MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
To help us create the book of your dreams, it is important that you read and adhere to the following guidelines before submitting your manuscript to us for editing and/or formatting.
Two Peas Publishing accepts manuscripts of most genres, including educational books, books of poetry, and children’s books. We do not publish blatantly exploitative works, pornography, or personal/political manifestos. Two Peas Publishing reserves the right to reject any manuscript that we feel does not fit our company's image, needs or goals, at any time, for any reason.
File Types
Please submit your final manuscript as a single file in one of the following formats:
- Microsoft Word (.doc)
- Rich Text Format (.rtf)
- Plain Text Format (.txt)
To convert a file that was created in a program other than Microsoft Word, such as Microsoft Works or WordPerfect, click File > Save As and select .rtf or .txt from the save as type drop-down menu. After saving the file, check it for any conversion errors such as odd symbols in place of quotes or other punctuation marks and unintended section breaks.
Fonts
Please submit your manuscript in 12 point Times New Roman. Bold and Italics will be retained in your text when it is formatted. Create headings in larger type.
Formatting Hints
To help your manuscript format easily and with a minimum of problems, it is best if you eliminate certain typing conventions.
Do not press the space bar twice between sentences. One space is sufficient.
Do not use the tab key to indent the first line of paragraphs. Use the First Line Indent feature of your word processing program instead.
Do not press the return key multiple times to move text to the next page or to create space between lines or paragraphs.
These conventions create extra characters which must be manually removed during formatting. It may be helpful to work with Hidden Characters turned on so you can see your manuscript the way the computer sees it.
Special Characters and Additional Formatting Options
The formatting of special characters, such as foreign letters, accents, musical and
mathematical symbols, or additional formatting options such as strikethroughs require careful hand formatting and may incur additional layout charges. If your manuscript contains these elements, please make your designer aware of them early in the formatting process.
Editing
Editing should take place prior to layout formatting. If you and your editor have used the comments and/or track changes feature(s) of Microsoft Word during the editing process, please make sure that all comments have been removed and all changes have been accepted or rejected. You will have the opportunity to review your text after the layout has been completed; however, this review is intended to catch mistakes in formatting, not to make changes in the content of the text.
Title Page
You do not need to include a title page in your manuscript. We will design a custom title page to coordinate with your book cover.
Dedication
If you wish to have a dedication page included in your completed book, please include it
in your manuscript.
Table of Contents
If you wish for your formatted book to include a table of contents, please include it in
your manuscript. Please note that the page numbers your word processing program sets will not be the same as the page numbers in the final book. We will set and format the correct page numbers as part of the layout process.
Section Breaks
To place a section break within a chapter of your book, indicate this by placing three asterisks *** on a separate line between the places you wish for the break to occur. Please do not use the section break option available in many word processing programs, as these section breaks will not convert properly in the formatting process.
If a line appears after you type the three asterisks and hit enter, the AutoFormat feature in Microsoft Word is probably on. To turn it off, select “Format” > “AutoFormat,” click on “Options,” select the “AutoFormat As You Type” tab and uncheck the “border lines” box under the heading “Apply as you type.”
See a sample of a section break
Excerpted Material (Block Quotes)
Any excerpts or quotes you would like indented should be formatted as shown below. If you would like the material to appear in italics,
please italicize the text as you wish.
<Begin excerpting>
Excerpted material
<End excerpting>
See a sample of a block quote
Pull Quotes
Some books include Pull Quotes – short phrases excerpted from the text and set in a decorative style, often in the margins. If you wish to include pull quotes in your book, indicate the phrase you wish to have pulled as follows:
<begin pullquote>
Some books include Pull Quotes
<end pullquote>
This indicator should come at the end of the paragraph containing the pulled phrase.
See a sample of a pull quote
Bullets
Bulleted lists should use only the standard solid black-dot bullet style like the ones
below. If special bullet graphics will be part of your layout, your designer will work with you to create and insert them.
- Bullet number 1
- Bullet number 2
- Bullet number 3
Tables, Columns, Charts, Graphs, Mathematical Calculations, Text Boxes, Shading & Borders
Tables, columns, charts, graphs, mathematical calculations and text boxes may not
format properly if they are submitted as part of your manuscript. Please submit these as separate files. Tables can be submitted as separate Microsoft Word (.doc) files or Microsoft Excel (.xls) spreadsheets. Other types of graphs, charts and diagrams may be submitted as image files. Please see our Image Submission Guidelines for more information. Please do not include any borders or shading in your manuscript.
Endnotes
Endnotes may be used to show the source of borrowed material or to enter explanatory or supplementary information. To insert these, use the endnotes function in your word processing program. Footnotes require extensive manual formatting and will incur additional charges.
Noting Image Placement and Captions in Your Manuscript
Please note in your manuscript approximately where you would like your images placed. Use the appropriate image name, file type and caption, if applicable.
Text before image
<insert image SuziesCat.tif>
<caption> Suzie plays with her cat on the patio
Text after image
Please see our Image Submission Guidelines for more information.
