This topic is intended to address new considerations for manuscript formats that come about as a result of all the new ways of submitting stories for consideration, ie, disks, Internet e-mail, an attached e-mail file, etc.
| Somebody in the "I Wish Writers Would..." thread said something to this point. I think it was that Smart Quotes are a real pain in the neck. Since reading that, I've turned mine off before sending things thru email. Maybe they account for the strange squares and stuff that appear in the middle of people's stories when they're emailed for critiques? Good writing, all! Karen |
| At SpaceWays Weekly we only take ASCII file submissions. You can embed them in an email message or send as an attachment. Do not indicate any italics, bold, underline etc. as we also mail our issues out as plain ASCII files and therefore, we cannot publish italics, bold etc.Don't double space, except between paragraphs.For more information on our format, visit our website and use the form to request a sample issue.http://www.mirror.org/spaceways Rigel Chiokis |
| Yeah, Kent. When I queried Denise about exact format, she suggested RTF, but compromised on HTML (since I can't send or receive a true binary through Juno).I think what this really points out is that we're all still too new at the electronic subs game! |
| Of course, the guidelines should be consulted. I'm just kind of curious what overall changes ppl are seeing in e-mail subs. And I'm wondering what effects they're having on the buying process. Ie, perhaps an editor would be more likely to buy on impulse something that's all ready to go into his magazine and needs nothing more than a word changed here or there.Plus, with e-mail, there's the obvious advantage for us writers of no postage to send in a sub. A few less expenses to worry with.Kent: when I checked Speculations web guidelines on electronic formats it really didn't say much about it, although it does indicate you prefer e-subs rather than snail mail. Does the electronic sub have a definite edge then over the regular snail-mail?Just curious. reneejean |
| What Tippi Said. Query the editor if you have any questions, please.However. The electronic submission that would require the least amount of reformatting to go into Speculations:1: is single-spaced, with hard returns only at the ends of paragraphs.2: indicates italics _like this_, not *like this* or (heaven forfend) LIKE THIS. (And has no other fancy formatting--boldface or otherwise--anywhere inside it, just like a printed manuscript.)3: is embedded within the body of an e-mail message as plain old text and is not an attached file. |
| The format is whatever the guidelines say is the format. ;-) When in doubt, I always query. |
| I always double space between paragraphs. It's required in the guidelines when you send them into Jackhammer Ezine, and i feel that it makes a e-sub look cleaner and less crammed, so i do it for other markets. |
| Well, since we get email submissions here (yes, my employer can indeed spell email . . .)No. Do not double-space an electronic submissions. I can guarantee that somebody's screen width will be differentfrom yours,resulting in lines that look like the foregoing. And, since it's on screen, nobody cares about margins, etc.We request WordPerfect 5.1, RTF, or Word 6.0 formats. |
| I'll start. Do you still doublespace a manuscript that you're submitting in an attached e-mail file? Or do you make it look more like it would in the printed version? reneejean |