Hi guys. An agent told me to space only once after ending a sentence. Is this correct? I've always been told two spaces makes the paragraph flow better. This person is not my agent - but tried to help me out a bit by offering some editing tips.
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- Thread starter BrookieCookie777
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Yes. Just one space at the end of a sentence. It has something to do with the way things go to print from Word documents, I think. I had to relearn what I learned back in typing class (two spaces), but it's not that hard...
Thanks Pat! =) Wow - going back thru 30,000 words of double spacing - I'm gonna need coffee . . . yes, yes. Lots and lots of coffee. 
Thanks again! What would I do without you all at AW?
Thanks again! What would I do without you all at AW?
I've only recently forced myself to make the switch (and I've never been rejected for having two spaces instead of one). But if you can't break the two-space habit, it's pretty easy to do a global Search and Replace on the final document and fix it that way.
I asked this within recent months. If you're on Usenet, text-only email or some font such as Courier or even on a typewriter, it might be a good idea to have an extra space after periods and maybe commas. I never got into the habit of doing it, but whatever.
But much of the modern text-processing stuff, such as HTML and such, is set to automatically ignore extra spaces, AND to add the appropriate 'spacing amount' after commas, periods and such, so a lot of it is automatic enough that it doesn't matter anymore. Except perhaps to some anal agents (nothing against anal agents - some of my best friends are...).
But much of the modern text-processing stuff, such as HTML and such, is set to automatically ignore extra spaces, AND to add the appropriate 'spacing amount' after commas, periods and such, so a lot of it is automatic enough that it doesn't matter anymore. Except perhaps to some anal agents (nothing against anal agents - some of my best friends are...).
Am I going to have to handcuff myself to keep from making a ban-worthy remark? Probably.
Maryn, resisting saying what she wants to
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Do a find & replace within the document, type *two spaces* (the actual spaces) for the find field, then a single space in the replace field. Should do the trick.
I had to learn this from years as a graphic designer and copywriters who refused to conform to the new 'computer ways'. I learned that the double space was due to the typewriter's inability to vary space width based on letters, etc. Something word processing software does atuomatically.
I had to learn this from years as a graphic designer and copywriters who refused to conform to the new 'computer ways'.
I learned that the double space was due to the typewriter's inability to vary space width based on letters, etc. Something word processing software does atuomatically.Thanks guys! =) Melanie . . . Holy Frijoles . . . I take it you must have a little fan of Skippy Jon Jones?
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No, just too many beans. I put that in response to something SpookyWriter said to me. Is it sad that I don't even know what Skippy Jon Jones is? I can make an educated guess, but beyond the kid connection, I'm clueless.
In a print manuscript, or in a Word DOC, it doesn't matter a damn whether you use one space or two. Or ten. The whole issue is a ghost.
Really, no one in the real world of publishing cares a damn whether you use one space, two spaces, or ten spaces after a sentence. This is a holdover from years ago when some electronic files wouldn't convert properly with two spaces after a sentence. It was never meant to apply to print, and today there's no reason to apply it anywhere.
As an editor, two spaces still provide the same function they always did, which is to make reading a little easier, and to provide a bit more room for inserting proofreaders' marks.
Really, no one in the real world of publishing cares a damn whether you use one space, two spaces, or ten spaces after a sentence. This is a holdover from years ago when some electronic files wouldn't convert properly with two spaces after a sentence. It was never meant to apply to print, and today there's no reason to apply it anywhere.
As an editor, two spaces still provide the same function they always did, which is to make reading a little easier, and to provide a bit more room for inserting proofreaders' marks.
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James is absolutely right. It's a non issue. It really doesn't matter.
I used to do one, then I went to two, simply because it's easier for me to read and edit that way.
My publisher does prefer only one space, but it's not a major issue. I never would have known if I hadn't been talking to another author there who had explicitly talked to them about this sort of detail. (In other words, it wasn't a big enough deal for my editor to say anything to me when my first books came in with two spaces.)
That said, I still convert to one these days.
That said, I still convert to one these days.
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