When I first started out writing and submitting short stories, I spent a lot of time and effort learning how to format my manuscripts.
Here are all of the short story formatting guidelines I use, collected in one place for your convenience.
Cover Page
The margins should be one inch all around so the editor can make notes (less important, but still standard, for electronic subs).
The author’s contact information, including (real) name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address goes in the upper left-hand corner and is single-spaced.
Halfway down the page, place the center-aligned title. One double-spaced line below that, write “by” and the author’s real name or pen name, if applicable. Double-space again and list the manuscript’s word count. I like to use “‘x number’ words” notation. Don’t worry about the arcane methods editors once used for tallying up the number of characters in a manuscript. Just use your word processor’s word count.
First Page
Now that you’re on the actual first page, create a header to be displayed in the upper right. This header should appear on every subsequent page of the manuscript and should at least include the author’s last name and the current page number, separated by a forward slash. The title (if it is short), or a significant element from the title, can also be placed between the author’s name and the page number, also separated by slashes, e.g.: Farmer/Big Heist/1
For short stories, reproduce your contact information on the first page of the manuscript in the same format and position as it appears on the cover page.
Place the word count in the upper right-hand corner of the first page (not in the header).
Proceed halfway down the first page and write the story’s title again. Double-space down and write “by” and the author’s real/pen name.
Double space down twice, indent, and begin composing the story. Make sure the body of the text is double-spaced.
I used to agonize over the proper choice of font. Courier 10 pitch used to be the standard for everything from novel manuscripts to screenplays, but some editors hate it. Your best bet is Times New Roman, but you can get away with any easy-to-read font (no Comic Sans). Your entire manuscript, including all of the information on the cover page, should appear in the chosen font.
An optional touch that editors love is if you create customs styles to handle all of the font/spacing/indentation formatting in your manuscript. You can find a handy guide to making your own
custom MS Word styles here.
That’s about it. You shouldn’t write “The End” at the end of a manuscript. It’s OK to just write End. In fact, it’s best not to write anything after the last word and punctuation mark of the story–especially if you’re trying to stay within a word count limit.
Note: above all else, always make sure to read, understand, and follow your editor’s submission guidelines. Flagrant violations of a magazine’s–or worse, a contest’s–submission rules is the best way to get your work filed directly in the trash. And they’re red flags to freelance editors about a prospective client’s professionalism. After all, you’re hiring an editor as a consultant to help you realize the best version of your book. Ignoring submission guidelines calls an author’s willingness to accept editorial advice into question.
But there’s an easy fix! In fact, the best out of such a jam is not getting into it. And any editor worth his red pencil will provide author clients with his submission guidelines.
Here are mine:
Manuscripts are to be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format
• in 12 point Times New Roman or other easily readable font.
• left-aligned
• double-spaced
• with one space between each sentence
• and no extra line between paragraphs.
Also note: An editor is not a proofreader. While most editors will make reasonable efforts to correct typos, misspellings, and punctuation errors found within a manuscript, it is the author’s job to ensure that an MS is as error-free as possible before submission.
That’s it. Just follow the few simple guidelines above, and you’ll be head and shoulders above 99% of aspiring writers.
And you’ll be ready to hit the ground running when you hire me to edit your book to perfection.
Editors are invaluable, but they are not infallible. Think of them as a second pair of eyes and a new angle to look at your work. Once an editor (or multiple, in some cases) give it the once over twice, ALWAYS go for a final pass yourself after instituting (or passing on) their corrections. It is important to remember that they aren’t writing the final draft for you.
Excellent point. An editor is a consulting contractor. A writer who’s looking for someone to compose the final draft is looking for a co-author.
That’s fine, but it entails sharing a percentage of the royalties, not a one-time fee.
Brian,
Thanks! I clicked on the MS styles link but they’re blank unfortunately.
I suspect you can find templates at the MS site.
xavier
That’s odd. Thanks for the heads up.
OK, fixed it.
Brian,
Thanks! I use Office 365 and you can download the model file (it’s a docx) file. I did so and it’s identical to your illustrations.
Libreoffice users can also use the MS document or download the template from Libreoffice template/extension repository.
xavier