The standard manuscript format

I may not send off many submissions to magazines and anthologies -- I am not a fast writer -- but I always ensure that the manuscript is correctly formatted. As editor/publisher I have received lots of submissions. I remain amazed at how many do not meet simple formatting rules. These are there to make it easier for the editor to read the submission. And if the editor is able to read it without developing a headache, the writer already stands a better chance of receiving a fair reading.

To this end I have written some basic "rules", posted on The Alchemy Press site. I think these are very reasonable. I have seen some guidelines that are incredibly specific, as if the editor is getting the writer to do the layouts so that she/he -- the editor -- only has to collate the manuscripts together. This is taking it too far, if you ask me (not to mention resulting in some lazy-looking publications).