Tag Archives: Writer Tips

Writer Tips #2 – Formatting – The Ruler

Using The Ruler

There are many great sites out there giving hints on how to format your manuscript before submitting it. All you need do is Google them. I’m adding mine to the mix only because I’ve seen so many “don’ts” in some of the submissions we have received. So I feel it bears repeating some of the tips. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section and I’ll do my best to answer. Today, I’m covering the ruler.

One of the most important things to do is to use your ruler to set your indentations on a new paragraph. Do NOT use the TAB key. Or space bar over. You want nice even indentations for each paragraph, but the way to do that is through your ruler at the top of the page. So do not tab or even space bar over. Ever.

It creates nightmares for your formatter down the line. Yes, I could get into whys and wherefores, but take my word for it…universal corrections don’t always work. I’ve had situations where the “fix” didn’t work and I had to literally go in and delete every tab or space bar indentation. Every. single. one. So make your formatter love you and get into the habit of using the ruler.

Before I write one word, I set up how I want my manuscript to look, including the ruler. That includes my styles, but I’ll discuss those another day.

I write in Word 2013. In the picture below, you will see that I’m on the VIEW tab. (You can click the picture for a larger version.) “Ruler” is checked as seen in the first red box. In the second red box, you can see there are two arrows. The bottom arrow is set at one inch by default at the end of the grey area. I’ve moved the top arrow 2.5 ticks from the left. You can also move it in 4 ticks for a half inch indentation. Since I format our books and use the 2.5 tick mark for all versions when we publish, I now write in that format. It saves me changing it later. But not everyone uses that, so the 4 tick / half inch indentation is totally acceptable.

Once you have set the ruler, you are good to go. It will automatically indent for you when you hit “enter” at the end of a paragraph. And it will be perfectly even throughout the document. That’s not something you get if you tab or space bar over, as you can often change how many tabs or spaces you used without realizing it, resulting in uneven indentations.

Just remember – the ruler is your friend!

Ruler Tip1

 

 

 

 

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Writer Tips #1 – Small Press Submissions

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So, you have your book as polished as you can get it and you’re ready to send it out into the world. You’ve done your research and decided that you want to go the small press route. Awesome! Being a partner in Ellysian Press for the last year has taught me so very much of what to do…and what not to do. Here are some basic tips:

1. Only submit to presses who publish your genre and are currently accepting submissions. No sense wasting your time if you write fantasy and they are only accepting horror at that time.

2. Make your query letter professional and follow standard query letter guidelines. And make it personal! It’s easy to find out the name of the person to whom you should submit, so include that. “Dear Sir/Madam” is a big turn-off for some. Keep it to the point. Don’t ramble or add in info that doesn’t apply. Keep it short. However, if there is a specific reason you want to be with that publisher, let them know.

Also, you want your blurb right up front. Add any other important info such as previously published work after the blurb.

3. Follow the publisher’s submission guidelines. Be very careful with this as most presses have specific things they want. Do they want a sample? If so, how long? Don’t send fifty pages if they ask for ten. It’s usually okay to go over by a paragraph or two if you have a natural stopping point, but don’t go over or under by too much. If they want a short synopsis, send one to two pages. If they want the sample in the body of the email, don’t send it as an attachment. Some presses will not open attachments in a query.

4. Don’t nudge too soon if you don’t hear back right away. Some companies have a turn-around response time listed, but most don’t. If it’s a press you particularly want to be with, and they don’t answer within two months, it should be okay to gently nudge.

5. Do your due diligence on the publisher. What do you want from a press? Does their “About” page fit in with your expectations? Be sure you understand what that press really does for their authors. Some do no marketing at all, so be prepared for that. Others do marketing to varying degrees. Some have a long queue of books and the publishing turn-around time is going to be different for each press. Your book could be out in several months or it could take over a year. Most small presses will not pay an advance, so be aware of that. Talk to the press’ published authors. Are they still happy and would they recommend the press?

 

The best thing you can do for yourself is to do your research on every aspect of getting published – from writing your query letter to how to format the manuscript to editing. The more you know, the easier it will be for you once you do sell your book and start the process.

If you have questions, feel free to ask. 🙂

 

 

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