I have seen a whole lot of manuscripts in my day, and no two manuscripts have ever been formatted the same way. This means I have seen everything from 10 point font single spaced with half inch margins to 24 point double-spaced.
So how should you format your manuscript? Here’s the “Author Standard” template for submitting to literary agents and book publishers:
- Double Spaced
- 1″ margins
- 1/2 inch indent for a new paragraph
- Pages numbered (and make sure page numbers don’t start over every chapter)
- Page break after the end of a chapter
- No fiddling at all with anything else — no messing with the spacing between paragraphs, no fiddling with the width of the type, no full justification, no hyphenation. Basically just open up Word, hit double spacing, make sure the pages are numbered, and start typing.
- And most importantly — don’t try and make it look like the layout of a book.
If you want to get more granular, for chapter titles I hit the return button twice, center the chapter title, hit return twice again, and then start with the first paragraph. This provides a bit of a visual break without needlessly padding the page count with a ton of space at the top. One space after periods.
What font? Well, I know there is an ongoing battle between the Times New Roman camp and the Courier camp. (I personally prefer Times New Roman).
But do not choose anything other than one of these two fonts. Seriously. No matter how much Gill Sans Ultra Bold Condensed is calling your name, and believe me I know how tempting you can be, Gill Sans Ultra Bold Condensed, you wily devil you…… just resist.
But wait, there’s more!
• Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!
• For my best advice, check out my guide to writing a novel (now available in audio) and my guide to publishing a book.
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Art: Mailänder Dom, Schnitt by Walther Hermann Ryff
Nathan,
Love your blog. Read it every day.
Hate MS Word. Just FYI, you cannot just open up Word, hit double-space and start typing because the “dears” who call themselves programmers over there have all Word templates set with a 1-1/4-inch margin. Go figure. Makes me nuts.
Every time I use Word (and I only use at work where I’m forced to), I have to open up Page Settings and re-set the blasted thing. I’m in a legal dept of a large company – all we legal types insist on 1-inch margins, just like the publishing business.
BTW, I’m a published author (first-time) and I write on WordPerfect ALWAYS. It DOES have 1-inch margins programmed into the standard template. Also, it NEVER re-formts your document or changes the font just because you backspaced. 🙂
I feel you on the having to reset margins, etc. on Word (BTW, I am a MAJOR fan of Word and use nothing else when given a choice!) but there is a way around it, which I discovered years ago. Simply create the template you use all the time and replace the one that comes loaded. I haven’t found a fix for the blasted thing changing the font when cutting past a certain point but I’m working on it.
I see a lot of unindented, single-space graphs in submissions, but we’re traditonalists at my zine and ask for old school format. Many ezines ask for “on screen format,” for submissions, and I bet it’s found its way into the novel market, eh?
And trying to read italics on screen at midnight after ten hours of working…don’t get me started.
anonymous, it’s possible to change the default settings in word so that it comes up with exactly the margins etc. that you want.
Oh and in the Times vs Courier front, I tend to use Courier, just because it’s easier to deal with on-screen when I’m writing. In some markets (Sci Fi short stories comes to mind), Courier is actually required from what I hear. When it comes time to actually print the current draft of the novel for editing purposes, I’ll probably switch to Times if only to cut the page count.
There are many reasons why I use a Mac, and every time I read blog comments about Word and WordPerfect (an oxymoron, from what I gather), I am even more convinced. I have a PC at school, but I always type up everything at home.
And on a different note, so, Nathan, does this mean I can’t send you my manuscript in Zapf Dingbats? Gee.
Hi Nathan,
Thanks for another great post. No hard feelings about today’s rejection. 😉
I have a couple of ms formatting questions that you might be able to clear up for me (and others):
1. What do you prefer to see next to the page number? I always put my last name, but I’ve heard advice to put the book title, too. That seems a little much.
2. What are your feelings on a table of contents? Is it distracting? I want to have one in my final book, and so I’ve been including it in the ms as well.
3. What is your preference on how to start new chapters? You mentioned putting a page break beforehand, but what about the chapter title text itself? The best thing that I’ve been able to figure out is normal text (not bold or what have you), centered, with six carriage returns after it. That’s culled from a variety of sources.
4. What about the title page? Do you generally prefer the prologue or first chapter to start on that page? A lot of sources recommend that, but I don’t do it because of the table of contents.
