Publishing Child Book e-Course

The Correct Submission Format

Many publishers ask that manuscripts be submitted in a specific format. You can contact them and ask for their writer’s guidelines or find them on their website.

If they don’t have specific guidelines for you to follow, you should submit your manuscript in an industry-standard manuscript format. The following books provide information on this topic:

• The Writer's Digest Guide to Manuscript Formats (Hardcover), by Dian Dincin Buchman, Seli Groves, ISBN: 0898792932
• Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript (Writer's Market Library Series) (Paperback), by Jack Neff, Glenda Neff, Don Prues, ISBN: 089879921X

Some general guidelines for submission format:

• Put your name, address, and telephone number in the upper left-hand corner, single-spaced.
• Type your manuscript, double-spaced
• Use a good weight (e.g. 110 or 160 grams) white paper that speaks of quality, 8½” x 11” for the US and A4 for Europe and the rest of the world).
• Use a standard font such as 12-point Courier or Times New Roman. Don't use cutesy fonts.
• Use 1 inch margins.
• Begin half-way down the page with your title in capitals, centered, and your byline on the following line.
• Include your name, the title of your manuscript, and your address and telephone number as a header on all subsequent pages.
• Don’t be sloppy: grammar, punctuation, spelling and neatness all count (most editors are sticklers for such details and it shows your level of competence and professionalism).
• Include a cover letter addressed to the editor (use their full name) and a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope).

For more information, check out the publication From Keyboard to Printed Page by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, http://www.scbwi.org/pubs.htm

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