Formatting a manuscript

Roxxsmom said:

Like double spacing after periods. I didn't know this was no longer "the cool thing to do" until I heard a guy from Slate ranting about all those "fossilized old geezers who still double space after periods" on NPR's Fresh Air one day.

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Yeah, double-spacing after periods is another habit whose persistence (& stubborn defense!) constantly amazes me.

I recall it being denounced as antiquated and unnecessary back in the 80s. (There was a book, sometime around 1988 or 89, called "The Mac is Not a Typewriter" that argued vehemently against the double space when proportional fonts were used.)

And yet people who weren't even alive in 1988 are here in this room who have apparently never heard the news.

I shake my head in bewilderment.

Animad345 said:

Roxxsmom: I don't know how I'll get used to the new format. I've been so used to the default settings on Word, it's true.
Benbenberi: I hold up my hands in placation!

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Ha!

I do want it to be noted that I use word's formatting features now, and I single space after periods. I'm all for changes that make things less work for me. Why waste the time with an extra key stroke if it's not needed?

benbenberi said:

Yeah, double-spacing after periods is another habit whose persistence (& stubborn defense!) constantly amazes me.

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I'm amazed that anyone today worries about this. I learned to type, in Courier font, on an IBM Selectric typewriter, and I had a Smith-Corona manual to work on at my house. So I learned the two-space convention.

I still sometimes do it. But why worry about it? At submission time, one of the standard things I do is a replacement of two spaces with one. Takes about three seconds in the word-processor. Can this possibly be a problem for anyone?

caw

Roxxsmom said:

Ha!

I do want it to be noted that I use word's formatting features now, and I single space after periods. I'm all for changes that make things less work for me. Why waste the time with an extra key stroke if it's not needed?

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Two spaces after a period was certainly the easiest habit to break that I've ever had - but then I was never a properly trained typist.

Automatic paragraph indent is awesome. You never have to remember to push that tab key again. It's up in the drop down box when you set you spacing to double (in Word).

I haven't gotten over my obsession with double spacing after punctuation, though.

Susan Littlefield said:

You never have to remember to push that tab key again. (in Word).

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But, but, but...I don't ever "remember" to hit the Tab key. I just do it without thinking. It's as automatic as turning a handle to open a door.

Or for that matter, as hitting the Enter key twice to double-space between paragraphs here. Which everyone does without thinking about it much, I would imagine.