This is how you format your PAPER Contest entry!

Your real name and contact info go on the cover letter.

Pen name? Title page ONLY.

No pen name nor real name ANYWHERE in the body of the manuscript. Not the headers, not the footers, not anywhere.

Thank you Brad for making that Crystal Clear!

If you have been disqualified, for whatever reason: Are you notified as such or are you given a standard rejection

I never DQ'd so I can't rightly say. I suspect you get a standard rejection.

It wasn't inherently clear to me at first that this thread was strictly regarding physical submissions. Some of us have no plans to mail in our entry, and so some of the information can be conflicting. Maybe edit the post for a section on electronic submission, or, just tell us to not include the cover letters, if to include the title page, if having various virtual page sizes ultimately matter, et cetera. Or maybe yet, perhaps I'm missing another post somewhere, being new and all.

When you upload the story electronically, it says that the personal information you enter will suffice as a cover letter and title page.

Therefore, Brad's PDF sample still applies -- minus the title page and cover letter. Begin with the story half-way down the page.

Simple. Don't overthink it all; the format should be transparent to the editors' eyes. Don't obsess over it.

Header: (Right-align) Title / #

Then, space half-way down the page, and begin the story.

Thanks, Alex. Yeah, one of my biggest things is thinking about things way too hard and the reasoning behind it all. Simple. Got it.

Thanks, Alex. Yeah, one of my biggest things is thinking about things way too hard and the reasoning behind it all. Simple. Got it.

Don't sweat it. We're all guilty.

When you upload the story electronically, it says that the personal information you enter will suffice as a cover letter and title page.

Therefore, Brad's PDF sample still applies -- minus the title page and cover letter. Begin with the story half-way down the page.

Simple. Don't overthink it all; the format should be transparent to the editors' eyes. Don't obsess over it.

Header: (Right-align) Title / #

Then, space half-way down the page, and begin the story.

Everything Alex said. Thank you, Alex.

Ack! The link to the PDF appears to be dead. Is it working for anyone else?

Ack! The link to the PDF appears to be dead. Is it working for anyone else?

It seems to be on his old website (now he's at http://www.bradrtorgersen.com/ )--only time and Brad will tell if he still has the file, though.

Ack! The link to the PDF appears to be dead. Is it working for anyone else?

Should be fixed now?

http://home.comcast.net/~brad.r.torgers ... format.pdf

Let me know if not.

Awesome! Thank you.

Sorry for ninja-bumping this, but I thought I should keep things all in one place so to say.

I'm getting conflicting answers on formatting the manuscript. I talked to one quarter winner who said she used Times New Roman and italicized (instead of courier and underlining). I read from others that you should always use the standard manuscript format. Then I read that it's not so stringent anymore.

Does anyone have any recent advice for this? This topic seems to have evolved a bit over time, so I was wondering what the consensus was.

Thank you! And hello! (I'm new to the board)

I think it depends largely on the market you're submitting to. Some markets will tell you flat out that they want you to single-space, others don't mention guidelines at all. If a market (like WotF) doesn't specifically mention which font to use, either Courier or Times New Roman are normally fine.

The thing about the underline versus italics is kind of odd. Back in the day, before the internet, you would have been submitting by paper, and italics might have been missed by the type-setter. But now, since many editors will use the digital document that you sent, italics are fine because the computer isn't going to over look them. In literary circles editors (I'm told) prefer italics to underlining, but genre editors (I'm told) still prefer underlining. At this point it probably doesn't matter because lots of editors have e-readers, tablets, or forms on their computers that automatically format electronic submissions with the style they like to read in.

Make sure you get the specifications that they list on the WotF website correct. Don't worry too much about the rest. The editor is looking for good stories. If your story is readable you'll be fine.

6. Entries submitted hardcopy must be typewritten or a computer printout in black ink on white paper, printed only on the front paper, double spaced, with numbered pages. All other formats will be disqualified. Each entry must have a cover page with the title of the work, the author's legal name, a pen name if applicable, address, telephone number, email address and an approximate word count. Every subsequent page must carry the title and a page number, but the author's name must be deleted to facilitate fair, anonymous judging.

Entries submitted electronically must be double-spaced and must include the title and page number on each page, but not the author's name. Electronic submissions will separately include the author's legal name, pen name if applicable, address, telephone number, email address and approximate word count.

Strycher, thank you so much. I have read the rules, yes, but when I come here, I see different answers. This is specifically for the Writers of the Future contest. Your comments were really helpful in clarifying! Thank you again.

Strycher, thank you so much. I have read the rules, yes, but when I come here, I see different answers. This is specifically for the Writers of the Future contest. Your comments were really helpful in clarifying! Thank you again.

Aye, for the contest it doesn't matter as long as it's not in bright pink on a yellow piece of paper.

(Welcome aboard, by the way! Come on over to the "contest" board and introduce yourself!)

Strycher, thank you

Welcome.

in bright pink on a yellow piece of paper

Wow . . . Just thinking about that give me a headache.

Strycher, thank you

Welcome.

in bright pink on a yellow piece of paper

Wow . . . Just thinking about that give me a headache.

I used to do it on IRC on occasion just to hurt people's brains. Bright yellow background, and the text alternating between bright pink, bright blue, and bright green...

Strycher, thank you

Welcome.

in bright pink on a yellow piece of paper

Wow . . . Just thinking about that give me a headache.

I used to do it on IRC on occasion just to hurt people's brains. Bright yellow background, and the text alternating between bright pink, bright blue, and bright green...

Because . . . You're evil?

Because . . . You're evil?

(Quietly puts away the day-glo green paper)

If I remember correctly, Dave said that he had someone submit a story in yellow type on yellow paper. Whatever you do, DON'T do that.

Because . . . You're evil?

Oh dear God my eyes! What'd I ever do to you?!