5. This one is not really a question. I’d just add to your list that the dedication and acknowledgements should not be included in the ms (right? that’s what I’ve heard).
Thanks, as always, for your thoughts and insights.
Chris
My blog on writing
anonymous who hates MS Word:
I definitely understand your ire. Word can be irritatingly resistant to the formatting a writer wants. But, for those situations when you have to use MS Word, I have a suggestion: if you are always needing 1 inch margins, or what have you, you can change that globally by setting up a word file the way you want, and then setting that to be your default template. There’s a great article here on how to do that.
Chris
Nathan: You say choose Courier or Times New Roman, but there are tons of Courier fonts out there. The standard courier font on macs is different from courier new (windows standard). And then there’s the guys that also write screenplays and often use Courier Final Draft.
Thing is, Courier New looks terrible on both paper and screen (imo). But other Courier versions, the ones with a heavier stroke weight (like Vintage Type’s screenplay fonts, http://www.west.net/~vtmark/vintagetype/screenwriters/index.html) look much better than Times, both screen and on paper (imo).
Would you be annoyed if someone submitted to you using, say a VT font?
Hold it… maybe I’m not reading this post correctly.
Is carbon paper out?
Wow, mucho obsessing about the simplest of things.
The reason that the two Courier fonts look different is that they are registered fonts and they are owned by the people who made them. Initially, fonts were carved on metal blocks and slid into a linotype. Someone owned the carvings (like intellectual property).
My advice is to type onscreen in whatever you find happy, warm, wonderful and amusing. Then when it comes time for submission – change the title, redo the margins, reset the font and double space and all of that.
That way, you write in the manner most conducive to you and you submit in the format the agent or editor wants.
Cristopher-
1. Name next to page number is a good idea, but not essential
2. Unless it’s nonfiction, I think table of contents is kind of distracting, but it’s not a big deal.
3. I don’t really have a preference for chapter title formatting, just as long as it’s not overly elaborate.
4. Definitely need a title page with the title your contact information. I should have included that in the main post.
5. Dedication and acknowledgements should be added to the book after it’s been accepted for publication.
Thanks for the great questions!
Christopher M. Park, thank you for the instructions on how to re-set the Word template. I had gone through every drop down menu I could find and tried to do it (and I am not computer illiterate), but I could not find a way to make it stick. I still hate Word, but at least now I know how to permanently fix the margins!! Thank you!!
Nathan,
Thank you for your very informative blog. What is your rule for orphans and widows? I have heard conflicting takes on the issue.
Best,
Eric
Eric,
On widow/orphan protection, I honestly don’t think I would notice either way.
Anyone who quotes John Denver is okay in my book – which, by the way, I will be submitting as soon as I have the query perfected (right now it “ain’t nothing but a funny-funny riddle.”)
I am just starting out on that long first road. This blog and site have been wonderful to ease my apprehensions, but I still have a lingering question, one to which I have found no answer. How long should the manuscript be? I want my finished book to be about 250-300 pages, but how many pages is this if typed, Times, 12, double spaced? I know how dreadfully juvenile the questions is, and I can still hear my old 8th grade English teacher mocking the question when it was posed to her. But still, I need to know, what is the corresponence between one manuscript page, per these instructions, and one book printed page?
Tracy-
If you format your manuscript according to these specifications the ratio should be about 1:1. The final page count will depend on how the publisher formats the manuscript, but if you use Times New Roman, double spacing and 1″ margins you should have approximately one manuscript page per book page. It’s another reason why I prefer Times New Roman to Courier.
Hi….just found your site and blog, don’t know where I’ve been. The Query samples were great info.
I believe your blog will be very helpful as well. Thanks!
Hi,
I am writing a literary novel with shifts between past/present and real/imagined dialogue. For the latter, I want to use italics vs quotes for differentiation, and perhaps italicized memory-insets, but I’m wondering how I can do this when I’ll have to underline in ms format – will extensive underlining be a bother, and if so, what alternatives are there? Put it this way, how would Faulkner have type-set “The Sound and the Fury”??
Thanks in advance,
Lady H
I think italics are fine, and much prefer them to underlining in those instances.
