Hi,

I recently had a free consultation on my book, where they said the formatting of the chapters was a key problem, but would not expand any further without payment.

I've tried my best to follow various guidelines but obviously am going wrong somewhere.

If anyone has time to give the opening chapters attached a quick glance to tell me where I'm going wrong I would be very, very grateful.

Please note, I'm not interested in any critique of the content, just the formatting.

Many thanks in advance

Cheers

Attachments

ExitLast3chapters.doc (98Kb) - 22 view(s)

For what my opinion is worth, they’re taking the mickey.

Reality is, people expect a larger font and double spaced. It’s normal to have a larger inter-paragraph gap as well.

All of this can be fixed with a half dozen clicks and so it wouldn’t seem worth commenting on until the words made sense. As you specifically said you didn’t want a comment on them, I didn’t read too much, but I felt the dialogue was a bit too dense. This is made worse by the lack of spacing.

Recent “trends” are to do as you have, to start a new scene not indented, but also to use single, rather than double speech marks. These aren’t hard rules, merely guideline suggestions.

I’ve attached my five mouse clicks changes version. The only other suggestion would be I would set up a “start scene” style and change the paragraph spacing so that you don’t need the double line feed.

Let’s see what others have to say.

ET

Attachments

ETAttempt.doc (98Kb) - 24 view(s)

Perry- drunk in charge of a keyboard is a bad place to be, but as you are Irish, it’s probably a normal state… (Bear in mind my other pastime, I have a lot of Irish friends)

My “Taking the mickey” comment wasn’t regarding the need to format. You did, after all, only repeat what I had said and demonstrated in the document I attached. It was regarding a company trying to sell their expertise who won’t even pass on “writer’s 101” knowledge before you flash the cash.

I tried FOC offers from 2 editors. One came back and said, “Try this and this and this, (major change suggestions) if you like the effect, let’s do some more,” the second said, “Oh wonderful, it just needs a couple of tweaks to be perfect,” without any substance, when I knew there were a couple of glaring faults in the writing. (I’d put them in.)

When you are selling skills, a new punter needs the confidence you have them, so they have to be demonstrated - not hinted at . Even I would give away five mouse clicks of knowledge and I’m extremely mean.

Iparks- Rather than spend money on these guys, I’d suggest you get a copy of “self-editing for fiction writers” Browne and King. Then find an editor who demonstrates value for money.

No harm and as to forgive is divine, it's in my nature...

I'm sure there are a few sober irishmen (and women) I rarely meet them.

Hurray, finally, a question I can answer. Publishers and agents are not looking for manuscripts in a printable format – that comes later. They want something they can scan read, with plenty of space to make comments and notes.

Use standard white A4 paper, printed on one side only. You should have a title page with all your details i.e. name, address, book title etc. Every page should have a header to the right side with the page number, your name and the title of your book. The lines should be double-spaced and left justified. Indents should be consistent throughout, preferably with one-inch margins.

Use a simple serif font such as Roman Times or Georgian in 12 points. These days, it is acceptable to use italics, bold and underline, but make sure you are using them correctly. Do not staple or bind you work – hence the header on each page.

If you are lucky enough to have your work published, they will tell you exactly how to present the finished article. If you want your manuscript retuning, enclose a stamped addressed envelope. You should enclose a one-two page synopsis and a brief résumé, describing yourself and why you have written your book, you know, why it is important. Make sure you only send it to those who are actively seeking manuscripts in your genre. The very best of luck.