To refresh my memory on the submission guidelines, I thumbed through my 2000 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. (I don’t have a 2009 copy or 2008 or 2005, or anything else from this millennium for that matter. I have been out of the game you might say).
In a nutshell, this is what the
Novel & Short Story Writer's Market
(Kuroff, Barbara. Writers Digest Books) had to say in 2000.
- Use white, 8.5 x 11 bond paper, preferably 16 to 20 lb weight.
- Type your manuscript
- Proofread carefully
- Always double space and leave a 1.25” margin on all sides of the page
- For a short story manuscript, your first page should include your name, address, and phone number. In the upper right, indicate an approximate word count. Center the title about one third of the way down, skip two or three lines and center your byline. Skip three lines and begin story.
- For fiction book manuscripts setup is about the same as the short story manuscript, except a separate cover sheet is used and word count may be centered at the bottom of a page if and agent is identified in the upper right corner. The novel begins on the following page with the chapter title and number centered half way down the page.
- Include a word count
- Always keep a copy
- Suggest art where applicable
- Enclose a self addressed envelope
- Consider sending a self addressed envelope
- When sending electronic (disk or modem) submissions, contact the publisher first
- Keep accurate records
That did turn out to be a rather large nut. Until I reread that chapter, I had forgotten how extensive and prescriptive the guidelines were. The chapter also discusses cover letters, mailing tips (fold manuscripts less than five pages; mail manuscripts more than five pages unfolded), rights—as in what rights you are selling to the publisher—and a host of other stuff.
How much do these make or break a manuscript? I’ve noticed that many literary publications are taking submissions online as an attached file, similar to the way some companies collect resumes for a job description. Then again, maybe the reason I never published anything was because I folded nine page stories and sent them in a #10 envelope. 