CHAPTER X

PREPARING AND SELLING THE MANUSCRIPT


IMPORTANCE OF GOOD MANUSCRIPT. After an article has been carefully
revised, it is ready to be copied in the form in which it will be
submitted to editors. Because hundreds of contributions are examined
every day in editorial offices of large publications, manuscripts should
be submitted in such form that their merits can be ascertained as easily
and as quickly as possible. A neatly and carefully prepared manuscript
is likely to receive more favorable consideration than a badly typed
one. The impression produced by the external appearance of a manuscript
as it comes to an editor's table is comparable to that made by the
personal appearance of an applicant for a position as he enters an
office seeking employment. In copying his article, therefore, a writer
should keep in mind the impression that it will make in the editorial
office.

FORM FOR MANUSCRIPTS. Editors expect all manuscripts to be submitted in
typewritten form. Every person who aspires to write for publication
should learn to use a typewriter. Until he has learned to type his work
accurately, he must have a good typist copy it for him.

A good typewriter with clean type and a fresh, black, non-copying ribbon
produces the best results. The following elementary directions apply to
the preparation of all manuscripts: (1) write on only one side of the
paper; (2) allow a margin of about three quarters of an inch on all
sides of the page; (3) double space the lines in order to leave room for
changes, sub-heads, and other editing.