But the original question I was answering, Lanista, was what to do when guidelines of that sort are NOT presented. So telling someone to do what the guidelines tell them is not a helpful answer. In context, what I was saying, and do say, is when you can't find out, go with the standard.
Major publishers, as a general rule, do not go into the specifics of manuscript mechanics in their submission guidelines -- they assume that any aspiring writer with a professional attitude is going to know the industry standard. Truly, I don't think they would appreciate a hundred calls a day asking "should I use Courier or not." Also, their listings usually appear in many different places; things get left out, things get garbled. They know this. If you know they prefer Times New Roman, yes, use it; if they are silent on the subject of which font to use or how big your margins are supposed to be, go with the standard, and don't sit their paralyzed with fear because the information you are seeking is not out there. Too many aspiring writers are intimidated by the whole process as it is, they feel it is hopelessly complicated and full of traps. It is actually pretty straight forward.
As for small publishers versus large: I have nothing against small publishers, but the idea that you should start small and work your way up is not very realistic. It rarely happens. A better strategy is to start out submitting to the publisher(s) you would most like to see publish your book. IF they reject you, start working your way down your list. If you start small and they buy your book, you'll never know whether a major publisher would have bought it on your first or second submission.
This is not theory or speculation on my part; it is the result of experience. I began by submitting my first book to paperback publishers, because I didn't have the confidence to send it to a hardback publisher. I sold it very quickly to the oldest SFF imprint in American and they treated me very well. BUT, at that time they did not publish books in hardback, they did not keep their books in print for very long, and they did not reprint the backlist when a writer produced a new book. There were other disadvantages. (Eleven books later, I'm still not published in hardback in the English language.) So now I wonder how my career might have gone if I had aimed a little higher to begin with -- if I had been rejected then and ended up where I did end up, there would have been no possibility for regret, because it wasn't a bad place to end up. But it could have been better, and now I'll never know if it would have been. Therefore, I advise unpublished writers to aim high in the beginning. All it costs you is a little time.
Be professional, be sensible, aim high. I am sorry if you find that irresponsible advice.
