Formatting a Manuscript

Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Double space? Dimensions? Font?(Times New Roman, 12, and Arial, 10, are the common fonts, right?)

Please note that I'm using Microsoft Word Processor and not Microsoft Word, so I don't have them there fancy fangdangled features.

What I've heard, though by no means exhaustive:

• Double space it, margins about 1 inch on all sides
• Font is something unobtrusive and common; usually Times Roman derivative, some sans-serif, or Courier derivative
• Put a header/footer consisting of your last name and the page number on each page

There are no doubt other rules; you should probably check with whoever you want to submit it to.

Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)

That's all I needed; just something to get me started. I know it all depends on the publisher, but I needed a jumping off point. Thanks!

Actually, no. My teacher at university told me scripts are extremely standardized, not just in style, but also content (first time a character appears his name is supposed to be in all-caps, significant sound effects are to be written in all-caps and a lot of other instances of all-caps).

I would suggest either getting a book on the subject or reading a lot of scripts online. I'm sure you can also find a lot of guides online too, but make sure they're reputable. That is, make sure it's written by a proper scriptwriter and not some indie wannabe who wants to defy the system (you gotta know it before you can buck it).

I would also suggest using Celtx. It's a free software (but you can pay for features you don't need) that handles much of the actual formatting for you. It may seem a bit restricting at first, but those restrictions are due to industry standards, not the program. It's also very broad. There are setups for several different mediums beyond just film/TV. I haven't tried anything other than film, but whatever you're writing for, it's probably there.

I'm not sure that it's actually a TV/play script being written; I read 'manuscript' as a printed but unbound version of a book.

Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)

Whops, my bad.

Heh, this always happens to me. I once wrote a manuscript for a game. Because manuscript was too long we always called it the script. Cue confusion with the programmers who had their own type of "script."

I used this for a manuscript. I'm still waiting for a response.

(It does depend on the publisher to some degree, though. Shunn says never to give a short story a cover page, but Interzone specifically requests cover pages for all short stories submitted to it.)

That's Feo . . . He's a disgusting, mysoginistic, paedophilic asshat who moonlights as a shitty writer—Something Awful