What Is It With Publishers Wanting Manuscripts To Be Double-spaced?

A double-spaced manuscript is much easier to read than a single-spaced manuscript. Publishers may also wish to make comments on your work, and double-spaced manuscripts make it much easier for them to do so. As well as double-spacing your work, you need to make sure that the text is large enough to read (usually size 12) and the font is usually something clear, such as Times New Roman.

To use double line spacing, click on 'Format' in Microsoft Word, then 'Paragraph'. Underneath where it says 'Line spacing', select 'Double'. If you have already set your work out in single line spacing then all you need to do is higlight the text and then change it to double using the same instructions.

Also, publishers prefer writers to use page numbers on their manuscripts. To use page numbers, go to 'Insert', then 'Page Numbers'. There are a number of options which you can choose, such as where to position the page numbers (this is usually at the bottom of the page) and where to align the page numbers (usually on the right). If you click on 'Format' within the 'Page Numbers' pop-up, then you can choose where you want to start numbering your pages from.