Manuscripts

Pleasant Mount Press, Inc.

Manuscript Preparation

Overview:

Novels and Nonfiction Books:

Running Headers:

Page Numbers:

Fonts and Format:

Submitting Your Manuscript:

Electronic Submissions:

Please, before you query, be prepared to submit a manuscript that conforms to the following basic standards:

Good WHITE 8.5x11 paper (20-lb. minimum, never erasable - beyond that, use what works best in your printer)
Double-spaced
1-inch margins all around (at least)
A clear, readable font (more on this later)
Paragraphs indicated by indents (tabs), not by an extra line space
An extra line space with 3 asterisks (***) to indicate major transitions.

Book-length works require a cover page. This can be prepared in a variety of formats, but the simplest is to center your book title halfway down the page. Skip two lines, and center your name or byline. Skip another two or three lines, and center your contact information (real name, if different from your byline, address, phone, fax, etc.) If you are using an agent, you may wish to include the agent's name and information here (or the agent may prepare a separate cover sheet). Skip another two or three lines and include the total word count of the manuscript. Then, begin each separate chapter of the book on its own page, beginning halfway down the page with the title of the chapter (or number, if the chapter has no title). Do not include your byline on each chapter, or any contact information.

Running Headers are expected on articles, short stories, novels and nonfiction book. A running header should appear at the top of every page (except the first), and include the following information:

Your last name
The title of the article, book, or story -- or a keyword from the title if the title is long
The page number

For example, a running header for an article titled "My Mystery" might look like this:

Barlow/My Mystery/...2

Page Numbers in a book-length manuscript should be sequential from the first page of the book to the last. Don't number each chapter separately (e.g., 1-1, 1-2; 2-1, 2-2, etc.)

We're not terribly fussy about fonts, so long as the manuscript is easy to read. (My personal preference is Courier New, which looks like an old-fashioned typewriter font). Arial is fine too, as is Times New Roman, etc. Please don't set your manuscript in Olde English or any other decorative font.

Please use 11- or 12-Point typesize.

The rationale for Courier dates back to the days when editors did an eyeball "guesstimate" of line lengths to determine exactly how much space a piece would fill in on the printed page. Courier is a "fixed-space" font, meaning that each letter takes up exactly the same amount of space. This made it easier to estimate how an article would appear when typeset. Today, however, very few editors need to do this (or even remember that it was done).

Some editors prefer that you do not include bold or italic type, and use underlining to indicate titles or emphasis. I'm not real adamant about this, although the traditional approach makes it more likely that your formatting doesn't get overlooked during the typsetting process.

Submitting your manuscript is a fairly simple process.

When submitting a book manuscript, you'll usually need a box. The most convenient are dedicated manuscript boxes (find them at Office Max, Staples, or similar office supply stores). You can also use a regular mailing box -- such as the type of box you might receive from Amazon.com. A file-folder box will also work well for mailing a manuscript, but you may need to pad it a bit to keep the pages from sliding around. (Plastic shopping bags work just fine for this.) Again, don't secure your pages with staples, paper clips, or heavy clips. At most, if you're afraid the pages may slide around in the box, you can secure it with a single rubber-band around the middle. If you're including a disk, put that in a separate envelope inside the box.

If you are including photos or artwork, protect them with cardboard. (One good approach is to put them inside a separate envelope, with cardboard protectors, and put that envelope into your main mailing envelope.)

Now that most writers use printers rather than typewriters, many consider manuscripts "disposable" -- i.e., they don't expect them returned. If you fall into this category, please enclose a #10 SASE for our response. If you do want your manuscript back, we will be happy to do so, providing you provide a return mailer, of adequate size, with sufficient return postage. (DO send a return envelope with postage if you want photos or artwork returned.)

IF you're utterly destitute, have written a modern classic, but can only work off floppy disks at the local library computer, I will reluctantly consider an electronic submission, but I really do discourage it. I like to be anchored to my computer as little as possible. Query first and if I'm interested, we can discuss formats.