Page breaks in a novel

bahamaswriter

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In a publisher's submission guidelines they asked for a page break at the end of each chapter. This was the first time I'd encountered this. I complied and went through my whole manuscript inserting page breaks before sending the first three chapters to them. I now have a complete manuscript with page breaks if they want to read the rest. However, I'm wondering if this is something that all publishers require in a manuscript? I checked my copy of "Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript" (Writer's Digest Books), but couldn't find anything about page breaks in it. I also did a search online and only came up with an editing service that mentioned this was the correct way to format a manuscript.

I'd be most grateful for any advice! Thanks.
 

Maryn

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I always use page breaks at the end of a chapter, so no matter what formatting changes happen, the next chapter will always begin on a new page.

When and if a publisher specifically asks for there to be no breaks, it's easy to find and replace them all.

Maryn
 

dawinsor

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I always use breaks and then drop the following chapter heading about halfway down the page. It makes it easier for them to see where the chapters start and end.
 

ZachJPayne

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I always use breaks and then drop the following chapter heading about halfway down the page. It makes it easier for them to see where the chapters start and end.

I've always assumed that this is just standard formatting practice.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I've always used page breaks at the end of a chapter. It just makes sense, though maybe this is because I'm also an editor. Page breaks are just part of standard formatting., and I doubt any publisher will ask you to remove them.
 

bahamaswriter

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I've always used page breaks at the end of a chapter. It just makes sense, though maybe this is because I'm also an editor. Page breaks are just part of standard formatting., and I doubt any publisher will ask you to remove them.
Thanks for your reply, James. This is my first novel, so I guess that's why it never came up before. I was just following the guidelines of "Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript" and they didn't say anything about page breaks!
 

Maryn

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I've always used page breaks at the end of a chapter. It just makes sense, though maybe this is because I'm also an editor. Page breaks are just part of standard formatting., and I doubt any publisher will ask you to remove them.
Actually, my publisher did ask me to remove them, replaced with a unique symbol in a process which took several grueling seconds, so cast aside your doubt.

Maryn
 

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I've only published on Amazon, and their formatting guide suggests page breaks at the end of each chapter. Also, I believe it automatically builds a Table of Contents that the reader can access. I typically use a Header font with each chapter heading, as well.
 

bahamaswriter

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I've only published on Amazon, and their formatting guide suggests page breaks at the end of each chapter. Also, I believe it automatically builds a Table of Contents that the reader can access. I typically use a Header font with each chapter heading, as well.

Now, that's a whole new thread which I might get around to starting soon! I have been researching Kindle Direct Publishing and it looks very appealing, especially as it's free!
 

bahamaswriter

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Actually, my publisher did ask me to remove them, replaced with a unique symbol in a process which took several grueling seconds, so cast aside your doubt.

Maryn

I guess it's easier to include page breaks and remove them later if required? It took me a while to go all through my manuscript and insert the page breaks because I had to line everything up again.
 

Maryn

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I can only presume that the removal of page breaks by the author and confirmed by multiple editors left the manuscript "clean" for publishing formatting, where all the page breaks there were put in by whoever does the formatting. Just a guess. It seemed odd at the time, but I didn't care enough to question it.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Actually, my publisher did ask me to remove them, replaced with a unique symbol in a process which took several grueling seconds, so cast aside your doubt.

Maryn


That's really strange. Just who is your publisher, and why are you doing the typesetter's work?
 

AW Admin

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That's really strange. Just who is your publisher, and why are you doing the typesetter's work?

It's a pretty common request for ebook publishers; the reason behind it is that different word processor apps may use different invisible codes for page breaks, and different codes for page-break-begin-a-new-section.
 

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Huh, that's interesting.

I also thought page breaks between chapters were pretty standard. I've always done it, and my (copy-)editors have always left them through the editing process.

However, I never got into the habit of starting new chapters partway down the page and no agent or editor has ever called me on it, so either that's not necessary or I've left a trail of disgruntled publishing professionals in my wake. :D
 

Maryn

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Perhaps the quality of the work has gruntled them, eh?
 

blacbird

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I always use page breaks at the end of a chapter, so no matter what formatting changes happen, the next chapter will always begin on a new page.

When and if a publisher specifically asks for there to be no breaks, it's easy to find and replace them all.

Maryn

Yup, exactly. This is simple manuscript format stuff, and what a lot (most, I'd guess) editors would prefer. If the manuscript is accepted, the publishing house format style will be applied. It's like putting a space between words. They generally like that, too. Do what they want.

caw
 
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TalanaRay

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Huh, that's interesting.

I also thought page breaks between chapters were pretty standard. I've always done it, and my (copy-)editors have always left them through the editing process.

However, I never got into the habit of starting new chapters partway down the page and no agent or editor has ever called me on it, so either that's not necessary or I've left a trail of disgruntled publishing professionals in my wake. :D

^^ Ditto. I assume if it's readable, it's all okay. It'd have to be formatted for final version by the final publisher anyway.
 

raconteurhouse

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I can back up the reasoning said already. By inserting page breaks, it insures that the chapter always starts on a new page, no matter how many lines are on the previous page. Keep in mind that in ebook format this is especially important as everyone views their books in different fonts, different sizes which throws formatting off if the right codes aren't in place. The page breaks insure the correct viewing experience for every reader. If a publisher asks you to take them out, it's most likely because there's something funky going on with the codes and it's not reading properly, so they'll go back in and read them on their own computer. For whatever reason, Word coding doesn't always translate well from Mac to PC, so that might be the reason.

But my advice is to always always add page breaks. It's annoying for editors when there aren't any. :)
 

Jamesaritchie

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It's a pretty common request for ebook publishers; the reason behind it is that different word processor apps may use different invisible codes for page breaks, and different codes for page-break-begin-a-new-section.

I suppose, but that's the advantage of everyone using MS Office, which just about everyone does I print circles. Not necessarily all writers, but most writers, and nearly all editors.