File Preparation

Please note: some people get intimidated by this section because they are afraid that not adhering to the layout advice mentioned below might hinder their chances of winning our contest. This file preparation section is offered to authors who are uncomfortable with computers and file formatting. We often receive files that have titles in the middle of the page with the poems split between pages. It is distracting to the contest reader (judge) and can, as a result, reflect poorly on the entry. These instructions are meant to be helpful, nothing more.

Common Problems:

Below is a list of a few of the more common issues we experience with emailed entries caused by the way authors use various formatting tools in WORD and other
such word processing programs.

1) Using the space key to go from the end of one poem on one page to the beginning of another poem on the next page.
2) The use of phrases like “New Stanza” or “No new stanza” or “Title of Poem, Page 2” to indicate a continuation (or not).
3) Alignment. Oh, Oh, Oh–Words cannot express the amount of frustration created by writers trying to do fancy alignments.
4) Pagination on the page instead of in the footer.

Formatting

The goal of this section is to homogenize the formatting and eliminate the problems some writers create for printers and set up people. Immediately below is the short version for those who are skilled in the use of Microsoft WORD and other similar word processing programs. Further below is a step-by-step for those a little less comfortable with computer programs. Please choose according to your level of experience and follow these directions when laying out a manuscript.

The Short Version

1) Create a Table of Contents (without page numbers–just an order of sequence for the poems). Save the file as “TOC” but also print it out and place it on the desk beside you. This is your road map. Most of us have our individual poems in individual files. Use your Road Map to open the individual files, copy and paste to the manuscript file.

2) Open a “NEW” WORD file. Save it in WORD or RTF (Rich Text Format) as: “YourLastName_BookTitle”      This is your manuscript file.

3) Type your name, mailing address, phone number and email address at the top of this page in 12pt type. Skip down a couple of spaces and type the title in 14pt–ALL CAPS and BOLD, then hit the “Return” or “Enter” key to go one line below the title.

4) Insert a “Page Break” in the line below your title. This is the correct way to get to the next page, not hitting the return until a new page pops up.

5) At the top of the page you just created, type the title of the book again in 14pt BOLD, ALL CAPS. Then hit the “Return” or “Enter” key to go one line below the title and insert another “Page Break.”

6) Copy the text from your Table of Contents file (TOC) and paste it at the top of the new page that was created when you inserted a Page Break into your “YourLastName_BookTitle ” file.

7) Don’t worry if your TOC rolls onto additional pages. At the end of the TOC, insert another “Page Break.” NOW you are ready to start your book.

8) If you have a section divider page, place it on this page. If you want to do a series of returns to get it closer to the center of the page, that’s fine, but do not use the Return or Enter key to continue on to another page. Don’t EVER use the Return or Enter key to create a new page. ALWAYS use Insert a Page Break to create a new page.

9) If you are not using section dividers, the first page after the TOC is where your first poem will go. If you did use section dividers, please go to the first page after the divider. Either way, you should then open the file for the first poem that appears on the printed TOC. Select all, copy it, then go to your manuscript file, place the cursor at the top of the last free page and paste the poem.

10) If your poem is longer than one page and you are concerned about it breaking in the middle of a stanza, please, do NOT insert notes to add junk to the page. Simply place the cursor at the beginning of the split stanza and insert a Page Break. This will allow a stanza to stay together without having to note where stanzas begin or end.

11) Insert the cursor at the end of the last line of the poem, hit Return or Enter and then insert a Page Break. You are now ready to place the next poem.

12) Go to your TOC print out. Cross the poem you just placed off of the list, open the next poem and repeat this process until all of poems are placed.

Your original files may vary because the poems may have been worked on or written at different times. Please change your formatting so that they are all the same. Some people think they are doing the reader or the publisher a favor by setting a 1-2 inch paragraph indent on all of their poems or tabbing everything to the right 2 spaces (or more) so the poems align more in the middle of the page. Fight the urge to do either of these.

