Winning publishers over can be a difficult task. You can wine them, dine them and send them expensive gifts, but the cold hard truth is that if you send them a tatty, improperly laid out manuscript, it will most likely be banished to that frozen, wind-swept hinterland where wailing and gnashing of teeth are the order of the day. I refer, of course, to the Very Bottom of the Slush Pile. Here's how to improve your chances no end.



The point is this: if you please the editor with a first class, well presented offering then your stock will go up faster than the price of oil and you'll have a head start against the other losers.

So let's get down to it. How can you impress the editor or publisher with the presentation of your manuscript?

1. Use double spacing and print or type on one side of the paper only.

2. Put the title of the work only (not your name or any other fascinating information) at the top of every page. This helps if the person reading your novel drops them all over the floor along with someone else's.

3. Number the pages at the bottom. This is an absolute must because if the person reading your work drops them all over the floor (what again?) he or she will be able to put them back in order again. For a novel number the pages straight through. Don't start afresh at the start of a new chapter. If you put each chapter into a separate document and you're using Word, click on the link below and go to the 'Writers Questions' page if you want to know how to do this.

4. Use a cover sheet which should give: the Title of the work; your name and pseudonym if you use one, address and telephone number, plus an email address if you have one. Also put how many words your work contains, to the nearest 1,000 if you're submitting a novel or to the nearest 100 if it's a short story. Finally add the date.

5. Staples are anathema as are any method of binding the pages. Publishers do not like going around with broken finger nails, especially the ladies. You will definitely lose brownie points if you don't adhere strictly to this rule. You have been warned.

6. Enclose a brief (that is to say - brief) covering letter.

7. Keep a backup copy of your work on a CD-ROM, a memory stick or some other device so that you don't lose it through computer breakdowns. And if you are using one of those. er, now what are they called, oh yes, typewriters make sure you get your manuscript photocopied before sending it off. Publishers have, just occasionally you understand, been know to loose stuff.

Finally here's one piece of advice that many lesser writers than yourself fail to follow: get hold of your prospective publisher's submission guidelines and follow them to the letter. Their requirements may differ from those I give above so treat them with respect. Remember editors and publishers are gods and we wouldn't want to fall foul of their caprices would we? Thunderbolts might ensue?