Questions about manuscript formatting pop up frequently in online discussion groups for writers. Sometimes you’ll get great help asking virtual strangers, but just as often the advice you receive will conflict, not apply to your particular situation, or be just plain wrong. (And how many novels could we write with all the time used on online forums to “debate” whether there should be one or two spaces after a period?)
This post was inspired by an online discussion where one self-appointed expert said “never” to use a tab key to indent paragraphs. More about that later, but when seeking advice in online forums, be particularly skeptical of the “always” and “never” advice.
Professional writers access established sources to learn the rules and get answers to their questions.
House Style
If applicable, this is the first source for manuscript formatting requirements you should access. A publisher will have its own editorial guidelines and contests and magazines have submission requirements. This is house style.
For submissions, there are usually few guidelines. Once your manuscript has been accepted for publication, the publisher may insist on many more.
Formatting for electronic publishing can be different from that for print. If you are submitting for publication or judging, you should follow the requirements that have been published—house style—even if when they conflict with the way you normally do things or what you have been told to do by others, or what you think “looks good.” Pros follow house style to the letter.
Style Guidebooks
House style supersedes any other source, but it is often not comprehensive. House style specifies or assumes that you will also employ a certain style book and other valid references.
Sometimes house style is a supplement to a style book. One publisher I worked with has a house guide that says this: “We use Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition.” And then they proceed to list specific “reminders and exceptions” over the course of many pages. (And by the way, this publisher says to “always use the tab key for paragraphs.” Ahem!)
Where there is no house style, and for information about grammar, usage, and punctuation, find the rules within the style book for your field. Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is generally used in book publishing. The AP Stylebook is the standard for journalism used by newspapers, broadcasters, magazines, and public relations firms. There are many others, but most of you can rely on CMOS and a good dictionary.
Familiarize yourself with the general guidelines for manuscript preparation in CMOS or the standard style book for your field, and use them for your default when no house style is specified or to supplement what house style doesn’t cover.
Common Sense & Experience
At times you’ll have a question that is not addressed specifically in house style or in a style book. Then just use your common sense. Yes! Even its editors recognize that CMOS—with its more than 1,000 pages—cannot address every single circumstance. Look for an answer in valid resources, and if that don’t help, then do what you think is best.
Be consistent. If you make a style choice, stick to it throughout your manuscript. CMOS says, “Consistency and simplicity in all matters is essential: authors should know that their manuscripts will almost always be converted into another software environment for publication and that, therefore, the consistency and accuracy of the content (i.e., the words themselves) are more important than the style of presentation.”
First and foremost, the test is how your formatting decisions affect clarity and readability. How will your choices affect the reader? Following the guidelines established by publishers and other industry professionals will help put the reader on your side.
