formatting questions

[Jazz Club]

First time submitter here. Feeling a bit overwhelmed. In the formatting guidelines for a fiction magazine I was just researching, it said to indent all new paragraphs. But my story has a lot of dialogue and it looks kind of ridiculous when I do this. What to do?

I just submitted a story to a different magazine that didn't have any formatting guidelines, just an online submission form, and I sent it in Calibri font, not double line spaced. I'm now convinced I've tanked my chances already. Please tell me I haven't...but at least I have something to blame when I get the inevitable rejection, I guess

 

[Lakey]

It’s pretty standard to indent all new paragraphs, even in dialogue. Open up a book or a magazine and take a look. It doesn’t look ridiculous; it looks normal.

You say you didn’t double space — did you have extra space between paragraphs? That’s a standard format for things like business letters, but not for manuscripts. Is that what looked ridiculous to you—because you were trying to use both extra spaces between paragraphs and first-line indentations? That might look weird; typically documents use one or the other.

At any rate, Times 12-point double-spaced, with first-line indent, is a standard manuscript format that you can’t go wrong with, no matter what you are submitting and to whom.

 

[Jazz Club]

You say you didn’t double space — did you have extra space between paragraphs? That’s a standard format for things like business letters, but not for manuscripts. Is that what looked ridiculous to you—because you were trying to use both extra spaces between paragraphs and first-line indentations? That might look weird; typically documents use one or the other.

Sorry, I was a bit unclear. The story I submitted already wasn't double line spaced (the magazine had an online form and I just copied and pasted the story into it). Then I double spaced it in the original word document and started indenting, and thought it looked funny. But maybe it looks fine and I'm being paranoid.

At any rate, Times 12-point double-spaced, with first-line indent, is a standard manuscript format that you can’t go wrong with, no matter what you are submitting and to whom.

Yep I'll do that in future. Should've done it even in the online form...I'm kicking myself here lol

 

[dickson]

As long as you followed the submission guidelines faithfully you should be OK. Publishers are all over the map about what they want to see, but what seems to be most common is something like Times New Roman and Shunn format (Easy to download; there’s a slight variant on Shunn that SFWA likes; most publishers don’t fuss over the difference). The Shunn template is the one with every paragraph indented &c. It’s designed to be easily read and scribbled on by editors.

Oh, and break a leg with your submission!

 

[ChaseJxyz]

Sorry, I was a bit unclear. The story I submitted already wasn't double line spaced (the magazine had an online form and I just copied and pasted the story into it). Then I double spaced it in the original word document and started indenting, and thought it looked funny. But maybe it looks fine and I'm being paranoid.

It sounds like you're manually doing it by hitting tab. [So I'm gonna blow your mind]

 

[Jazz Club]

It sounds like you're manually doing it by hitting tab. [So I'm gonna blow your mind]

Thank you so much. That'll save me some time!

The Shunn template is the one with every paragraph indented &c. It’s designed to be easily read and scribbled on by editors.

I was just reading the Shunn guidelines before I posted my question here. I'll follow them faithfully in future.

Oh, and break a leg with your submission!

Thank you!

 

[Elenitsa]

I keep reading about double spaced in most English language forum and I am astonished by this, because in my country double space is never required and considered too much of a waste. Some magazines and publishing houses want normal 1 line (and always Times New Roman!), others 1.15 lines, less often 1.5 lines, but never anything else.

 

[Brigid Barry]

I keep reading about double spaced in most English language forum and I am astonished by this, because in my country double space is never required and considered too much of a waste. Some magazines and publishing houses want normal 1 line (and always Times New Roman!), others 1.15 lines, less often 1.5 lines, but never anything else.

I think it's because it's easier to read on a screen, and if it's on paper, to make notes. This is just for the submission process, it's regular, single spaced to publish it.

 

[Brigid Barry]

Then I double spaced it in the original word document and started indenting, and thought it looked funny. But maybe it looks fine and I'm being paranoid.

It does look weird when you aren't used to it, but it probably looks fine.

 

[Maryn]

My understanding is that double line spacing is a holdover from the days in which your paper manuscript was edited by someone who needed room to mark your writing with the standard proofreader's markings, some of which extend well above the line of text.

I'm sure all that's done digitally now, but you know how stuff carries over for no sensible reason. "That's how we've always done it" seems sufficient for many.

Maryn, humming Tradition!

 

[Al X.]

In the self publishing world, you have to be very picky about how you electronically format your manuscripts in order for it to come out correctly in an ebook format. I suspect that these days, the same can probably be said for trade published works as well, to avoid a lot of unnecessary formatting rework.