Writer’s Guidelines

1. Double space. Turn off hyphenation. Set flush left (not "justified").

2. Allow one-inch margins all four sides of 8-1/2 x 11 paper.

3. Set ms in serif font, such as Times Roman, in 12 pt size.

4. Indent paragraphs one tab space (about 1/2"). Do not use the space bar.

5. DO NOT provide extra space between paragraphs, unless you intentionally want an extra line-space to appear, representing a major change in topic or thought but not strong enough to command a new sub-head (as used in how- to books).

6. Break up long paragraphs even though it contains one basic thought. The eye sees a long paragraph as tedious to read.

7. Do not underline words.

8. Set words, phrases, sentences, or even entire paragraphs, in boldface to indicate importance or to catch the eye. Bold all punctuation that precedes, follows, or is contained within.

9. Set the following in italics: thoughts, words for emphasis, words referred to as words or terms, titles of books, magazines, newspapers, movies, television shows, and works of art. Italicize punctuation that precedes, follows, or is contained within. ...and then he gave it to her! ...he thought, Why am I doing this? ...while reading The New York Times.. ...the word margin is part of the term margin of error.

10. Set the following in quotation marks: song titles, chapter titles, newspaper or magazine articles, and slang words.

11. Commas and periods are always set INSIDE quotations marks. Semi-colons and colons are set OUTSIDE.

12. Do not use spaces around dashes. If you do not have an m-dash (long dash) on your keyboard, set as follows with back-to-back hyphens: ...the dish was cleaned--if you could call it that--and put away. (Our software will read "--" as "—")

13. Write out numbers one through one hundred. Use arabic numerals for 101 and higher.

Exceptions:

...at the beginning of a sentence. One hundred and twenty-five people came.

...large dollars. He paid $3 million.

...for emphasis. He paid $2,000.00! He paid two thousand dollars!

...for percent. The bill was about 20 percent less. (use % only in charts.)

...for dimensions. He built the barn with 2 x 4s. The deck was 8 x 16 feet.

...for readability. He started with $150, lost $50, kept the hundred. I’ll take $87.50.

14. Numbers on playing cards or dice combinations, and odds or probabilities are always arabic: He tossed two 7s in a row. The odds were 35 to 1. That’s 1 in 36.

15. Use a.m. and p.m. for time. But, "It was six in the morning" is OK.

16. Capitalize the names of regions (the Midwest), personifications (Mother Nature), all words in a title (World Series Of Poker), historic events, organizations, and religious terms (Bible, the Almighty, and pronouns referring to God). Do not capitalize the seasons, names of games (blackjack), or titles unless preceding a name (senator, president, but President Bush).

17. Use a comma before a conjunction in a series: (A, B, C, and D).

18. Use ellipsis marks to indicate a long pause, omission of words, or for effect. Example: "...he decided to quit." He won three... maybe four. (Note spaces.)

19. Use a semicolon to separate the elements in a series if any one of them contains a comma.

20. If a quotation (same speaker) extends for several paragraphs, set quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph, but at the end of only the last paragraph. In dialogue, every change of speaker requires a new paragraph.

21. Use an apostrophe to indicate omitted figures or letters. ...The antique was made in the 1920s or ‘30s. ...Rock ‘n’ roll. ...In colloquial style: He’s swingin’ hard.

22. An informal, write-as-you-speak style is preferred. Your sentences do not have to be complete. Starting a sentence with the words And or But is not objectionable. Use contractions freely. They fit the informal style that we like.

23. Do not unnecessarily date your ms in such a way that the book would become outdated within a short time. Historical dates do not create a problem, of course, but writing about recent events might date the book. Those events will not be "recent" five years later, so be careful how you refer to them. Be vague about dates when they aren’t important. WRONG: "In 1995, I discovered that..." RIGHT: "A few years ago, I discovered that..."

24. Never write an Introduction. It’s rarely read. Do not write "summaries." Some readers find them condescending. The first few pages of your book are critical. They must hook the reader. The last few pages are equally important. They are the most remembered! The last third of your book will often set the reader’s overall opinion! Give readers your best work to remember... and, hopefully, tell their friends. Word-of-mouth is what sells books!

25. Frequently misspelled or misused words:

ENSURE (not insure) To "insure" refers only to the act of getting insurance).

BACK YARD (not backyard)

TOWARD (not towards),

BACKWARD (not backwards)

FARTHER (not further, in terms of physical distance)

ALL RIGHT (never alright)

COMPLEMENT (goes with);

COMPLIMENT (a kind word)

EVERYDAY (adj: ...everyday shoes);

EVERY DAY (adverb: ...happens every day)

EFFECT (n: ...the right effect);

AFFECT (v: ...it will affect your concentration)

Correctly spelled: judgment, liaison, commitment, relevant, oriented, noticeable, regardless (not irregardless).