Preparation of Manuscript by W. S. CHAPMAN

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 18, 1910

Preparation of Manuscript

By W. S. CHAPMAN

Writing for the Press—No. 3

Preparation of Manuscript

W. S. CHAPMAN

Writing for publication is not the bugbear so many imagine it to be. Many who shrink from the task are capable, if they would but believe it, and would write out a matter just as they would talk it to a friend. All can not use elegant language; but any one, writing naturally, can write interestingly, and the interesting article is the only one an editor desires.

Flowery rhetoric and elegant diction count for very little, except with learned celebrities, and then only in magazine articles. So take heart, and if you have the burden for it, believe that you can write, and try. Put up what you have to say in the rough, then carry it to some friend and have it corrected. Have it typewritten, then send it on its way, asking God to bless. It may come back. If it does, no harm has been done. Try again.

A knowledge of certain office and other requirements is, of course, a necessity. This knowledge, used intelligently, removes most of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles before a beginner, and goes far toward the preparation of acceptable articles.

Neatness is a prime essential. Be as accurate as possible. Leave nothing undone that will make the task of reading your manuscript an easy one to the

editor, the typesetter, and the proof-reader. This is the golden rule to be observed in the preparation of manuscript.

Write on one side of the sheet only, and use paper all of one size, preferably large note or letter size, eight by ten inches. Let it be a thin, firm sheet, not tissue, but as near to that as you can obtain. The paper should have a smooth writing surface, and not be transparent.

Never roll manuscript. Fold it once lengthwise for note paper and twice across for letter size. Be sure to place sufficient postage on your letter. Nothing will more quickly offend an editor than having to pay postage on contributed matter. Some editors refuse to accept mail on which postage is due. If you desire your communication returned, if declined, enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Some newspaper editors refuse to return rejected manuscript.

If it is possible to have your article written out on a typewriter, do not fail to have it so done. Never send in a written manuscript, especially one written with a pencil, when it is possible to avoid it. It is useless to send a written article to a magazine editor. Newspaper editors accept them because it is not always possible to have the services of a typewriter, and delay can not be tolerated; but remember that an editor looks with misgiving upon a manuscript coming to him from a new contributor, if it is not typewritten. He knows that an experienced writer will always use a typewriter when possible, and that the probability is that the copy before him is full of the blunders and errors of the beginner, and will need correcting and re-editing. To an editor the use of a pencil or pen often conveys the impression of inexperience.

Double space your lines (write on every other line), so as to leave plenty of room for the editors' notes and corrections. Let there be wide side margins to the pages, an inch or more at the left-hand side and not less than half an inch at the right. Leave a space of two lines at the foot of the page. Start the opening lines of the paragraphs well in from the marginal beginnings, so that the eye of the reader will readily perceive that these lines begin new paragraphs.

In the upper left-hand corner of the first page place your full name and post-office address. In the opposite corner the number of words your article contains. Dropping down several lines, place in the center of the page the title of your article and beneath it the name you wish to have used as the author—your own name or any assumed one, or title, thus:—

John H. Jones, —Words 9 Barrow Street, Cleveland, Ohio.