My two beans worth…my method is a little unusual. I write in a plain text editor, but each chapter of my novel is a separate web page, so that I can switch back and forth between my text editor and web browser for a slightly different view of the work (helps to spot toyops -lol – and my poor eyesight needs all the help it can get).
When I am ready to format, I paste from the browser into Word and have at it.
Nathan,
I am attempting to write my first manuscript and I found this post to be quite helpful.
There are some other aspects to formatting a manuscript that aren’t clear to me–I’m hoping you or your readers could help me.
In terms of the “no fiddling around” note in your post, could you please suggest how you would format your manuscript for italics? If my manuscript includes titles for movies, TV shows and albums, should I italicize those in the copy or use some other form of formatting such as underlining?
Also, if I am including numbered lists in the body of the manuscript, do I need to do any special formatting for indents and spacing between line items or just use the numbered list function in Microsoft Word?
Hi Nathan,
I’ve been dropping by on this blog for quite a bit of time now, and I’ve learnt quite a bit from here, especially as a first-time novelist.
I’ve always had questions about my manuscript, but never got down to asking the questions (maybe because my project just seems so way out, in a sense). Today I figured I ought to get down to it, and I hope you can clear these little doubts that I’ve been having.
I am currently working on what might be termed a project of experimental literature. It features a non-linear narrative, metafictive devices and a rather large cast of characters. Most of all, it makes use of very specific typesetting and formatting (with respect to each page), and also an array of image files (scrawls and handwritings, for instance). One might think of House of Leaves, except less advanced in its use of typography.
So I guess my main concern is (that is, apart from the very small market my project must have), how would I present such a manuscript for submission?
Thanks, and keep up the excellent work on the blog! =)
Daryl
Don’t know if it’s too late to aks questions for this thread but I am very concerned right now about one thing (ok two things):
1. To send a ms, is it a bad idea to copy it back to back (to save paper, money, etc)?
2. How bad is it really (since I keep reading controversial advice) to include, with the ms, a few (or even one) illustrations made by prefessional artists, only meant to help visualize the characters, the world of the book – not to suggest that that particular artist should illustrate the book in the event of publication?
is it ok to type in the page number? because who knows how 2 use the header, footer, thingie any ways
Hi Nathan:
I have a quote at the beginning of my MS, currently the second page after the title page. Should I treat it the same as the dedication and acknowledgements, leaving it out, or can it stay in? And if it stays in, do I number it page 1, or as its own section using lower-case “i”?
Thanks for your help.
Eric-
Quotes at the beginning of unpublished novels always strike me as remnants of procrastination.
Can I quote you on that, Nathan? (sorry, I couldn’t resist…)
I’m pleased to find, after reding this, that I’m right on target for my MS formatting. Now if only I could do something about those excessive adverbs…
This may seem like a really silly, nitpicky question, but I have to ask: Should there be 1 space or 2 between sentences?
From what I know, it was 2 spaces back in the day for the sake of readability — you know, old printing presses and such — but now with the clarity of computer screens and modern printing technology, I’m not sure what’s “correct.”
(You’re gonna say “either way,” aren’t you?”)
Kristan-
Either way.
Nathan,
Thank you so much for all your advice. It’s truly invaluable.
My question is about formatting scene breaks. I read on Holly Lisle’s blog that she puts the # sign centered when she has a scene break within a chapter. Is this acceptable or is there another method preferred?
I’m so glad you answered the one or two spaces between sentences issue, by the way. I always do the latter and I was mildly horrified to hear rumors of a “one space only” rule. I had nightmares of going through my ms and slowly deleting one space between each sentence. Phew!
Greeting Nathan,
I have more of a question to this post. I’m working on a storyline which is a fiction piece about a specific families history.
In the story this is a main part, Letters by a certain woman so I want the letters to have a personal look as though she had written them.
How do you deal with such a thing when there is formatting to consider? Would you still double space?
The letters are more like little notes they don’t even fit the full page. Then when I go back to the other font I go back to the orginal format rule of thumb.
Is this exceptable?
Nathan, thank you for the advice on font–but you left out size. Or I missed it–I did see 24 as a old man’s size! But is 12 acceptable for the 1:1 rule?
I don’t think you’d ever be the agent who’d accept my writing, but you’re a nice guy anyway for having so much patience.