Align your poems with the default margins set by your writing program. This does not mean everything should be aligned straight left, no indented lines. As poets, we often tab in a line or set a series of repeating tabs. This is fine as long as they are tabbed into place (as opposed to using a space bar) and as long as the author has not applied a style that inserts spacing between the left margin of the page and where the poem alignment begins.

Detailed Version

1) Create a Table of Contents (without page numbers–just an order of sequence for the poems). Save the file as “TOC” but also print it out and place it on the desk beside you. This is your road map. Most of us have our individual poems in individual files. Use your Road Map to open the individual files, copy and paste to the manuscript file.

2) Open a “NEW” WORD file. Save it in WORD or RTF (Rich Text Format) as: “YourLastName_BookTitle”      This is your manuscript file.

3) Type your name, mailing address, phone number and email address at the top of this page in 12pt type. Skip down a couple of spaces and type the title in 14pt–ALL CAPS and BOLD, then hit the “Return” or “Enter” key to go one line below the title.

4) If you are using MS WORD, go to the menu bar at the top of the page and click on Insert. This will open a dialog box with options. Select “Page Break.” A new page will
be created and your cursor will be sitting on the top line of it.

5) At the top of the page you just created, type the title of the book again in 14pt BOLD, ALL CAPS. Then hit the “Return” or “Enter” key to go one line below the title and insert another “Page Break.”

6) Copy the text from your Table of Contents file (TOC) and paste it at the top of the new page that was created when you inserted a Page Break into your “YourLastName_BookTitle.rtf ” file.

7) At the end of your TOC, insert another “Page Break.” NOW you are ready to start your book.

8) Open the file for the first poem that appears in the TOC.

10) Eliminate all Return lines above the title and after the last line of the poem.

11) Place your cursor anywhere on the page, then hold down the Control Key on a PC or Command key on a MAC (lower left key on the keyboard) and type the letter “a” simultaneously or go to the “Edit” menu at the top of the page, scroll down and select: “Select all.” Do NOT drag to select all.

12) Hold down the Control/Command key and the letter “c” simultaneously or go to the “Edit” menu at the top of the page, scroll down and select: “copy”

13) Go to the “YourLastName_BookTitle.rtf” file and place your cursor at the top of the page you created when you inserted a Page Break after the TOC.

14) Paste the poem by holding down the Control/Command key and the letter “v” simultaneously or by going to the “Edit” menu and scrolling down to where it says “paste.”

15) If your poem is longer than one page long and you are concerned about it breaking in the middle of a stanza, please, do not insert notes to add junk to the page. Simply place the cursor at the beginning of the split stanza and insert a Page Break. This will allow a stanza to stay together and start at the top of a new page without having to note where stanzas begin or end.

16) Insert the cursor at the very end of the last line of the poem, hit Return or Enter and then insert a Page Break.

17) Save the file. You are now ready to place the next poem, but before you do, cross the poem you just placed into the manuscript off your TOC print out.

18) Open the file containing Poem #2 in your TOC. Eliminate extra Returns above the title and below the last line as you did with the first poem. Select All. Copy the poem.

19) Return to the “YourLastName_BookTitle.rtf” file. Place the cursor on the new page that was created when you inserted a Page Break at the end of the first poem and paste Poem #2.

20) If you have followed these directions, Poem # 2 will now start at the top of the new page. Make adjustments per instruction #15. Save the file. Cross the title of Poem #2 off of the TOC list. Move on to the next poem.

21) Repeat these steps until all of the poems are in order in the same manuscript. Saving regularly. When you have finished copying and pasting all of the files into a single file, you are done. This is the file you should send Main Street Rag.

As you can see, there are a number of steps involved in preparing your manuscript. If you wait until the last minute, you may not have time to format it properly, so please have it formatted according to these instructions before you pay your reading fee.

Thank you and best wishes for success.