Formatting
These basic rules are the general publishing industry norm when formatting your manuscript. However, please also check with each publisher before submitting your work to ensure you meet their specific formatting requirements.
Font: Use Times New Roman (or a similarly plain font) in 12-point size.
Spacing: Double space your work.
Page Numbering: Include page numbering at the bottom right-hand corner of each applicable page.
Margins: Set a margin of 2.5cm-3cm on all sides of your manuscript.
Text Alignment: Align your text to the left (not justified).
Indentation: Do not indent the first line of the first paragraph or the beginning of a new section. Indent all subsequent paragraphs by 1.00cm or 1.25cm.
Paragraph Spacing: Maintain consistent spacing between paragraphs.
Chapter Breaks: Start each chapter on a new page.
Scene/Section Breaks: Indicate the start of a new scene or section with a double space. Avoid using icons or dashes to depict section endings. Rely on the double-space above. The non-indented first paragraph will also signify the beginning of a new section.
Dialogue: Place each speaker's dialogue on a new line and indent the start of the line. The excerpt below is from J.R.R. Tolkien’s, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Inside Bag End, Bilbo and Gandalf were sitting at the open window of a small room looking out west onto the garden. The late afternoon was bright and peaceful. The flowers glowed red and golden: snap-dragons and sunflowers, and nasturtiums trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows.
‘How bright your garden looks!’ said Gandalf.
‘Yes,’ said Bilbo. ‘I am very fond indeed of it, and of all the dear old Shire; but I think I need a holiday.’
Additional resources:
Charlotte Nash also has an excellent YouTube video resource here, showing how to set up basic manuscript formatting with styles in a Word document.