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1. Short stories to write online for free#
2. Short stories to write online how to#
3. Short stories to write online update#
4. Short stories to write online professional#

Short stories to write online update#

Keep a copy of the exact manuscript file you submitted in a special location, in case you update the master manuscript later.

Short stories to write online for free#

Join for free today An example of a well-formatted short story manuscript Remember these tips before you send it inĪlways check the manuscript submission guidelines of the magazine or anthology you’re submitting to! Different markets may have unique formatting requirements, and you should always do as they ask, even if it contradicts the rules we’ve set out here. Join our community of hundreds of thousands of writers and get feedback on your writing! If you’ve followed all these steps, you should now have your short story manuscript formatted to the industry standard! This can be your pen name, and make sure to precede it with by.īegin your story a few lines below your byline. Include your name on the next line after the title. Include the approximate word count at the upper right, to the nearest hundred words.Ĭenter the short story title about a third of the way down the first page. This includes your real name, email address, and other contact information. Include your personal details at the upper left. Instead, follow these rules for the first page of the manuscript: Unlike a book or novel manuscript, a short story manuscript doesn’t require a separate title page. Never underline text use italics when you mean to emphasize or italicize words. This assures the editor that no pages are accidentally missing.

Don’t put this header on the first page.Īfter the last line in the manuscript, center a hash mark (#) one blank line after the end. The header in the top right corner should contain your name, then a key word from your short story title, followed by the page number. Indicate scene breaks with a blank line, and center a hash mark (#) in the center of that line. Single space between sentences, after periods. Lines should be double spaced with no extra spaces between paragraphs. Don’t do this by hitting the tab key instead, set indentation in Word using the Format → Paragraph → Section menu, or see this tutorial. Indent each paragraph by half an inch (1.25cm). Courier and Arial fonts may also be acceptable-check the submission guidelines of the magazine or anthology.īlack text on white pages only. Use 12 point Times New Roman for the entire manuscript. This is usually the default setting in Word, but check the settings on your computer to be sure.Īlign to the left the right-hand side should remain ragged. Set the margins for your manuscript to 1 inch (2.5cm) on all four sides.

Short stories to write online how to#

How to format a short story manuscriptīelow are the basic formatting rules you need to apply to your short story manuscript: The rules are there to make all manuscripts equally legible, so that the editor can quickly read many of them in a day.

Short stories to write online professional#

You want to look like a professional writer who knows their way around the industry.īesides looking amateurish, a short story manuscript that doesn’t follow industry-standard formatting rules makes it harder for the editor to read. And that’s never the impression you want to give to the person reading and judging your writing. When an editor recieves a manuscript that’s formatted in a quirky, unusual, or unexpected way, it makes the author look like an amateur.

The best way you can do that is to make sure it looks how they expect it to look-i.e., professionally-formatted. Lucky for you, applying industry-standard formatting to your short story manuscript is pretty easy! Why does short story manuscript formatting matter?Įditors of magazines and anthologies are just as busy as agents and publishers, so it’s important that their first impression of your manuscript is a good one. Short story manuscript formatting is slightly different from novel and book manuscript formatting, and it’s always a good idea to check submission guidelines for each magazine or anthology you wish to submit to, as they can-and do-differ.