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Craft of Writing

Lucy Rankin

Five Ways to Increase Your Chances

Setting your writing apart from the rest is not always about style, or even content.

Many manuscripts are tossed before they are even read. Why? Because the author neglected to follow a few simple steps that could have allowed the writer to rise to the top. Most editors will not read, let alone accept, manuscripts that do not follow the following five guidelines.

1. Proofread before sending the manuscript out. Make sure that it is free of grammatical and spelling errors. Editors and agents will often toss a manuscript that has more than three errors in the first page. If the story is polished to a high shine, you are helping them get to page two.

2. Read the guidelines for submission format. If none are given, an industry standard is 1 ˝” margins, top, bottom, left and right. Your name, address, phone number, email address, and word count should appear, single-spaced, in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. The title of the story should be about five lines down, centered on the page, followed by the next line with the words By: Your Name. When sending to a print publication, body of text must be double-spaced and left-justified (ragged right side, with all of the left side lining up). Your last name and the page number should appear in the upper right corner on all subsequent pages. At the end of the story, write THE END.

3. Print on good quality white paper. Use only one side of the page. If a page gets a coffee ring on it before you send it out, reprint it. Remember, this is the only shot you have at an interview with the editor.

4. Include a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) when using the mail system. To cut down on shipping costs, mark the manuscript “Disposable” in the cover letter and include a #10 SASE.

5. Be professional. This includes the cover letter or any emails that you send. You are asking the editor to buy your words and to enter into a professional relationship with you. The letter that you write is your interview.

If you want the sale, use these five easy steps that separate the amateurs from the professionals.