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I’ve recently added a search function so that you can limit your Google search to just the blogs that are members of MetaxuCafe. I think that will be a good resource for everyone looking for literary topics online and you’ll find it right on the front page as well as other places on the site. Now if you want to read about, say Orhan Pamuk, but only want to search the litblogs you trust, you can narrow your search right here.
On Formatting
by damongarr on September 09, 2007
I’m busy banging in the last twenty pages of my manuscript and I got to thinking about formatting. I tend to work in Garamond, a nice, under-stated font, that is pretty small, and won’t eat up a lot of paper. And with maybe twenty pages of hand-written text still to type in, I’ll end up with around three hundred pages of manuscript with Garamond.
Looking around, though, I see that most people suggest that a manuscript be in a non-proportional font like Courier, at 12-point. 12-point? Really. So I go back and reformat what I have in the system and it adds nearly a hundred pages to my text. And it looks hideous. It looks like I’m some neanderthal working a century or so in the past. Even my old Brother electric typewriter didn’t use a 12-point font. With this format there are only ten to twelve words a line. It makes every sentence look extremely declarative.
I’m reluctant to do it, though it looks like I’m going to end up with a whopper of a stack of paper when I print this thing out.
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Comments
Because requirements change, always do a search for the publication guidelines every time you want to make a submission.
Never assume. Anything
– Jacob Russell (09/09 at 9-Sep 22:39 -05:00)
I’m a screenwriter who just finished a novel, and have discovered what a supreme pain in the ass 12-point Courier font is when trying to print a manuscript.
Most people I know have no desire to print out or sift through 350-500 pages of an unbound manuscript, even if they are double spaced pages. Ugh.
I dig Garamond as well and am considering reformatting my manuscriptto Helvetica size 11 font in order to produce something readable I can begin to get some feedback on.
– Joe Valdez (09/11 at 11-Sep 03:25 -05:00)
Page 1 of 1 pages of comments
If you submit your ms. to someone who gives format guidelines, follow ‘em.
If not, use your own judgment. Some books and sites say Courier is still de rigeur; some say it’s out of date, e.g.
The Rejecter
Miss Snark
Search for “submit manuscript12-point courier times” and you’ll find plenty of conflicting opinions.
– RfP (09/09 at 9-Sep 11:53 -05:00)