26.8 Line Spacing Standard

Line spacing standard refers to the convention of setting a fiction manuscript's body text in double line spacing throughout, leaving a full blank line's worth of vertical space between each line of text rather than the single spacing typical of finished, typeset published books.

The Convention Itself

Double spacing means that each line of manuscript text is separated from the next by an amount of vertical space roughly equal to the height of an additional line, rather than the tightly set lines seen in a printed novel. This applies uniformly to the entire manuscript body, including dialogue, narration, and any other prose content, without exception for shorter or visually distinct passages within the story.

Origin of the Convention

Double spacing developed during the era of typewritten manuscripts, when editors and proofreaders needed sufficient blank space between lines to write handwritten corrections, comments, and copyediting marks directly on the physical page. Though most manuscripts are now prepared and reviewed digitally, the convention persisted because it continued to serve secondary purposes even after its original handwritten-annotation rationale became less central: it makes long stretches of prose easier to read carefully and critically over extended sessions, and it gives evaluators a reliable, familiar visual format regardless of the specific software used to view the document.

Why Manuscripts Differ From Published Books in This Respect

Finished, typeset published books use single spacing or near-single spacing because their layout is optimized for a different purpose than manuscript evaluation — compact, efficient use of page space for a reading experience aimed at absorption and pace rather than for detailed line-by-line scrutiny. A manuscript prepared for submission has not yet reached that stage and is instead being read for evaluation and potential editorial revision, a context in which the additional visual space serves a genuinely different function.

Application to Structural Elements

Line spacing standard applies not only to ordinary body paragraphs but to structural elements within the manuscript as well: block quotations, letters, or documents rendered within the story, and any other extended passage of prose, are generally kept in the same double-spaced format as the surrounding text rather than switched to single spacing for visual distinction, since altering spacing for stylistic effect departs from the uniform, utilitarian purpose the convention serves.

Interaction With Paragraph Spacing

Line spacing standard is distinct from, but related to, the convention against adding extra blank lines between paragraphs; because paragraphs are already separated by a first-line indent rather than blank-line spacing, and because the entire manuscript is already double-spaced at the line level, adding further blank space between paragraphs would create inconsistent and excessive spacing rather than improving readability. The two conventions work together to produce a uniform, evenly spaced page.

Verifying Correct Setup

Because word processing software sometimes applies spacing settings inconsistently across a long document, particularly one assembled or revised over an extended period from multiple files or sessions, verifying that double spacing has been applied uniformly throughout the entire manuscript — including any sections that may have been pasted in from external sources with different default formatting — is a standard part of final manuscript preparation, since inconsistent spacing between sections is a common and easily overlooked error.

Relationship to Overall Formatting Standards

Line spacing standard functions alongside margin width, font choice, and header conventions as one part of the broader system of standard manuscript format, and departing from it in isolation — for instance, using single spacing to make a manuscript appear shorter, or one-and-a-half spacing as an intermediate compromise — is generally recognized by professional readers as a deviation from expected convention regardless of the writer's underlying intention.