A reader writes to ask: Is the occasional Bold word in a manuscript okay? Because every time I change point-of-view, I leave an empty line (which from now on will be filled with a #), and make the first word...  read

A reader writes to ask: The font I have been using for 10 years is Arial. I like it alot. Any comments. Should I check with Sheila Williams, the editor at Azimovs. No. No. No. A thousand times no. Use...  read

A reader writes to ask: I am using 2010 microsoft office for my novel manuscript. I need to change the titles of movies from italics to underlines. Any quick way? It's a bit tricky, but there is a way to...  read

A reader writes to ask: I'm getting close to done writing a manuscript, set to your specs for 250 words per page, and it's threatening to break 600 manuscript pages (about 150k, assuming no half-pages). That's going to be a...  read

A reader writes to demand: Setting everything according to the various suggestions for Word to lay out my pages for writing a book, I find it impossible to get 25 lines on an 8½ by 11 when double spaced. Explain....  read

A reader writes to ask: My memoir is divided into sections rather than having chapter titles. Some sections have as little as one chapter while the longest has seven. In a book I can see each section, which has a...  read

A reader writes to ask: Is there a guideline for when you want to include the text of some other text within your story? I'm thinking of something like Barry Malzberg's Herovit's World where parts of the novel were actually...  read

A reader writes to ask: I have a question about font. In your article, you suggested that only Courier or Times New Roman should be used, and you strongly recommended Courier. My version of Microsoft Word apparently does not support...  read

A reader writes to ask: I have always used two spaces after the end of each sentence and someone recently said they believed that was no longer the correct method to use. Can you tell me if I should leave...  read

A reader writes to ask: Love your clear instructions on manuscript preparation and am wondering if the formatting is the same for memoir? Yes, exactly. You should format a personal essay the same as a short story, and book-length memoir...  read