The Golden Pencil: The Freelance Writer’s Resource

Manuscript Format Q&A

by Anne Wayman on June 7th, 2007

I have the manuscript format for the novel, but I’m having a problem finding a manuscript format for a self-help book.

Could you possibly (at your convenience) share this information with me?

I’d greatly appreciate it!!!

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,

There’s nothing particularly complicated about a book manuscript, and there’s no difference between a manuscript for a self-help book and any other book.

• Double space your text.
• Make sure you use page numbers.
• It can really help to use Word’s heading system – heading 1, heading 2, etc. to generate a table of contents. In fact, I use a toc during the writing process as well. (And if you don’t use Word, I’m sure whatever word processing software you do use has a similar feature.)

When you’re preparing any manuscript, keep in mind the goal is to let the editor / agent / publisher focus on your writing. Keep it simple and readable.

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Share This

Related Stories

Q&As for Freelance WritersI’m Not A Copy Editor!Q&A - How Do I Submit Clips?

POSTED IN: Freelance Writing Tips and Ideas, Q and A about Freelance Writing