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		IN PRINT: HOW TO GET PUBLISHED
		The rules for sending manuscripts are really pretty simple, but getting a publisher to accept your work is the hard part. If you follow all the rules, you've at least got a head start! Manuscript assessors (the people that read manuscripts and decide if they're good enough) don't have time to waste on you. You must make a good impression before they even read the first word. This is done by simple typesetting (how it looks on the page)
		GENERAL TYPESETTING:-  In general you should use single sided, double-spaced, unbound pages with 12pt (size12) font and 3cm margins. Always use a simple font, like Arial or Roman; do not try to be fancy!
		Always check the publisher's website for a list of guidelines specific to them. Some publishing houses are very loose in their guidlines while others have very specific requirements. Most publishers will not accept submissions on disk or by e-mail, and some will ask for the entire manuscript while others will only want a few sample chapters. Knowing exactly what the publisher wants is important; if you wont take the time for them, then they wont take the time to you. Your manuscript will be sent straight to the "slush-pile".
		Make sure you check in the submission guidelines if the publisher accepts unsolicited manuscripts. If not, hiring an agent can be expensive! If it's your first manuscript, you may as well forget it!

	Page Setup in MS Word
	Microsoft Word is probably the easiest and most common tool to type a manuscript with. There's a lot of thing's you'll need to get yourself familiar with, including indents, page breaks, inserting line numbers and headers, modifying the header of a first page, setting margin widths, font size and face, and more!      **NOTE: photo examples were taken in "print layout view". This may not match the veiw on your screen. At the bottom left of the MS Word window are four buttons. Click the third one to get to print layout view.
	FONT AND FONT STYLES
	The most basic text formatting is font and size. Click the downarrows to see a list of available fonts or to change the font size. If you have text highlighted, everything selected will be changed (highlight text by clicking and dragging the cursor over the text, then release the mouse-button); otherwise, anything you type after that point will display in the set font and size. Text can be styled by clicking on any of these three buttons. In a manuscript, do not use any font styles!      **If these toolbars are not on your screen, click view>toolbars>formatting
	POSITIONING TEXT - MARGINS, DOUBLE SPACING...
	You can use these buttons to align text on the page. Manuscripts should always be positioned against the left margin (the selected button). Don't be tempted to justify the writing, even though that is how it is printed in a book.
	To change the margins, click and hold the grey band and adjust by moving the mouse.      First line indent (where text on the first line of a paragraph begins) can be bly clicking and dragging this tag.
	Left indent controls where all other lines in a paragraph begin. Always set this at the same place as the margin, at 3cm from the edge (or as specified by the publisher). Click and drag this tag.
	To set double spacing you'll first need to highlight your text, or set double spacing before you begin typing. Click format>paragraph to open the paragraph window, where you can set the line spacing.
	To insert page numbers, click insert>pagenumbers to open the page numbers window. Decide whether you want the numbers to appear at the top(header) or bottom(footer) of the page, and you should keep them on the right side. If you have a cover sheet, you can uncheck "show number on first page" and then click on "format" to open the page number format window and set the numbering to start at 0.
	A page break, will automatically move to the next page. This is helpful to use at the end of a cover sheet to make sure the first page of the novel will always start in the right place. To insert a page break, click insert>break to open the break window. Select "page break" and click OK. Your cursor will move to the start of the next page.

LAST UPDATED 27Jul 2004