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One of the most important priorities of evey online business should be their copywriting. Online copywriting skills are a "must have" for anyone who is thinking about real success with their online business.
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My bookcase takes up one whole wall in the family room, from floor to ceiling. It shows my eclectic reading tastes... fiction, non-fiction, Harry Potter next to murder mysteries and metaphysical literature. Also there are books I've written for the...
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Writing a book - tips from an author #5
Secrets of the Manuscript Format. You'd be surprised how many
wannabe novel writers fall at the second-to-last hurdle -
presenting their work to prospective agents and publishers.
Believe it or not, there IS a preferred manuscript format that
will help make sure your work (that you sweated blood over!)
doesn't just get filed in the 'round cabinet' due to typos, font
choice, or other formatting issues. This preferred manuscript
submission format is discussed in detail at www.GetPlotted.com, and
there's even an example for you, but here's a quick overview
that should prove useful.
First thing to remember - if it's hard to read, you'll find it
hard to get them to read it! Think clean and professional.
Reprint each time - don't send out dog-eared versions. It also
needs to have space for corrections and notes in case they DO
start reading it and enjoy it enough to comment. Laser printing
is best, or a good inkjet. Make sure your cartridges are not
running out. Courier is the font of choice, as sans serif fonts
tend to get tiring on the eye after a while. Font size is also
important. 12 point MINIMUM - 14 is better. And for God's sake,
double space it! When writing a novel, readability is important
- editors bin things that make their eyes hurt!
Use the best quality paper you can afford - at
www.GetPlotted.com they
recommend a standard 90 gms (20 lb.) white bond, at 8.5x11
inches, or A4. Margins of at least an inch are necessary, and an
inch and a half at the sides is better. Indent paragraphs,
ALWAYS. Leave a space after every period/fullstop, comma,
semicolon etc. Don't be tempted to right justify - the agent or
printer has no interest in your design or typesetting skills -
its your writing that is the thing of interest.
Not generally known, but a good tip when you write a book, is to
avoid starting a paragraph on the last line of a page (or ending
one on the first line of a page). These 'widows and orphans'
just look weird. Number each page - top right is best. A header
is also useful, as you need to send it in unbound. Manuscripts
DO get dropped, and without headers, it's a pain to figure out
what story a loose page came from. By the way, don't EVER send
your only copy - always ensure you have backups on at least 2
disks, or 2 spare copies printed out. As they say over at www.GetPlotted.com, the
time your backup will fail you is the time you only have the
one. And by the way, don't forget to spel chick it!
About the author:
Copyright www.GetPlotted.com. You may
reproduce this article as long as you do so in its entirity, and
preserve working links.
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