After typing up my draft and doing a quick computer edit, I like to edit again on paper.
This guide is built around usability, not so much practicality. For instance, using these guidelines your novel can easily print out to an entire ream of paper if you’re doing it at once! That translates to an expensive print job both at your favorite print shop or home.
So, I only do this for the chapters that need intense edits. Most of the time you’ll know which chapters need more work than others. Paper editing gives a fresh look to your document and a fresh outlook on what you’ve written. I highly recommend it as a supplement to computer editing.
For my document, I wanted three things — enough room to comfortably make notes above lines of text, enough room in the margins for general notes, and hit the spot where it’s not going to make my wallet cry too much. I’ve found my personal sweet spot.
I use Microsoft Word for writing, but I think you can use these settings for any popular writing software.
Margins
The normal margins for a document are set at 1″ all around, but that extra quarter inch gives us enough space to scribble notes in the sidebars without struggling to keep it all in.
Paragraphs
First things first, we’re going to set our paragraphs. At this point, you’ve already written your novel, so you’re going to select all (control+a on Windows) to select all your text, otherwise
Go into your software’s Paragraphs options. Now select the following:
- Alignment: Left. Most have this by default. Sometimes I will change it to Justified to really alter my document’s looks.
- Indentions: First line by .3. This is not going to be the standard .5 seen in your documents. This changes the page count slightly. It is indented enough to tell new paragraphs easily.
- Line Spacing: Multiple 2.5. Double line spacing is 2.0, but it is too narrow to comfortably write. I have small handwriting, so 2.5 is just right for me. If you have larger handwriting, you may have to go to 3.0. However, 3.0 will increase the page count significantly. A 30,000 word document jumped from 158 pages to 217 pages just by changing the spacing from 2.5 to 3.0.
Font
Font choice is important. We will be setting the size at 10 or 11 so you want one that looks good at a smaller size and won’t be so large that it will make your page count atrocious. I prefer Calibri, Book Antiqua, Bookman Old Style, or the classic Times New Roman. Arial has a significantly smaller page count than any of these, but it is more difficult for me to comfortably read and skim so I forgo using it. The key point is to pick a font that is not the same font that you wrote the manuscript in. Part of printing is to give you a fresh perspective on the document and changing the font magnifies it.
Downloadable Template
Click here for a template with these settings.