I don’t see any reason why a writer should care whether an agent excepts his work or not. It is the novelist that gets the agent paid and vice verse, surely, but a writer can go out and have his work published by himself. I am getting fed up with this query letter and agent nonsense. Heck! Who are they to tell me if my manuscript is good enough! Maybe I’ll become an agent, just to see why they come off so egotistical. Forgive me, for I suffered from dyslexia for many years and am having a difficult enough time writing, and I am get angry and frustrated when I see scribes treat these people like Gods. Notice the capital “G.” Don’t get me wrong, for I tend to come off a bit strong. Every since I have been able to write ‘in a ‘somewhat’ negligible manner, I have been going off like a wild fire. Yes, I am bitter! I have sitting atop my desk one of the most unique as well as shocking stories ever written. Of that I am sure! And it just sits here, wasting away. Alas! If I had the funds I’d publish the story myself, and I would be successful. I know that I was born to write. God gave me a gift, but wanted to make sure I earned it first.
Signed-
Like I am going to put my real name. You people are like a mafia. If I offend one, all will turn me down.
The Prodigal Gun 🙂
helpful! One question, what should the font size be?
To those who feel like Mr. Prodigal Gun, it is my take- perhaps because I’m just getting into the agent search- that agents aren’t trying to make you feel like thier God. In their defence they get hundreds of queries a month and have a hard time choosing which of these they are to take on. They have to choose what’s right for them too, and what they think will sell. (I understand this perhaps a little better than most because of marketing experience) Try not to get down hearted, if you keep on moving forward. You know your work is good enough to get published, just because it takes five years to do so don’t deminish the book at all, in fact this may be better because when it does happen you’ll probably end up with a better angent and contract for the taken time. Try not to become bitter because that will diminsh the attraction. Chin up, it’s all bound to turn out right in the end. Heck, it’s taken me years so far- I’ve researched the publishing industry for two years now and am just beginning to feel like I might have a chance to break through in these hard times our Country has fallen into. There’s always something new that agents are talking about and reitterating the old- now that there are so many more options open to us as writers (I mean through the internet) perhaps you should focus on making the right contacts instead of trying to sell your book on your own? There are always other options out there- and hey, if you want to self publish without putting down major funds- look into createspace.com who is teamed up with Amazon’s selling lists. You just need to know what’s right for you, perseverance is key.
And I don’t know how Nathan feels about this… but most agents prefer 12 font… or at least that’s what I’ve gotten from the research I’ve done.
And I’m happy to know that my series thus far falls into the correct formatting- though trying to hit the word count has been hard for me. My books tend to want to come out at 200,000 words and I’ve had to put my foot down and cut the fluff and favorite scenes to fit into the accepted length for agents. It’s all about compromise and working together to make it the best that it can be, even if I did have to delete my favorite scene- but no worries, I plan on fitting one similar into my second book. 😛
I’m not sure where to post this question… Nathan, I’ve been wondering about sentences that end with a preposition. It doesn’t sound right to change it up. Is it alright to say it how people really say it? Such as: “Who are you going to the store with?” Rather than: “With whom are you going to the store?” Thank you so much!!
This is a great post. I teach creative writing, and I am often asked about this by my students. The only thing I would add is to use a ".doc" and not a ".docx" suffix for your Word document, for anyone who uses older software. I always have people complaining in my classes about not being able to open documents.
thanks you so much for this post, I've been struggling with this especially the spacing in terms of dialogues and paragraphs.
Anyway keep doing what you are doing Nate!
Regarding formatting in the various word processing programs: my advice is to learn to use style sheets. They will make your life much easier. You can type your manuscript in any format (Gill Sans Ultra Bold, in purple, with justified half-inch margins) that you like. When you learn the requirements of different agents or publishers, create a different style sheet and apply it. Presto! Your bizarrely formatted document is now in Industry Standard ™, legible to all. All you have to do is learn to use style tags from the beginning, and even in MS Word that's easy enough. These modern word processors are enormously powerful programs; take a few minutes and read the manual, experiment a bit, and you will discover the wonder and utility of the Style Tag! It sure beats going through a manuscript and re-formatting it one paragraph at a time.
Good luck, fellow writers.
Hi 🙂
I have a question specifically about formatting and some others that I thought might be helpful suggestions for blog posts. I'll ask the formatting one here, but for the others, how can I get them to you? Is your email ok?
