Formatting question

[allmywires]

I've had custom tabs set up on my Word for donkey's years now because aesthetically I don't (or didn't) like huge tabs in my work. Now I need to go back and format my manuscript, what's the expected/accepted tab size? My piddling ones don't look good once I put it in full-screen double-spaced lines.

 

[Abernovo]

I presume Word works the same as Open/LibreOffice. Can you set it for Automatic First Line Indent?

I find that Open/Libre automatically lines the text up in relation to page borders, so I presume Word does the same.

The best guide I've found was this. Shunn's formatting is recommended by several magazines, including Asimov's and I've seen him referenced by an agent before. There's pages for short story and novel formats.

 

[allmywires]

Ahh, very helpful, thanks!

 

[Abernovo]

You're most welcome.

 

[The Judge]

When you say tabs, you mean just the first line indent? Teresa talks about this (and other formatting issues) here http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/foru...r-manuscript-read-this-before-starting-a.html

 

[allmywires]

Ah, thank ye kindly. Goodness me, my tabs look humongous now

 

[Mouse]

Ooh, does that mean you've finished it? I pondered formatting mine the other day, then told myself to get on and write it first.

 

[allmywires]

Very close to the end! Only a few more scenes left.

 

[Mouse]

Same here!

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Well, I don't use Word, but the default on Works is a half an inch, and I feel it looks fine.


Anything more is really ridiculous, and anything less I feel isn't quite enough to level a paragraph. Of course, I also use the Justified style of lining, simply because published works are presented in such a manner. Poetry can get away without it as it's meant to be line by line and syllable by syllable, but prose can't. I just think the other line styles look horrible.