For writers getting ready to submit
Standard Book Manuscript Format Template
A Word file already in standard manuscript format, with the title page, running header and chapter breaks set, plus a checklist for sending it to agents.
Where agents differ
The small points guides disagree on
No official rulebook exists, so the details vary from guide to guide. Here the template's choices sit beside author William Shunn's guide and one from Reedsy, which runs a marketplace for freelance book editors. When an agent's guidelines ask for something else, follow the agent.
| Point | This template | Also used |
|---|---|---|
| Font | Times New Roman, 12 point | Courier New, 12 point, which William Shunn's checklist1 also accepts |
| Header | Surname / TITLE / 1, with the title in capitals | All capitals in Reedsy's guide3: SURNAME/TITLE/1. Title case in Shunn's sample novel4: Slaughter / Silvertide / 1 |
| Word count | Top right of the title page, rounded to the nearest thousand, as Reedsy advises | Centered at the foot of the title page in Shunn's sample novel. His checklist1 rounds to the nearest hundred, or 500 for longer manuscripts. |
| First paragraph | Indented, like every other paragraph, as in Shunn's sample novel | Flush left at the start of a chapter or scene, in Reedsy's guide |
| Scene breaks | A centered # | Three spaced asterisks (* * *), which Reedsy also accepts |
| The last line | END, centered | The End, as Reedsy suggests |
| Sending pages | A Word file, for when an agent asks for a partial or the full manuscript | The first chapter pasted into the body of the query email, as agent Miriam Altshuler2 asks; attachments go unopened |
Checked October 29, 2026.
How it works
What is standard manuscript format?
Standard manuscript format is the plain, double-spaced layout literary agents and editors expect when you submit a novel or memoir. Use 12-point Times New Roman in black, one-inch margins and a half-inch indent on the first line of each paragraph, with no extra space between paragraphs. Keep the right edge ragged, use italics rather than underlining, and leave out fancy touches such as drop caps. As William Shunn's checklist1 puts it, a manuscript is "a blueprint for a finished book, not the book itself."
A title page comes first: contact details at the top left, the rounded word count at the top right, and the title, byline and genre centered below. Every later page carries a header with your surname, a title keyword and the page number, starting at 1 on the story's first page. Start each chapter on a new page, a third to halfway down, at the same depth every time. Mark scene breaks with a centered #, and set indents and spacing in Word's paragraph settings, not with Tab or blank lines.
At the query stage, agents often want sample pages pasted into an email or an online form. Miriam Altshuler of DeFiore and Company2, for one, asks for the first chapter in the body of the email. Pasting keeps your words but drops most of this layout. The format matters most once an agent asks to read more, from a few chapters to the full manuscript. Our guide to getting a literary agent covers each stage, and the query letter template helps you write the letter that goes with your pages.
How it works
From draft to manuscript file
Download it or open it in River
Download the Manuscript and its checklist free, with no account, or click Edit with AI to open the same template in River.
Paste your pages
Optional. Paste your title page details or opening chapters at the top, or add the whole book as a file in River.
Get your manuscript file
River sets the title page, header, chapters and scene breaks, keeps every word as you wrote it, and saves a Word file.
Check it and send
Run the checklist with each agent's guidelines open, then send exactly the pages and format that agent asks for.
Maren Ostby
THE SALT ARCHIVE · literary suspense · about 92,000 words
- Header
- Ostby / SALT ARCHIVE / 1
- Text
- Times New Roman, 12 pt, double spaced
- Margins
- 1 inch, with half-inch first-line indents
- Chapters
- New page, a third of the way down
- Scene breaks
- A centered #
What you'll get
A Word file already in standard manuscript format
- A title page with your rounded word count
- Header, font, spacing and indents already set
- Chapters on new pages, # scene breaks and END
Before and after
Your pages in. A manuscript file out.
Maren Ostby, maren.ostby@example.com. THE SALT ARCHIVE, literary suspense, about 92,000 words. Chapter 1 The flood came up through the floor of the city archive on a Tuesday, and by Thursday Ines had stopped noticing the smell. * * * Her brother called at midnight...
Title page: Maren Ostby and her email at the top left, about 92,000 words at the top right. THE SALT ARCHIVE, by Maren Ostby, literary suspense, centered below. Every later page: Ostby / SALT ARCHIVE / 1 in the header. CHAPTER ONE opens a third of the way down a new page. The tabs and blank lines are gone, and the asterisks are a centered #. Every word is as you wrote it. Saved as SALT ARCHIVE - Ostby.docx.
River changes the layout, never your words. Contact lines you didn't give stay as placeholders.
What lands in your doc
What's inside the manuscript template
- Manuscript
The Word file you send, with the title page, two chapter openings to paste over, a scene break and END. - A ready title page
Contact details top left, word count top right, then the title, byline and genre centered below. - A running header
Surname / TITLE / page number on every page after the title page, with the story starting on page 1. - Text set for agents
12-point Times New Roman, double spaced, with one-inch margins and half-inch first-line indents built into the style. - A Chapter Heading style
Choose it in Word and the chapter starts on a new page, about a third of the way down. - Manuscript Format Checklist
A second Word file: the settings, steps for Word, where agents differ and nine checks before you send.
Questions authors ask
Common questions
What font should a manuscript be in?
Times New Roman at 12 point, in black, is the safe default. William Shunn's checklist1 also accepts Courier New, a typewriter-style font, and Reedsy3 notes that some agents and editors prefer a sans serif font. Use one font throughout, and change it only when an agent's guidelines ask you to.
What goes on a manuscript title page?
Your legal name, address, phone and email go at the top left. The rounded word count goes at the top right, though Shunn's sample novel4 centers it at the foot. Lower down, center the title, then "by" and the name you write under (a pen name is fine), then the genre. Check your count against novel word counts by genre.
How do I format a manuscript in Word?
Set Word's Normal style to 12-point Times New Roman, double spaced, with a half-inch first-line indent, or start from this template. Paste each chapter with Paste, then Merge Formatting, which keeps your italics and takes on that style. Put a centered # at each scene break before you delete blank lines, then clear tabs in Find and Replace by replacing ^t with nothing.
Should I send my manuscript as a Word file or a PDF?
Send a Word file unless an agent's guidelines ask for a PDF. Reedsy's guide3 names .docx or .doc as the standard file in publishing. Attach it only when an agent asks for pages; many want query samples pasted into the email instead. Name the file with your title and surname so it is easy to find.
Do I need standard manuscript format to self-publish on Amazon?
No. Standard manuscript format is for agents and editors. A paperback on Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing needs a print-ready interior set to a trim size, and Amazon offers free paperback and hardcover templates5 in Word for each size. It names 6 by 9 inches as the most common US paperback size and suggests saving the finished file as a PDF.
Is this manuscript format template free?
Yes. Download both Word documents, the Manuscript and the Manuscript Format Checklist, with no account or signup. Edit with AI opens the same template in River, which is free to start: paste your pages or add your manuscript, and River sets it in the format. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
What does Edit with AI do?
It opens the template in a free River workspace. Paste your title page details or chapters, or add your whole manuscript. River fills in the title page and header, sets chapters and scene breaks, counts the words if you give it the whole book, and saves a Word file. It never changes your words or invents contact details.
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