Courier, Courier New, Courier Dark

Courier and Courier New are the same font, depending on which word processing program you use. In WordPerfect, it's Courier or Courier 12 (which is a font NAME, rather than a font SIZE.) In Word, it's Courier New. I don't know about ones like OpenOffice or Mac versions. I wouldn't recommend Courier Dark because it takes up more space on the page, so you don't get to send the person as large a sample. JMHO!

The version of WordPerfect that I used to have also called it Courier New, as does OpenOffice. I believe on most Windows 95 and later Windows platforms, the word processor can simply take a list of fonts that are installed in a standard directory- and Courier New is the name of the typewriter typeface that appears to come standard with Windows.

Cathy C said:

I wouldn't recommend Courier Dark because it takes up more space on the page, so you don't get to send the person as large a sample. JMHO!

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The name is actually Dark Courier, and it takes up exactly as much space as Courier New. If you want to send a larger sample, put it in Times New Roman.

Hmm. I checked both my WordPerfect 10 Pro and MS Word 2002, and it's Courier Dark, which is thicker and I lose about two letters per line when converted from Courier to Courier Dark. Over the course of 10-15 pages, this equals about a paragraph of text lost.


Does anyone else have Dark Courier to confirm that it remains the same?

They'll be TrueType, so they should be absolutely identical.

I don't know Courier Dark, but if it looked like the "old" Courier from DOS days, go for it. It should produce exactly ten characters per inch.

And for Pete's sake, please do not start playing with fonts and margins, etc., in order to get a "larger sample" to send. Let me bottom line this for you:

One-inch margins. Period. Not bigger, not smaller.
Courier font. 12 point.
The title and the name of the book in the top, left-hand corner (in the header). The page number in the top, right-hand corner. Here I don't think it's a bad idea to drop the size to 10 point, but 12 is fine also.

Do these things and not one editor or agent will ever complain about your page format.

A.

rchastain said:

For those of us in the Mac world, does anyone know if the Couriers correspond more-or-less exactly to the PC versions?

RC

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Courier New seems to take up more space than Courier.

Andrew Zack said:

And for Pete's sake, please do not start playing with fonts and margins, etc., in order to get a "larger sample" to send. Let me bottom line this for you:

One-inch margins. Period. Not bigger, not smaller.
Courier font. 12 point.
The title and the name of the book in the top, left-hand corner (in the header). The page number in the top, right-hand corner. Here I don't think it's a bad idea to drop the size to 10 point, but 12 is fine also.

Do these things and not one editor or agent will ever complain about your page format.

A.

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Still, if an agent wants only the first five pages, how many spaces you leave after "Chapter One" could have a dramatic impact at the bottom of page five.

Well, duh, that's why you should just double-space. Yes, folks, there should never be more than on hard return. That's what double-spaced means! There are manuscript preparation guidelines on my website and I promise you that no one will ever complain if you follow them.

Not what I meant, actually. Only that where you start line one on page one can impact the last line of the submission. And it's always best to end with a dramatic and complete thought, rather than to leave it hanging.

You can just start at the top of the page. This business of starting half-way down is fine, but not needed.

Thanks for posting this information, Andy. I'd like to add another question, if I may.

In the submissions guidelines at your website, you mention that:

Chapter numbers can be centered, but please use the centering command. Do not tab over to center your chapter numbers.

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May I assume this also applies to chapter headers as well? In which case, something along the lines of:

Chapter One

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night


would have both lines centered.

Either way, actually. Whatever looks best to you.