing and you have room to write. I do the same for my beta readers.

I was considering doing the same when I'm done my first draft. What's the price of one "book", roughly?

Claudia Gray · Jun 19, 2007

I print double-spaced and buy the reams of paper that already have holes punched in the side; then I just put it into my trusty three-ring binder and go! And I use Times New Roman because it reads better to me, and my editor likes it.

Devil Ledbetter · Jun 19, 2007

ORION said:
I have kinkos print mine out (12 pt font double space) double sided and spiral bind it -- makes for very easy editing and you have room to write. I do the same for my beta readers.

I love this idea. What do they charge?

The only problem with spiral-bound is, I'm left handed and those spirals dig into my wrist.

Claudia, does Staple have the pre-punched paper?

Sassee · Jun 19, 2007

Print it in something smaller than Courier... 1.5 space... tiny margins... if you don't mind having pen marks bleed through your paper, you can print double-sided. I personally don't do the double-sided thing because then it gets harder to keep track of pages, but who knows, maybe you'll like it.

And maybe if you ask nicely they'll put the spiral on the right side of the paper.

Azure Skye · Jun 19, 2007

I try to keep it double-spaced so I can make notes and changes in the body of the text.

Also, to save ink and paper, I will do a quick print (it comes out lighter but uses half the ink) and I print it out on the back of already used paper. I like to conserve and recycle.

Calla Lily · Jun 19, 2007

Or when you get the pre-drilled paper, buy those loose binder rings. Then you can print it out so the holes are on the right and insert the rings so they don't bug your wrist.

kristie911 · Jun 19, 2007

callalily61 said:
10 point, 1.5 space, .5" margins

I do the same except I usually single space. And I prefer to leave it loose in a manuscript box (actually I have a couple of boxes that used to have laminating plastic in them and they're perfect!). That way I can just grab a few pages at a time if I want.

Just make sure you put page numbers on it!

The only problem I've run into by printing it single spaced is when I go back to put the edits back into the computer, the pages are off, so it's a little harder to find what I edited...a bit more time consuming.

WordGypsy · Jun 19, 2007

I just printed out my wip, because I edit as I go and need the hard copy to look at...just can't seem to edit it on the screen. I put it in Tahoma because I hate times and it's smaller than courrier which I type in. I drop the font down to 10 pt and single space. It's small but big enough for me to read. I have this weird habit of cut and paste editting too. I didn't like my begining so I took the first 3 pages and cut them all apart, changed the order and taped them back so I know the new order. This really seems to work for me.
Kinkos is the way to go I think. I'll be there next time I print this. It's getting too big and ink is too expensive for a home print! Have a nice vaca!!!!!!

Ziljon · Jun 19, 2007

Again, I agree with Kirstie who, in another thread, used the fabulous phrase "oily anal discharge" twice.

I format my MS the way I'm going to print it right from the start--never changing it for any reason. If I make three copies for people to read for typos and grammar, I want them all to have the exact same pagination so it's easy to find, compare and implement those changes in the computer.

Ziljon · Jun 19, 2007

And yes, you can buy three-whole-punch paper at staples. It's about 5 or 6 dollars a ream.

Prawn · Jun 19, 2007

I am going to play Devil's Advocate here.

Devil Ledbetter said:
The only problem with spiral-bound is, I'm left handed and those spirals dig into my wrist.

Kinkos or any printshop can bind it on the other edge if you are left handed.

Dave.C.Robinson · Jun 19, 2007

I do single-sided, double-spaced twelve-point Courier. I also hole-punch and put it in a binder. I'm also left-handed. What I do is make minor corrections on the page itself, and any major notes on the back of the previous page. It's easy to write on when you're left-handed and it keeps the notes with the page they're referencing.

However I can also work quite productively on screen too-- so I don't need to do a lot of hardcopy editing.

Also, for anyone who prints their own. Get a laser printer, they're cheap and a much better choice than any inkjet.

stormie · Jun 19, 2007

Depends on your eyesight with this. I copy and paste the entire ms. onto a new document but set it to two column mode, with a space between the columns (no line down the middle), and 10 pt.font. And single space between the lines. I also print it out in economy mode to save ink. I use a very large binder clip at the top left corner. I'm able to scribble notes in the margins with a pencil, but my eyesight for close-up work is very good.

JanDarby · Jun 19, 2007

Another option that I use sometimes, b/c it gives me a different perspective on things, is to print it sideways (change the page layout to horizontal/landscape) in two columns, so it looks a little like a printed book. Make the margins about 1/2", so you're not going t hrough a ton of paper. Then you could have it spiral bound on the top, if you want.

It helps me to see things (typos, missing words, etc.) that I might skip over otherwise, having read them so many times in the standard format.

ETA: Stormie and I were simul-posting. Great minds think alike, eh?

JD

Sassee · Jun 19, 2007

JanDarby said:
Another option that I use sometimes, b/c it gives me a different perspective on things, is to print it sideways (change the page layout to horizontal/landscape) in two columns, so it looks a little like a printed book. Make the margins about 1/2", so you're not going t hrough a ton of paper. Then you could have it spiral bound on the top, if you want.

It helps me to see things (typos, missing words, etc.) that I might skip over otherwise, having read them so many times in the standard format.

ETA: Stormie and I were simul-posting. Great minds think alike, eh?

JD

Ooohh, neat idea...

stormie · Jun 19, 2007

Yeah, I like Jan's idea of printing the two-column mode sideways (landscape). I have to try that.

Dave.C.Robinson · Jun 19, 2007

Changing the look around is a good way to put it in a fresh perspective, but remember, your eyes are more important than your ink. Use lots of white space and a large and readable font. The important thing to focus on is your story, not the formatting.

wordmonkey · Jun 19, 2007

If you're going to kinkos to get them to print and bind, just ask them to bind it on the right side. Not that difficult. They will either drill the holes after printing, in which case you ask them to drill the right side of the page instead of the left, OR they use pre-drilled paper, in which case they just load the paper in reverse before printing off. The binding itself can be done anyway (in the past, for a minor design project I did I had them bind the narrow edge).

A little FYI on Kinkos. If you can, go at about 3am. They are generally open and working on business jobs that were dropped off by said businesses. Be super nice to the poor schmuck pulling one of the most boring night-shift jobs there is (nursing a copier) and then, after a little chat and a break from his usual nightly routine, he delivers your job, at which point you pull out the card to pay. Now it might have changed, but it used to be that the manager tends to put the "store" part of the shop to bed thus making the place less desirable to rob, so our friend behind the counter has to do things the old fashioned way. He is very likely to tell you that the job is on the house.

Printing out for editing - practical question

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