Sorry, I'm a newb… been through your archives but I've only been following you for a couple months now.
Anyway, on to my question: I have (what I am calling)an interlude in my manuscript, a pre-story that is too long to be a prologue, so I'm including it a section at a time between chapters. What's the best way to format this? I know some agents say to use half-way down the page for each new chapter, can I set the top of the interlude against the top of the page, and then the new chapter on the page after that? Silly, I know, but I really want to get this right 🙂
Also, along the same lines, how should I reference or mark this as such? I've just been using "(Interlude)" at the top and writing it in italics, but again, I agonize over whether this is correct or not, haha.
Thanks in advance, if anyone can help out that would be awesome!
L.T.-
Whatever makes sense to you. If you find a publisher they're going to reformat it anyway, so don't sweat it.
I RUE the day I read your post on how to write a query letter, and went against my instincts and prepared query to follow your advice, creating a new one for submission to an agent who had shown previous interest in my manuscript. Including information you claimed was necessary, such as protagonist's name, description, goal, quest, complicating incident and villain, not to MENTION word count, resulted in a stinging rejection letter at the amateur nature of my attempt. I was reminded, that a query letter is meant to inspire the agent to ask to read more, but after providing all the information YOU claim "required", there was nothing left to learn in his opinion, also reminding him that the book was longer than publishers want. He told me I might be a great writer, but he would never find out after I showed myself incapable of a query on a topic he had otherwise been quite interested in. Upon more research, I wish I'd read Noah Lukeman's advice. Why, oh why, did I listen to you, forever ruining my chances at a first impression.
SO so tempting…
But I will NOT engage.
So, you prefer italics for inner thoughts over underlining. I have read that some editors prefer no demarcation for inner thoughts. Their argument is that the writer should be skilled enough to make it clear what the character is thinking without depending on props. Do you think this is simply a matter of taste? Essentially, what are your thoughts? 🙂
Emily Woodham
Hi Nathan,
I've just dicovered your blog and I want to thank you for all of the information you provide.
I have a question about paragraphs. I noticed you specifically said no messing with spacing between paragraphs, but I also notice that MSWords default is to have a space between each paragraph (after the paragraph). I was wondering if this is standard, the extra space between paragraphs, or if its just something my MSWord is set to.
Can you shed any light on this? Space between paragraphs or no?
Hello Nathan,
I'd like to pose two (hopefully) quick questions:
1) I would like to use a pen name; I understand it's standard practice to put both pen and real name on the title page with the latter in the contact information, but which do I put in the running header?
2) Again concerning the running header, where should this begin? I've heard not to include it in the title page, but should it begin on the synopsis that follows, or simply at the start of the content itself? I ask because the difference would be in the page count, and i'd like to get this right!
This is a fine web site.
Great advice. Clear, concise, simple. The focused thoughts of a busy guy. Thanks.
@ Anonymous July 31, 2009 2:47 AM
I think you need to chill. It's sad that you've hit this kind of a snag, but really no serious writer would look at one 'How to Write a Query' post and leave it at that. There are tons out there – practically every agent with a blog has it. Then there are forums like Absolute Write.
Also you clearly didn't read the first part of the blog post which specifically mentioned word count as among the stusff you'd need to mention.
So sorry, but it looks like you just didn't do your homework, which DOES smack of amateurism.
Nathan,
What is double space? Do you have to click enter between every line? Or is it two spaces between each word?
Oh, and Nathan-
What point font?
I'm currently using Times New Roman 16-point, is that ok?
Nathan, I get conflicting information about word counts. Published writers tend to go with the page method: 25 lines per page, double spaced, with 1 inch methods. They multiply the pages by 200 for Courier 12 point, or 250 for Times Roman 12 point. I understand the reasoning for that, but others tell me this is passe, that I should use the word processor word count.
There can be a vast difference in word count between the two methods. Can you clarify this issue, so I know how long my manuscript really is?
Oh my what a gift to have found your blog! I am writing my first fiction novel and am in awe of all the little formatting things… I am completely sidetracked and obsessing.
To chime in on the informal poll: I use MS Word and so far no complaints.
Great blog!
Hi Nathan:
I live in toronto, Canada
Do you only accept query letters from United States?
let me know what you think. love your blog
Thank you for your time.
