Formatting a submission manuscript for agents and publishers

Agents and publishers often ask for a manuscript in a standard layout. Pendrilo can set your book that way with Book → Manuscript Format…, and then save it as a PDF.

What the manuscript layout looks like

The manuscript layout uses 12-point Courier, double-spaced. Every finished file has:

a title page with your name, contact details and word count;
your surname and a keyword from the title at the top of every page;
a page number on every page.

Before you start, check the submission guidelines of the agent or publisher. Some ask for a specific file type or font, so follow their rules if they differ from this layout.

Set up the manuscript

1. Open your book and choose Book → Manuscript Format…. The page preview switches to Manuscript, so you can see the layout as you work.
2. Fill in Your name. Use your real name, because it goes at the top left of the title page.
3. Fill in Contact details, such as your email address and postal address.
4. Under At the top of every page, check your surname and the word or two of the title that will appear as the running head.
5. Choose the Word count on the title page: Rounded, Exact or None.
6. Choose the Paper.
7. Optional: tick Underline italics, as on a typewriter if you want italics shown as underlining, which some editors still prefer.
8. Leave Include front and back matter pages unticked unless you want them. A submission usually leaves them out, so the file starts with your text.
9. Click Save Manuscript PDF…, choose where to save the file, and give it a name.

Pendrilo remembers your name and contact details, so they fill in automatically the next time you set up a manuscript for another book.

Check the file before you send it

Open the PDF and look through it before you attach it to an email or upload it to a submission form.

Check the title page: your name, contact details and word count should be correct.
Check the top of a few pages, including the first page of chapter one, for your surname and title keyword.
Check that the page numbers run in order from start to finish.
Check the last page to make sure nothing is missing.

If you change the book, run Book → Manuscript Format… again and save a new PDF. Rename the old file, so you don't send the wrong one by mistake.

If an agent asks for a Word file

The manuscript PDF is a fixed layout, so it can't be edited. If an agent or publisher asks for a Word document instead, use Book → Export for Word…. It makes a standard manuscript (.docx) in Times 12, double-spaced, with real footnotes and tables.