Formatting

Since I am a novel writer, I know novel formatting. Where does one get formatting requirements?  From agent and publisher submission guidelines which are standard on publisher/agent web sites these days.  If writing a novel to send out to an agent or editor for print publication the standard page format is:  one inch margins all around, page number in header in the top right hand corner, title of book/last name in the header on the left, double space, courier or times new roman 12 pitch. In the "old days" before computers, this formatting allowed about 250 words per page which helped editors determine how many words the novel had.  Caveat:  always check submission guidelines for the publisher/agent you are targeting to make sure you have the formatting they are requesting.

I used to write in courier but now I write in TNR. When I have converted manuscripts I loose page count. I'm not sure why so it is now confusing when one talks about page or word count for a novel. Now I go by computer word count instead of  multiplying 250 by the number of pages.

For digital publishing, again one has to go by what the publisher needs. Digital readers do not have pages. So when I submitted to BookBaby, I took out the pages, header information, put in Table of Contents by Chapter, About the Author, Title Page, and disclaimer page. The e-publisher links the Chapters in The Table of Contents to the Chapter in the book. They also required paragraph formatting and not Tabs for indenting paragraphs.

For poetry, short story, essays, etc. same advice applies. Check the submission guidelines for the agent, publisher or contest you want to submit to.  Good luck!