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What Writers Need to Know About Formatting (FAQs)

When writing your future bestseller you don't want to have to waste too much time wondering if you should be leaving one space or two between sentences or worried that you're committing other style faux pas. Here I’ve collected a writer’s set of FAQs about formatting issues that will help you navigate the basics.

When writing your future bestseller you don't want to have to waste too much time wondering if you should be leaving one space or two between sentences or worried that you're committing other style faux pas. Here I’ve collected a writer’s set of FAQs about formatting (and formatting-related) issues that will help you navigate the basics.

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What Are the Guidelines for Formatting a Manuscript?

One Space or Two Between Sentences?

When to Use a Prologue

Where Should You List Your Manuscript's Word Count?

How Long Should Novel Chapters Be?

What's Considered a "Clip"?

How Do I E-mail Clips?

What is a Logline?

Contest Guidelines and Formatting

Which Word Count Do Agents Want?

Should I Use The Chicago Manual of Style for My Book?

U.S. vs. Canadian Scriptwriting Formatting (Is there a difference?)

One excellent resource for making sure your manuscript, query letter, book proposal, synopsis, etc., is formatted correctly is Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript 4th Edition. It's one of our bestsellers and has answers to just about every formatting question you could possibly have. Check it out.

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