Sending a manuscript off to a potential publisher can be a nerve-wracking experience from the point of view of a new writer, and not just because of the work that goes into finalizing the piece of writing. There are cover letters, SASE’s, and bunches of little details of formatting, any of which could be cause for rejection of the manuscript without it being given a decent look.

During my time editing a small press SF/Fantasy magazine, I saw manuscripts of all shapes and sizes, and a wide range of different formats, styles, and packages. I’m hoping that my insight from “the other side” will help alleviate some of the stress that writers may feel over the process of getting the manuscript ready to go in the mail.

Editors expect certain things when a manuscript is presented to them. Many of these details are important conveniences and safeguards to help insure that the manuscript is treated and tracked properly, and to make the work easier to publish if it is accepted. A few of the details are simply matters of tradition.

When you read the various manuals on writing, one of the things that they put the most emphasis on is the SASE. It also tends to feature pretty prominently in the writers guidelines of many magazines. For those not familiar with this concept, the idea is that the writer needs to send an addressed envelope with sufficient postage for the return of the manuscript. This is an absolute requirement of many markets, and if it’s not included can result in your manuscript being dumped unread.

Honestly, as an editor I put all the SASE’s in a folder and there were times when I didn’t even bother to use them. Still, there is such a tradition built up around the importance of the SASE that failure to include one is pretty much an unforgivable sin in many markets. Contrary to what you might think, the issue is really not about money, although the expenses of sending back every rejected manuscript would certainly be a burden on a small publication like the one I ran. It’s really about time and effort. The SASE can simply be sealed with the manuscript and dropped in a mailbox. And saving your editor time and effort is very important.

To set up a SASE, simply bring the whole package to the post office unsealed, have them weigh it, stamp it, and then put the same amount of postage on the return envelope before sealing it up. You can also get a postal scale or meter if you’re sending a lot of things out.

The only modification to the SASE rule comes when you have a disposable manuscript. This is becoming more and more the standard, as writing is seldom done on typewriters anymore, and authors usually have the document available in electronic form. If you don’t need your manuscript back (and you should always keep a copy regardless of how you’re putting it together), you may designate it as disposable, giving the publisher permission to throw it out once a decision has been made. You still need a business letter-sized SASE, but it no longer needs sufficient postage for the return of your manuscript. In addition, you need to clearly state in your cover letter that the manuscript is disposable, and should also include “disposable manuscript” in your document’s header. Always check the writers’ guidelines for your market to see if they have any additional requirements or guidelines on disposable manuscripts.

Never send in a disposable manuscript without a SASE and request contact be email. There may be good reasons why the publisher does not want to use email to contact his or her freelancers. It’s always good to provide email contact information as an option for the submissions editor, but never demand that communication be handled that way.

The envelope you use to send the manuscript in should be addressed to the submissions editor (or fiction editor, poetry editor, as appropriate), by name if possible, by title otherwise. Do not try to do anything gimmicky (artwork, decorations, or samples of your writing on the outside of the envelope), and certainly do not mark the envelope as “urgent” or add anything extra to draw attention to it. Such indulgences simply make you look unprofessional. Make sure your return address is clearly on the envelope.

I discussed cover letters in a previous post, but to paraphrase: Include a cover letter, keep it simple, and make sure it includes clear contact information.

The remaining component of your package is the manuscript itself. It should be typed. I would be surprised if there are any markets out there that will even look at a handwritten manuscript (certainly no paying markets will). Make sure the manuscript is page-numbered. Include your full contact information on the first page of your manuscript. Editors are only human. They lose things. Things like cover letters. Things like the envelope you sent the manuscript in. Things like your SASE. I can’t emphasize this enough. I recently had the displeasure of being unable to use two excellent poems in a collection I was editing because the poet had not included her contact information on the manuscript or cover letter, and the envelope was lost.

Your manuscript should also include a header on every page with your last name and the title (or a shortened version of the title). Many writers’ manuals will suggest you use Courier or a similar nonproportional font. You should certainly avoid using any fancy or unusual font. The work should be double spaced, left aligned (not justified), 12-point, with a one-inch margin on each side.

Do not include a copyright notice on your manuscript. It’s unnecessary and flags you as an amateur who does not understand how copyright works.

Finally, you may wish to include a disk with your manuscript in electronic form. Again, check the publication’s writers’ guidelines for further information on this. If you do include a disk, include one plain text version, and one MS Word version on the disk. You should not, of course, have anything other than your manuscript on the disk, and make sure the disk is labeled with the manuscript title, the format(s) that it is saved in, and your full contact information. Never send a disk without a hard copy. The disk (much like providing an email address) is there to give an additional option to the editor. It is not a replacement for the printed manual.

There are plenty of sources of more detailed information on manuscript format, as well as good examples available online. By searching under “manuscript format” on Google, I found dozens of helpful sites. Here are a few articles that discuss some of the points I made here as well as some of the finer details of things like punctuation, line spacing, page numbering, and word counts.

Article from Speculations

Article from SFWA

Second SFWA Article

William Shunn's Article

In my own experience, I found that it was possible to overlook some errors in formatting and packaging if they did not result in a major inconvenience to me. Anything that made my job as editor more difficult, however, was an immediate strike against the manuscript. As you pursue your freelance writing career, you will find that adhering strictly to the established standards of manuscript format become more and more important as you send your work out to semi-pro and professional markets. Remember, when competing in a field of professionals, you would do well to look as professional as possible yourself.