Asked by: Los Bruno

Line spacing: All lines should be double spaced. Double-spacing your lines makes the manuscript easier to read and mark up. Do not add an extra space between paragraphs. Alignment: Your words should be aligned on the left-hand side of your page, but not justified.

What spacing do you use when writing a book?

Most publishing houses and editors follow the industry standard, which is to double-space your novel. Double-spacing means your manuscript will have extra space between lines.

How do you space in a manuscript?

Manuscript Formatting Guidelines

1. Use 12-point type.
2. Use a serif font; the most common choice is Times Roman.
3. Double space your manuscript.
4. No extra space between paragraphs.
5. Only one space between sentences.
6. Indent each paragraph half an inch (setting a tab, not using several spaces)

Should book manuscripts be double spaced?

In a manuscript for a book, every line should be double spaced. However, do not add extra lines between paragraphs. Double-spacing makes it easier to read and provides room for editors to mark up the document.

What is the space between lines in a book?

Typographers don’t call it “line spacing.” They call it “leading.” Comfortable leading depends on the font style, the size of its ascenders and descenders, and the physical size of the text on the printed page (regrettably, all 12 point fonts are not the same physical height).

How should a novel manuscript format?

Here’s what’s expected for a standard manuscript format.

1. Use black, 12-point, Times New Roman as the font. …
2. Use the U.S. standard page size of 8.5×11 inches and set your margins to 1 inch on all sides. …
3. Set alignment to left justified. …
4. Use a single space after periods. …
5. Use double-spaced line spacing. …
6. Indent all paragraphs by .

What is double spacing?

1. In text formatting, a double space means sentences contain a full blank line (the equivalent of the full height of a line of text) between the rows of words. By default, most programs have single spacing enabled, which is a slight space between each line of text, similar to how this paragraph looks.

How far down the page should a chapter start?

one-third to halfway

In a published book, chapters generally begin one-third to halfway down the page.