Font: Courier New, Size 12 pt (Or Times New Roman, Size 12 pt)

Margins: 1 inch all around , Left aligned (NOT justified)

Spacing: 25-26 lines per page (Double Spaced or set your word processor at 25 pt spacing)

Headers, to include:
o Page number
o Manuscript Title
o Author Name

Cover Page, to include:
o Manuscript Title
o Author Name (Or Pseudonym)
o Author Contact Information: address, phone number, email address, website and/or blog
o Word Count

Spelling
Run through your word processor spell check program. But be sure to peruse your manuscript by eye - some words can be spelled correctly, but used improperly.

Grammar
Read through for grammar purposes only. Look for misplaced modifers, mixed metaphors, dangling partiples, improper tense, proper sentence structure.

Research
Did you leave any holes? Places you need to go back to and research for accuracy?

Read for Flow
Read your manuscript once, all the way through, without changing anything. Leave notes or sticky notes for yourself in places that slowed, didn't feel right, bored you o go back to later.

Are your heroine's goals and motivations clear throughout?

Are your hero's goals and motivations clear throughout?

Are your villain's motivations clear for his/her actions?

Do you feel the sexual tension between them throughout the novel?

Are the characters' emotions believable?

Were you consistent in descriptions?

Have you shared more backstory than required to tell the story? Can any of it be cut?

Have you avoided overused plot devices or found a fresh way to tell them?

Does the plot complete itself, with a solid beginning, middle and end?

Do you have enough turning points, changes in the middle to move the pace?

Are all questions asked resolved in the end?

Show versus Tell
o Are you telling the story in a narrative summary style or do you show the scene through the character's eyes and emotions?
o Do you have long passages where nothing happens in real time?
o Do you describe your character's emotions and feelings and the physical manifestations of them, versus telling that the character is angry? Happy? Sad?

Passive Writing:
o Is your writing passive? While some passive sentence structure is accepted and needed in a well-crafted story, if you have a lot of these below in your story, it's a good indicators your
o Inactive verbs or verbs in the wrong tense
o Overuse of verbs ending in -ing
o Adverbs
o Predicate Nominatives & Adjectives
o Deadwood Phrases

Sentence Structure: Is your sentence structure varied throughout?

Point Of View:
o Do you switch viewpoints only when necessary?
o Are the transitions smooth?
o Does the voice of your words change when you change character POV?

Dialogue: Read it out loud for flow.
o Is it smooth?
o Is it told in the character's voice?
o Can it be strengthened?
o Do you use "said" as the main dialogue tag?
o Can any of your dialogue tags be removed?
o If you have adverbs attached or explanations after/before the dialogue, how can you change your dialogue to make it better and remove the unnecessary words?

Pace:
o Do you have a good balance of action, dialogue, internal narrative and description?
o Does the pace clip along?

Scene: Does each scene move the story forward?

Balance: Consider taking a couple of highlighters and highlight separately sections of dialogue, internal narrative, action and description. Do you have a balance? Too much of one? Not enough?