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When I submitted my first manuscript years ago, I knew nothing about writing and publishing etiquette or formatting a manuscript. I have no idea what that submission looked like other than it being typed on white paper. I doubt I knew enough to double space. I hope I used correction tape to mend writing typos. At any rate, the essay was accepted, twice during that same Christmas season. Maybe content triumphed over mechanics.
I subsequently learned that writing mechanics is important. A contest judge revealed that my story was tied with two others for First Place, and mine won because the others had typos and other mistakes. She decided that authors shouldn’t be rewarded for carelessness. So, I won by default, but it taught me that appearance counts.
Today, many writing submissions are electronic. Unfortunately, the ease and speed of e-mail has fostered casualness and carelessness. As Contributing Editor to TPW Magazine, to Yesterday’s Magazette, and as Editor of Doorways Memoirs, I’m often jarred by what I see. Even writers who list an impressive number of previous publications submit stories riddled with writing errors and in a format that it is all over the place. It’s true that submissions sometimes become jumbled during transmission. Computer programs don’t all speak the same language. You can’t stop cyber gremlins, but you can make sure your manuscript looks presentable when you send it.
For starters, read and follow the magazine’s guidelines. If asked to use a certain font and size, do so. Never use all italics, caps, bold, or a font resembling handwriting. Follow guidelines on spacing, and whether to indent paragraphs or use left margin justified.
As with hard copy manuscripts (still used by some publications), begin with your personal information in the upper left corner: Name, address, city, zip code, e-mail address, and phone number. Drop a few lines and put the title of your story and your byline. Drop a few more lines and begin the story. At the end, add a brief bio. If your submission is nonfiction, your bio can include why you are qualified to write about the particular subject.
When submitting first time around (manuscript or query letter), address the editor by his full name: Dear Mr. Field or Dear Henry Field. If the editor signs his reply Henry Field, he probably prefers formality. If he signs it Henry, that’s a signal that you can call him Henry in your correspondence.
Again, follow submitting guidelines. If they say No Attachments, don’t send an attachment without checking with the editor first. She might allow it, or she might walk you through copying and pasting the story into the body of the e-mail. Editors are not ogres (well, maybe some are); they were once novice writers and are willing to help.
It’s true that software programs make it easier for editors to correct and revise electronic submissions. By the same measure, it’s easier for writers to edit their work before sending. Use spell and grammar checks, but don’t entirely depend on them. Spell-check will find misspelled words but it can’t know if you meant to use rein or rain, peek or peak, lose or loose. Grammar check is not always correct; mine often tells me to use it’s when the correct word is its. But I like having the word brought to my attention because it gives me a chance to ensure I have it right.
The error I see most often in manuscripts is the incorrect use of punctuation in dialogue. Remember, the comma goes inside the closing quotation mark. For instance, “I’m flying to Paris tonight,” she said. Not “I’m flying to Paris tonight”, she said. When splitting a quote, it’s: “Don’t look now,” he warned, “but your ex-wife is at the next table.”
If you want to make an impression on an editor, be sure it’s a good impression. Scrutinize your manuscript and have another person read it before hitting the Send button.
Lastly, if you have a spam filter on your computer, be sure to set it to allow e-mail from the publications to which you submit. Otherwise you might miss out on that message we all hope to receive: We have accepted your story for our holiday issue.
Madonna is the editor of Doorways Memoirs and the author of Swinging Sisters, Masquerade: The Swindler Who Conned J. Edgar Hoover, and the newly published Dolls Remembered.
You can visit her at: www.madonnadrieschristensen.com