Shunn Manuscript Format Checklist

Standard manuscript format — often called "Shunn format" after William Shunn, who documented the convention for short fiction markets — is what most literary magazines and genre markets expect for short stories. This page is a working checklist, plus a small helper that builds a correctly formatted header and slug from what you type in.

Formatting checklist

• Font. 12-point Times New Roman or 12-point Courier. A monospaced font like Courier is traditional in genre markets; Times New Roman is near-universally accepted for literary markets.
• Spacing. Double-spaced throughout the story body. Single-spaced is fine in the contact block at the top.
• Margins. One inch on all four sides.
• Paragraphs. Indent the first line of each new paragraph by roughly half an inch (one tab). No extra blank line between paragraphs. Do not indent the first paragraph of a new scene or section if the convention you're using is "no-indent after a break."
• Alignment. Left-aligned. Do not full-justify.
• Italics. Italics are acceptable in modern submissions. Underlining for italics is a holdover from the typewriter era and is no longer expected — but a few old-school editors still prefer it. When in doubt, use italics.
• Top-left block (page 1). Single-spaced. Your legal name, street address, city/state/ZIP, phone, email.
• Top-right block (page 1). The approximate word count, rounded to the nearest hundred for stories under 10,000 words, or nearest thousand above that.
• Byline. If you're publishing under a different name, put the pen name in the byline under the title; keep your legal name in the contact block at the top.
• Title block. The story title appears centered, roughly one third of the way down page one (a few blank lines after the contact info). "by [Byline]" goes one double-spaced line below the title.
• Story start. The first line of the story begins two double-spaced lines below the byline.
• Running header (pages 2+). Surname / Keyword / Page — for example, Morgan / Light / 2. One keyword from the title is enough. Page one typically omits the running header.
• Scene breaks. A single centered hash (#) on its own double-spaced line indicates a scene break. Some editors prefer three asterisks (* * *); hash is the more universal choice.
• End mark. Center END or ### on its own line after the last paragraph so the editor knows there are no missing pages.
• File format. Send what the submission guidelines ask for — usually .doc or .docx, occasionally .rtf, almost never .pdf. Never assume; always check.
• Filename. Something like Morgan-LastLight.docx is conventional. Avoid spaces, special characters, and version numbers in the filename you actually send.

When not to use Shunn

Standard manuscript format is the default for short fiction. It is not always the default for other things:

• Novels. Most agents and editors now accept standard manuscript format for novels in email or via a submission portal; some agents have specific formatting requests on their own submission pages. Follow the agent's guidelines over any general convention.
• Poetry. Poetry is usually submitted one poem per page, single-spaced, with contact info on each page. Do not double-space poems.
• Essays and nonfiction. Similar to short fiction, though some magazines prefer single-spaced email submissions.
• Flash fiction. Some flash markets prefer the story pasted directly into the body of an email; others want an attached document. Read guidelines.