Submission guidelines

I accept electronic submissions only. I prefer Google Docs, The .docx format is also acceptable. 

Please plan to submit single scenes or chapters at least two days before our scheduled call. For a manuscript diagnostic, submission is due at least three weeks in advance.

If your manuscript has more than five or six active (speaking) characters, please include a character list with your submission to help me stay on track as I read.

To save time, please check your manuscript against the following general guidelines before submitting. Let readability be your guide.

Formatting basics:
  • Double-spaced.
  • 12-point font in a standard serif or sans-serif face. A larger font size is okay if you need that.
  • First-line indent and no extra space between paragraphs.
  • Left justified.
  • Margins 1″ or metric equivalent all around.
  • It’s helpful if you can number your pages.
  • Please also number your scenes or chapters.
  • Give your document a filename such as “[Your initials] Ch 1” or “[Your name] Scene 6-7” that will help me find and manage it.

Here’s an image of a well-formatted manuscript to use as a guideline.

A sample Google doc using a standard serif font, double spacing, first line indent, left justified, and correct dialogue formatting.