Standard Manuscript Format for Novels: How to Format Your Manuscript for Agents

Standard manuscript format is the plain layout that agents, editors and magazines expect fiction to arrive in: 12-point type, double spacing, one-inch margins and a header on every page. The best-known version is William Shunn's Proper Manuscript Format, and most submission guidelines that ask for "standard format" mean something close to it.

This guide goes through each part of a novel manuscript, from the title page to the last line, then gives a checklist to compare your file against. An agent's own guidelines always come first. If they ask for something different, do what they ask.

At a glance

• Times New Roman or Courier New, 12 point, double-spaced, one-inch margins, left-aligned with a ragged right edge.
• A separate title page with your contact details and the word count, rounded.
• A header on every page after the title page: your surname, a keyword from the title, the page number.
• Each chapter starts on a new page. Paragraphs are indented half an inch, with no extra space between them.

Why the format matters

A margin won't decide whether an agent takes your book. The format matters because it makes your manuscript easy to read on any screen or printout, gives an editor room between the lines to mark it up, and shows you've done your homework. Shunn puts it this way: your manuscript is a blueprint for a finished book, not the book itself. So leave out drop caps, decorative fonts and anything else that belongs to book design.

The checklist

These are the points from Shunn's 2024 checklist, sorted by where they apply.

Shunn's guide comes in two editions. The classic one uses Courier, and the modern one uses Times New Roman. Either is accepted. Times New Roman is the more common choice today.

Title page

A novel manuscript has its own title page. A short story starts the text on the first page, but a novel doesn't.

• Upper left: your legal name, address, phone number and email, single-spaced. If you have an agent, their details can go here instead.
• Upper right: the word count, rounded. Shunn's sample novel shows "about 80,000 words". Round to the nearest thousand for a novel.
• A third to halfway down, centered: the title, then "A Novel by" or "by" and the name you write under.

If you use a pen name, your legal name still goes in the contact block, and the pen name goes in the byline. That's why Shunn's sample has two different names.

Page headers and numbers

Every page after the title page has a header in the upper right: your surname, a keyword from the title and the page number, separated by slashes.

Slaughter / Silvertide / 12

Numbering starts at 1 on the first page of text, not on the title page. The header lets an editor put a stack of printed pages back in order, and it keeps your name on every page.

Chapters

Start every chapter on a new page. Put the chapter heading a few lines down from the top, then begin the text. If your book is divided into parts, the part heading goes above the chapter heading on the same page.

Chapter titles are optional. "Chapter 1" alone is fine.

Body text

• Indent every paragraph by half an inch, including the first paragraph of a chapter. Use the paragraph indent setting rather than the Tab key or spaces.
• No extra space between paragraphs. Double spacing and indents already separate them.
• One space after a period.
• Italics for emphasis and titles. Underlining was for typewriters.

Scene breaks

Mark a scene break with a single centered # on its own line. A blank line alone can disappear at the bottom of a page, and the editor won't know there was a break.

Word count

Count the words in your word processor and round them. Leave out the title page. Agents read the number to see whether a book fits its genre, so a rounded figure is all they need. Our guide to novel word counts has the ranges by genre.

When agents ask for something else

Many agents don't want a full manuscript at first. They ask for a query letter and the first five or ten pages pasted into the email, or a form on their site. In that case:

• Pasted pages lose formatting. Paste plain text, keep paragraph breaks, and drop the header and title page.
• Attachments follow their rules. If they ask for a DOCX or PDF, the standard format above applies. Name the file with your surname and the title, like Slaughter_Silvertide.docx.
• Read the page every time. Some agents want single spacing for pasted samples or a synopsis on a separate page. Their page wins.

Exporting a manuscript in standard format from TypeTak

TypeTak is an AI writing editor where you write alongside an agent. Here it's for turning the draft you wrote in it into a submission file without rebuilding the layout in another program.

• One preset sets the page. Exporting to DOCX or PDF, choose the Letter · 12pt · 200% preset under Export. You get Letter paper, 12-point text, double spacing and one-inch margins, with every chapter on a new page.
• The header and front page are filled in for you. Enter your name and contact details for the cover, and the first page carries them in the upper left with the title a third of the way down. Every other page gets a header with your name, the title and the page number, separated by slashes.
• The font is one of the two. Set your editor font to Times New Roman or Courier New in Formatting, and the exported file uses it.

The upper-right corner of the cover shows the page count, not the word count, so type the rounded word count there yourself before sending. Check the finished file against the checklist above and against the agent's own guidelines.

FAQ

What is standard manuscript format?

A plain layout for submitting fiction: 12-point Times New Roman or Courier New, double-spaced, one-inch margins, half-inch indents, a header with your surname, title keyword and page number, and contact details on the first page.

Is Shunn manuscript format the same as standard manuscript format?

Mostly, yes. William Shunn's Proper Manuscript Format is the most widely cited version, and agents who ask for standard format generally mean something like it. Individual agents and magazines can still ask for changes.

Should I use Times New Roman or Courier?

Either. Shunn's modern edition uses Times New Roman and the classic edition uses Courier. Times New Roman is the more common choice today.

Does a novel manuscript need a title page?

Yes. A novel has a separate title page with your contact details, the rounded word count, the title and your byline. A short story puts all of this at the top of the first page of text.

Do I single-space or double-space a manuscript?

Double-space the text. Only the contact block on the title page is single-spaced.

How do I show a scene break in a manuscript?

Put a single # centered on its own line.

Sources

Proper Manuscript Format

Shunn: A brief manuscript formatting checklist (2024)·Shunn: sample novel manuscript·Shunn: classic edition full guide