Mr. Brandon: My 2003 MS Word formats only twenty-three lines per double-spaced page, which seems rather skimpy. Is it inappropriate to reformat for twenty-four or twenty-five lines per page? Thank you for clarifying this point!
Hi,
So I don't know if you'll even answer this, I know i's an old post.. but I'll give it a shot.
I'm not done with my novel yet but I would really like to section the book by months/dates instead of chapters. I guess sort of like journal entries? So it wouldn't have chapter one, two, etc but just the months (would each month be a chapter?) and w/e happens on each date.
ANYWAY, my point is, say if an agent asked for a partial draft, like 3 chapters or something.. since I wouldn't have chapters how would I know how much to give them??
Curious about one thing. Does each new chapter need a header and/or title? And is there an average length for chapters? Any basic rules of thumb to follow?
The reason I ask is a fellow writer has no chapters in their MS. To me it seems odd. Would a agent frown upon this?
Thanks
dark angel-
Yeah, chapters needs some sort of heading. The length of chapters depends a lot on the style of book and the genre.
And most books have chapters.
Nathan,
I wrote a children's chapter book. I pretty much have the manuscript layout for adult books memorized, but I have read that for children's books you shouldn't use a title page. It said I should type title, then start book about 6 returns below the title. This seems weird to me. What is the right way? Also, do I need chapter titles, or just numbered chapters? chapter titles seem to be popular in the kids books I've seen.
Hi Nathan,
Love the Blog. My question is regarding the word "manuscript." Does that mean just fiction?
More importantly, Does the double-space rule go for self-help (non-fiction) books as well?
Also I have heard that in a non-fiction book proposal that the overview should be in single space but the rest in double-space. Do you know of any rule for this?
Thanks, Billy
Hi Nathan. Don't know if you're checking comments on this old post but if you are, here's a formatting question: What is the general thought on italics? Do you underline the words or phrases you want italicized or is it fine to just go ahead and italicize them. Just checking to see if the underlining method is considered "old school" these days. Thanks!
My question is about font. I use 12 pt. Courier New as my font. Is that acceptable for manuscripts?
Nathan–
I just stumbled onto your blog via the mighty Google, and thought I would pay my dues:
Your blog is great, but not just for the information. All of the posts I've read (especially the Gill Sans comment) have made my laugh out loud.
So, basically, thank you for a great, entertaining blog.
That's it.
Nathan,
I'm working on a verse novel and wondering about format for submission. Would you recommend double spacing the individual poems, or is it ok to single space those? Thanks!
So what about Calibri?
I don't actually have MS Word, so I don't have the issue of the newest version telling me that suddenly Calibri is the new TNR, but I'm just curious about its acceptance now that Microsoft seems to be trying to change the standard again..
My novel is written with indentations of full paragraphs as a form of flash back and stream-of-consciousness, as well as with epigraphs to open different parts. I feel it adds to the flow of writing, but would be more than willing to change it if that's what's required. Your thoughts?
Hi Nathan,
Before submitting a draft of my manuscript should the first page be formatted also with the author's name and contact information and then have the first chapter start fifteen lines in or would you rather that informaion on the title page? I've been looking at Writer's Market and how they suggest to format a manuscript before submitting. How do you prefer it and do you accept fantasy fiction?
Thanks,
Francine Price
How refreshing to see all this information in "plain speak". I have numerous books and magazines articles describing formatting. How confusing can it be. Like you said …"open word and start typing". Right on. The most immportant thing is to write – then worry about formatting when you are ready to submit.
Thanks for all the great information on your site.
http://www.sldwyer.com
http://sl-dwyer.blogspot.com
Nathan,
Truly helpful posts here. Thank you! Question- Can you clarify what first page of each new chapter should look like? I've read to start 1/3 of the way down the page, 1/2 of the way, four spaces, six spaces. Chapter name on first line below heading or just above beginning of text?
Again, thank you and appreciate your taking the time on these issues.
I'm writing with in margines and number of lines based on a hard back novel and I'm only doing that so I can track my progress visually. I know that page count is based on the number of words but doing it that gives me a good guideline as to how much progress I'm making.
Further above, Dave made a good point about just writing in whatever style that works for you best then worrying about the submission requirements when you cross that particular bridge. In the end, what matters is how good your story is, just stay focused on the writing part.