The die is cast
26 May 2026 08:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
igenlodeWell, I've done it; I've sent off my first 'query'. After a last-minute panic over exactly what people mean when they say 'the first 25 pages'; it turns out that they mean 'the first 25 pages when formatted as an A4 page in Microsoft Word in Times New Roman with one-inch margins', and as I don't have Microsoft Word or Times New Roman on my system and my manuscript is formatted to paperback book size and margins so that I could print and bind it for my own sample copy, that means that the 25 pages I had carefully exported and reformatted to be email-safe, one chapter at a time, were actually a considerably shorter extract than expected :-(
(If they gave a word count for their sample passage it would make life much easier.)
I went back and added in the rest of the scene that I had previously truncated in order to meet the page count. I couldn't be bothered to go through and change all the page templates for every chapter (the program the manuscript is currently in for printing purposes is not a DTP system that I know at all well, and doing so would be a non-trivial matter), so I don't know how far short it still is. Basically, they are looking for a demonstration of your ability to write, and possibly to structure your work, and I *think* that what I've got is a reasonable representative sample from that point of view. Putting a little bit more wouldn't significantly improve it.
If people start requiring me to submit in Microsoft Word Docx format, that is going to be another future problem; I can *import* and convert Word documents (but not in this DTP software!) but cannot generate them...
(If they gave a word count for their sample passage it would make life much easier.)
I went back and added in the rest of the scene that I had previously truncated in order to meet the page count. I couldn't be bothered to go through and change all the page templates for every chapter (the program the manuscript is currently in for printing purposes is not a DTP system that I know at all well, and doing so would be a non-trivial matter), so I don't know how far short it still is. Basically, they are looking for a demonstration of your ability to write, and possibly to structure your work, and I *think* that what I've got is a reasonable representative sample from that point of view. Putting a little bit more wouldn't significantly improve it.
If people start requiring me to submit in Microsoft Word Docx format, that is going to be another future problem; I can *import* and convert Word documents (but not in this DTP software!) but cannot generate them...
no subject
Date: 2026-06-04 11:49 pm (UTC)The main thing that people seem to be asking for in terms of manuscript formatting is one-inch margins (which looks *huge* to me, but presumably allows space for writing comments there?) and double line spacing, presumably for the same reason. I don't think fonts matter, except that you don't want to use a fancy font of any sort, obviously.
But so far I have been going for agents (all two of them!) who want submissions in plain text within an email rather than via Web form upload, so it's just a matter of converting all the non-ASCII characters for safety...
no subject
Date: 2026-06-06 01:51 am (UTC)RStudio installs really well with minimal tech, and is actively maintained. But I get where you are coming from. I'm intrigued that there has been a shift to plain text in email, which is much more accessible for a lot of people. Possibly the agents have also moved away from Microsoft and its predatory pricing model.