You MUST number your pages. You should also have title/author in the corners as well. Microsoft Word will give you options for doing this automatically.

Table of Contents is also a must. Yes, before the prologue.

LOL. I think you can find sample query letters on Google. ;-)

Edited at 2009-01-14 04:19 pm (UTC)

I tried that evolution stuff a few weeks ago. Very yuk.

Not a published writer, or even a writer at all, but yay for finishing! And good luck with the submission process and all that!

No advice on mms style (I can't read courier at all, even when my vitamin R is at optimal titre, so someone else will have to do my prep, if I ever finish anything) but I would like to recommend Tartan out of Oregon for a dandy crisp and very dry methode champaignoise; Chardonay and Pinot Grigio. Oregon Pinot Grigios, in general, are very fine. I'm not much for whites, but I've had a couple of those recently and was very pleased.

Julia, I can make excuses for a glass of red as health-enhancing, so when I drink, I drink that

1 & 2 - Do whatever works for you, editors will change everything anyway.

3 - Search here for all your agently advice: http://misssnark.blogspot.com/

ETA: FOLLOW THE SUBMISSION REQs, NO MATTER HOW STRANGE.

Edited at 2009-01-14 05:11 pm (UTC)

Absolutely number your pages, put a table of contents in and put it before the prologue. You can use the header/footer option to put the page numbers, and generally at least your name, on each page.

What everybody else as said! Am not published author (well, journalism) but I do have subscriptions to some trade mags and def. for UK, name & page, table of contents - everything that makes it easier for your editor, even if some particular inclusion isn't quite 'house style'.

Congratulations on finishing!

50 bajillion others already piped in, but for seriously, gratz on finishing your book!

Now if I could only finish mine...

Actually, there are several agencies who accept equeries only. My agent is one of them. http://www.knightagency.net

Good luck with the querry letter.

Number every page, put your name on every page (convention is usually top right) and double space everything. Yes, it'll make it longer, but pubs generally will read beyond the first sentence if it's double spaced. Also I repeat my earlier offer of editor if you need it. :)

Book: Good luck! I've got my fingers crossed for you!

Wine: "wine last night that tasted like apple juice with a dirty sock soaking in it"

Ironically, the one example I've ever heard of where someone made wine with apple (and grape) juice using a dirty sock as the yeast starter? Apparently turned out pretty well, given that it was 'matured' for 2 weeks in a tied-off garbage bag. It was an experiment in creating prison hooch.

Congratulations! It's an amazing feeling isn't it? One thing that may or may not be of use - I saw in an earlier comment that you're using Works but thought it might also do this too and if so it can save a lot of time so...

In Word you can automatically generate a Table of Contents very easily *if* you use styles for headers. For example, if you use the Style "Heading 1" for each chapter heading, "Heading 2" for subheadings within the chapter and so on then you can simply use the Insert menu to insert an automatically generated ToC, complete with page numbers that automatically adjust if your pagination changes! This can be really critical because it is massively annoying if you have to keep going back and adjusting page numbers as you edit the manuscript (or change from single to double spacing).

Now, if you're like me, you may look at the style that Word uses by default for "Heading 1" and say no way! But don't forget that you can edit styles to suit your particular look and feel and still retain the auto generation ability.

Ok.. well since, as I said, you mentioned earlier that you were using Works I'll leave it there. If it turns out that Works will do this too and you're interested then there are a few tricks I can also mention that let you make the ToC more customised.