Learn industry-standard manuscript formatting for novels and short stories. Proper formatting signals professionalism and gets your work taken seriously by agents and publishers.
When you submit your manuscript to a literary agent or publishing house, the first thing they notice isn't your story — it's the formatting. A properly formatted manuscript tells the reader you understand the publishing industry and respect their time. A sloppy submission with inconsistent spacing, wrong margins, or missing page numbers can land your manuscript in the rejection pile before a single word is read.
Standard manuscript format has evolved over decades to serve a simple purpose: it makes the text easy to read, easy to edit, and easy to estimate word counts at a glance. Every professional editor, agent, and publisher knows exactly what to expect when they open a properly formatted manuscript.
Whether you are submitting a novel to a big-five publisher or a short story to a literary magazine, following the standard format is non-negotiable. Scriptor helps you achieve perfect formatting with its built-in manuscript export options, so you can focus on writing while the software handles the technical details.
Industry-standard manuscript format — often called "Shunn format" for short fiction or "standard manuscript format" for novels — follows a specific set of rules. Here is what every manuscript needs.
One inch (2.54 cm) on all sides. This provides space for editors and agents to make notes and corrections directly on the page. Most word processors default to one-inch margins, but always verify before submitting.
12-point Courier New or Times New Roman. Courier is preferred because each character takes the same width, making word counts easy to estimate. Times New Roman is acceptable for most novel submissions. No script, decorative, or sans-serif fonts.
The entire manuscript must be double-spaced. Single spacing makes the text dense and hard for editors to mark up. Double spacing leaves room for copyedits, queries, and comments between the lines.
Every page except the title page must include a header with the author's last name, the manuscript title (or a shortened version), and the page number. This ensures pages stay together even if separated.
First-line indentation of 0.5 inches for every paragraph. No extra space between paragraphs — the indent signals a new paragraph. Block quotes, scene breaks, and chapter openings have special formatting rules.
Use a single hash mark (#) or three asterisks centered on their own line to indicate a scene break. This is the standard way to signal a shift in time, location, or point of view within a chapter.
Your title page is the first thing an agent or editor sees. It must be clean, professional, and contain all the necessary information. Center the text on the page, about one-third of the way down. Include your manuscript title, your name (or pen name), your contact information in the bottom left or right corner, and the approximate word count in the top right corner.
For short story submissions following Shunn format, the title page also includes the story length, your legal name if using a pen name, and your mailing address. The title should be in all caps or title case — not bold, not underlined, not italicized. Scriptor's manuscript template generates a perfect title page with all fields populated automatically.
Many agents now accept electronic submissions as Word documents or PDFs. When submitting digitally, still follow the same formatting rules. Scriptor's export to DOCX and PDF preserves your manuscript formatting perfectly, including headers, page numbers, and title page layout.
For short story submissions to literary magazines, the Shunn manuscript format — created by author and editor William Shunn — is the gold standard. It specifies precise formatting details beyond the core rules: the manuscript should use Courier 12pt, ragged-right margins (not justified), a single space after periods, and section headers that include author name and story title on alternating pages.
Shunn format also has specific rules for the cover letter page, submitting to multiple markets simultaneously, and electronic submissions. Following Shunn format signals to editors that you are a serious writer who has done their homework.
Scriptor's formatting presets include a dedicated Shunn mode that configures margins, headers, font, spacing, and indentation automatically. You can switch between novel manuscript format and Shunn format with a single click, ensuring your submission matches whatever standard the market requires.
Even experienced writers make formatting errors. Here are the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Do not use Arial, Calibri, or any other modern font. Stick to Courier 12pt or Times New Roman 12pt. Script editors expect this and anything else looks amateurish.
In standard manuscript format, you do not add extra blank lines between paragraphs. The first-line indent signals the new paragraph. Extra spacing inflates the page count and wastes paper.
Your header must appear on every page after the title page. It should include your last name, the title, and the page number. Scriptor's header system automatically applies this to every page in your manuscript.
Always use left-aligned (ragged-right) text, never full justification. Justified text creates uneven word spacing that makes editing harder. Courier manuscripts in particular look terrible justified.
On the title page, the manuscript title should be plain text — no bold, no underlining, no all-caps except for the title itself. Let the content speak, not the formatting.
Scriptor was built by writers who understand that formatting is tedious but essential. Instead of fighting with Microsoft Word styles or wrestling with Scrivener's compile settings, Scriptor gives you one-click manuscript formatting that produces industry-standard output every time.
When you are ready to submit, simply choose your export format. Scriptor supports DOCX for agents who require Word files and PDF for publishers who want a print-ready submission. The formatting presets include Standard Novel Format, Shunn Short Story Format, and Custom configurations that you can save and reuse.
Scriptor also handles the details that are easy to forget: automatic page numbering that starts from page one after the title page, consistent headers on every page, proper first-line indentation, and correct double spacing throughout. No more manually checking each element before submission.
For an in-depth look at how Scriptor compares to other writing tools for formatting, explore the detailed feature comparison. You can also see how Scriptor stacks up against Scrivener and Word for manuscript preparation.
Before you hit send on your manuscript submission, run through this quick checklist:
Using Scriptor's manuscript formatting presets, every item on this checklist is handled automatically. You can spend your energy on craft, not formatting. Once the formatting is right, focus on polishing your prose with our self-editing guide.
Scriptor's one-click manuscript export gives you industry-standard formatting every time. No wrestling with styles or compile settings.