How do I format a book for publishing?

Question

I need to know how to set up the margins and page numbers correctly.

Answer 1

Get Writers Market and put it in the format that the editor wants.

Answer 2

Ooooh, I'm a bit rusty on that. I believe you have to put your last name and page number on every page.

Check out a Writer's Market from any relatively recent year from your local library. There are detailed instructions in there.

Of course, different publishers have different guidelines. You might want to check the web-site of any publisher you're considering to study posted guidelines.

Answer 3

One inch margins on three sides.Contact info(name address.phone e-mail address in upper left hand corner.5 inches down place title.double space,then indent 5 spaces.Upper left hand corner of pages 2 thru?put one word of the tiltle/your name.number pages upper right.Do not staple pages together&don't send a cover or query letter unless asked in guidelines.Mkae sure to make at least two copies of you rmanuscript.How's that?:-)

Answer 4

Different publishers and agents have different formulas. You have to follow each one's submission guidelines. You do know, I hope, that you never send a manuscript to anyone unsolicited. You send a query letter and a synopsis or whatever the publisher or agent requests. If they want more, they will ask you for a full or partial manuscript and a book proposal. Check my starred questions for additional information.

Generally, this is the format



Page Information

Margins -- 1.5 inches all the way around

Font -- Courier, Courier New, or other clean monospace serif font from 10-12 pt. (I use 12 pt. Dark Courier.)

Line spacing -- Double-space

Paragraph indent -- first line, 5 pt.

Header -- right justified, contains the following information:

Last name/ TITLE/ number of pages/genre/page#

A header does not belong on the cover page. Start headers on page one of the actual manuscript.

Cover page -- depends on whether you're agented or not.

Unagented:

Contact information -- Name and address, phone number and e-mail address in the top left corner of the page, single spaced, left-justified
Title -- centered, just above the middle of the page
by -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the title
Name or pen name -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the word by
Word count -- centered and rounded to the nearest thousand, one double-spaced line beneath your name or pen name

Agented:

Title -- centered, just above the middle of the page
by -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the title
Name or pen name -- centered and one double-spaced line beneath the word by
Word count -- centered and rounded to the nearest thousand, one double-spaced line beneath your name or pen name
Agent's contact information -- Name, business name, mailing address, phone number (e-mail address if you have the agent's okay first), left justified, single spaced, bottom of the page

First page

Header -- should be in the upper right-hand corner of the page, and page number should be 1.

Chapter header -- can be anywhere from one to six double-spaced lines down from the top of the page, and can be centered or left justified. You can title your chapters, or just write Chapter One or Chapter 1.

Body text -- drop down two double-spaced lines to begin your story.

Scene breaks -- drop down two double-spaced lines, insert and center the # character, drop down two more double-spaced lines, and begin your new scene.

Subsequent chapters -- start each chapter on a fresh page. Keep chapter formatting and titling consistent with your first chapter.

But keep a heads up because some people ask for slightly different versions. Always follow submission guidelines. Pax - C

Answer 5

What did it ask for in your contract?

If you haven't even sent it to an agent yet, then check with them. Each agent is a little different. Also E-books are very different from traditional agents.