A perfectly good novel can stumble at the first hurdle for reasons that have nothing to do with the prose. If your manuscript arrives in a decorative font, single-spaced and without page numbers, the agent has to work harder to read it than they should. That is a poor way to begin a working relationship. Standard formatting is not a hoop to jump through; it is a courtesy, and it quietly signals that you understand the business you are asking to join.
The format most UK agents expect
British agencies vary in the details, but the broad conventions are consistent. Unless an agency's submission guidelines say otherwise — and those guidelines always take precedence — this is the safe baseline:
- Font: a plain serif such as Times New Roman, Garamond or Georgia, in 12pt. Not Calibri, not Comic Sans, not anything that draws attention to itself.
- Line spacing: double (2.0) throughout, including the title page and any synopsis attached to the manuscript.
- Page size and margins: A4 with roughly 2.5cm margins all round. Enough white space that a reader can annotate the pages.
- Alignment: left-aligned with a ragged right edge. Justified text creates uneven gaps between words and looks like a published book, which it is not yet.
- Paragraphs: either indent the first line by about 1.25cm and leave no extra space between paragraphs, or set block paragraphs with a single blank line between them and no indent. Pick one and apply it consistently.
- Spacing after full stops: one space, not two. Word processors handle this themselves if you let them.
Black text on a white background, no coloured headings, no highlighting, no borders or shading. The document should look unremarkable, because unremarkable is what makes it easy to read.
Headers, page numbers and identifying your pages
Every page after the title page should carry a header with your surname, the title and a page number — something like Fletcher / THE GLASS ORCHARD / 47. Set it up once in your word processor so the numbering updates automatically. If a single page gets separated from the rest, the header tells the agent instantly where it came from.
The title page
Keep it bare. Your legal name, your contact details, the title of the work, the genre or category, and the word count. If you write under a pseudonym, note both names so the agent knows who they are corresponding with. Some agencies want the first three chapters pasted into the body of an email rather than attached, so check before you assume.
Chapters and scene breaks
Start each chapter on a fresh page with a simple heading: Chapter One or 1. Within a chapter, indicate a scene break with a blank line and a centred hash mark (#) or three asterisks. Never leave a run of empty lines and hope the reader infers the break.
Word count and how to present it
For a novel, round to the nearest thousand: about 92,000 words. For novellas, short story collections or children's books, give the exact figure. Put it on the title page and repeat it in your covering letter or email, along with the title and genre.
Be truthful. Inflating a 45,000-word manuscript to "80,000 words" does not make it a longer book; it just makes you look like someone who does not read submission guidelines. If you are unsure whether your length suits the market, look at recent books in your genre and be honest with yourself about the comparison.
File types and file names
A Word document (.docx) is the default answer and the one most likely to open cleanly at the other end. Some agencies also accept .doc or .rtf; a few ask for a PDF of the synopsis. Formats such as .pages or .odt should only be sent if they are specifically requested.
Name your files so they can be identified without opening them:
- For the full manuscript: Surname_Title_Full Manuscript.docx
- For partial submissions: Surname_Title_First Three Chapters.docx
- For the synopsis: Surname_Title_Synopsis.docx
Avoid file names like final version 3 REALLY final.docx. It is a small thing that suggests a larger disorganisation.
Formatting the synopsis
Most UK agents ask for a one-page synopsis, occasionally two. Use the same font as your manuscript but single or 1.5 spacing, with a header reading Surname / Title / Synopsis. Write it in the present tense and the third person, and tell the whole story — including the ending. A synopsis that stops at a cliffhanger tells an agent nothing about whether the book resolves well, which is precisely what they need to know.
Name your principal characters clearly and keep the cast small enough to follow. Some writers capitalise a character's name the first time it appears; it is not obligatory, but whatever you choose, be consistent. Concentrate on cause and effect: who wants what, what stands in the way, what it costs them. Subplots can be compressed into a sentence or left out altogether if they do not affect the central arc.
Mistakes that get noticed immediately
- Using tabs or repeated spaces to indent paragraphs, which collapses the moment anything is edited.
- Leaving tracked changes, comments or highlighted passages in the file.
- Mixing fonts, sizes or line spacing because chapters were pasted in from different documents.
- Starting a manuscript on page one of a document that already has three title pages and an acknowledgements section in front of it.
- Missing page numbers, or numbering that restarts with every chapter.
- Sending a file that is far larger than it needs to be because of embedded images or unused styles.
A final check before you press send
Read the agency's submission guidelines one more time, slowly. Then run through this sequence: open the document, scroll to the middle and check the header and page number; confirm the font and spacing are uniform across the whole file; check the title page shows your name, the title, the genre and the word count; confirm the file name follows the convention the agency prefers; and check that your covering email states the title, genre, word count and anything the guidelines ask for, such as a short biography or a note on comparable titles.
Then send it, and resist the urge to tinker. Formatting will not sell a manuscript on its own, but it removes an unnecessary reason for a reader to put it down. Get it right once, save the template, and every future submission becomes a five-minute job rather than an afternoon of fiddling.
Photo: Ron Lach / Pexels
