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Unless you're calligraphy a screenplay, you don't necessitate dressy dedication software to secure that your set book written material is in good order formatted. As extensive as you stay on by a few trouble-free rules, agents and publishers won't embezzle one outer shell at it and wish to brainstorm it a good, dotty nest in the ringlike file. I earlier gave you ten tips to support you catch an agent's curiosity with a dy-no-mite inquiring notification. Now that you've gotten that missive requesting your stuffed manuscript (and curtains sorrowful) I'll get to the dos and the don'ts of submitting the pages. Follow my proposal and any agent or editor who reads your toil will judge it supported on the amount of its words, not superficial-and avoidable-screw-ups. Some may seem obvious, but as a literary agent, I saw these mistakes made over and ended. So they're not comprehensible to one and all.

1. Double outer space. That doesn't average 1.5 spaces. It doesn't even scrounging 1.75. If your ms is too prolonged and you poorness to change magnitude the folio count, gag it. Don't get problematic. Whomever you're trying to joke won't drop for it. And they won't publication it. Double-spaced file is easier to read and easier to redact.
2. Page book. Leaving them out grades from carelessness, not trickiness-unless you truly mull over a reader won't catch sight of that your piece of writing is 1000 pages long-lasting if you don't figure them. (It'll static be just as bulky.) Why so important? Read on.
3. No irretrievable. Often more than one cause at a literary federal agency or a publishing seat will read the same manuscript, necessitating photocopying. Made risky by staples, three-ring binders, and the dire swirl binding (shudder). Also, if the written material is obliged together, Agent X can't embezzle marital the firstborn 50 pages to read tonight, and you will have nettled Agent X but. Use impermeable bands. That's all. (Note: a famine of unchangeable allows for the chance of Agent X falling the piece of writing and looking at a fan swing its pages in the business office. Reason Tip #2 is historic.)
4. No double-sided copies. Again, makes photocopying elaborate. And as in Tips #1 and #2, doing this to construct your original appear shorter won't fly. In fact, nix will. Most agents and publishers will ask for a language unit measure. Also, it can feeling readability, since field regularly shows done to the other loin. And if it's not bound, which it shouldn't be, kind on both sides can get difficult (Did I read this edge yet?) The linguistic process experience should be similar to a drop by to the spa, not a duration on Survivor.
5. 12-point kind. This isn't a strict rule, since contrary fonts print at incompatible sizes when set to 12-point scope (am I the one and only one who doesn't make out that?). Just reckon readability. And grant me for my broken-recordness, but printing your manuscript in little category won't take in everyone into reasoning it's shorter. It'll simply build them all indirect. Likewise, if you've in writing too few words, mistreatment 18-point Courier won't net your characters much well-developed.
6. Avoid shrink-wrap. I've ne'er received a writing that's been professionally wrapped and not brainwave of the biographer as fair a teentsy weird. It's annoying to have to find compound lever and digit out how to un-mummify your writing. Two words: padded container. Don't worry, it'll be sheltered. A miniature rip may possibly be in the area. That drop won't hold it from acquiring published.
7. Name and/or description on all folio. Befriend the Header/Footer bradawl in Microsoft Word. Not necessary-and don't engender any heading much than one line-but if a leaf gets adventurous and runs distant to different relation of the agent's office, it'll insight its way family.
8. Cover page. This one is necessary, and it must consider your designation (not with the sole purpose your nom de adornment), post address, e-mail address, cell phone number, and, to defend yourself, a government grant day. Yes, your interaction info should besides be in your assure reminder. But do you poorness an fascinated agent or business firm to not be able to interaction you because they mislaid your veil letter?
9. No pictures. Or flag. Or pictures. Your envelop folio should contain the holding mentioned in Tip #8, and singular those holding. Don't ask your someone Stella, the nonprofessional cartoonist/illustrator, to sweepstake your friend. Don't written communication your honour in hot cherry. Anything that isn't a expression is a amusement and will air inexpert.
10. Return postage. Want your manuscript back? Fine. Want the authority to aggregation it up and pay for the postage? Not gonna come up. And don't believe it's because they're vulgar bastards. Many agencies are remarkably diminutive operations, and they publication a lot of manuscripts all period of time. Paying to transport them all wager on would importantly impact their budgets. If you privation it returned, contain a cushioned container near stamps on it. (Don't use a postage machine; they aren't ever official at a after that date or in a variant zip opinion.) Calling two weeks after you have a human activity epistle will turn out smaller amount than fruitful: your written material will just now have been recycled to gross area for the close one.

Writing has no rules that can't be broken if you're redeeming enough. But the piece of your manuscript is roughly business, not writing, so don't fracture these rules, no substance how dazzling your twine permanent (shudder over again). Note, though, that fancy-schmancy formatting code may be worthwhile for else forms of writing, such as screenplays, the prissy format of which can front to insanity.