The first paragraph of your manuscript should look like any other
When it comes to indentation, keeps things as simple and uniform as possible. Don’t take your cues from the way published books look.
ParagraphsA collection of 5 posts
Indenting paragraphs without the tab key
Set up paragraph styles in your word processor to handle pesky tasks like indentation. Your editor and her staff will thank you for it.
Setting off a new paragraph
A reader writes to ask: Why not have a triple space between paragraphs? (Because of the double space between the lines, the paragraphs are not distinguished.) I infer from your question that you're confused...
Formatting email submissions
A reader writes to ask: Thanks for all the useful, easy-to-follow information about formatting on your web site. If I were submitting pages by snail mail, I think I'd be set. But the vast...
Proper manuscript format for the 21st century
I wrote the original version of my manuscript formatting guide in 1993, modeling it after a much older two-page guide I received from Damon Knight in 1985. Back in those days, even for those who'...