double spacing between words on Word2002

  • Thread starter Thread starter katnco
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katnco

I'm an aspiring writer who has just discovered (after writing a first book of
200+ pages) that the words need to be double-spaced for the
editors/publishers!!! Is it possible to select the whole doc. and change the
settings or am I doomed to sit for hours clicking and stabbing at the space
bar? Thanx
 
Katnco,
Just do a search and replace, search for one space and replace with two. You
can find replace in the Edit menu.
 
Are you sure it isn't the lines they want double spaced? That would be a
paragraph format setting.
If it is the Words then a wildcard replace of

([ ]{1})([! ])
with
\1\1\2

will double up all single spaces.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
 
katnco said:
I'm an aspiring writer who has just discovered (after writing a first book of
200+ pages) that the words need to be double-spaced for the
editors/publishers!!! Is it possible to select the whole doc. and change the
settings or am I doomed to sit for hours clicking and stabbing at the space
bar? Thanx
Click to expand...

Mate! You almost certainly do NOT want to double space words; you must
double space LINES! Working as a professional editor I always need
double spaced (or even 1.5) lines but NEVER words! In Word 2000 I would
use edit | select all, then format | paragraph | line spacing (drop down
box) choose double | OK. Some better word experts will probably have
better ideas (I'm a relative newbie to Word).

With respect, discovering so late in the process that you needed double
line spaces suggests you may have neglected some other essential
homework before embarking on your journey of creation. I suggest you
buy/borrow at least one text on how to get published, and by the way do
prepare to be disappointed. There are thousands of unsolicited
manuscripts a week that never make it - on the other hand don't let me
put you off: some do!
 
I'll second everything (e-mail address removed) said. As an editor I have never
seen a requirement for double spacing between words. It might be that some
publishers would require two spaces after a period or colon (that's a whole
nother ball of wax), but I strongly suspect that double-spaced lines are
what is required.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
Suzanne said:
I'll second everything (e-mail address removed) said. As an editor I have never
seen a requirement for double spacing between words. It might be that some
publishers would require two spaces after a period or colon (that's a whole
nother ball of wax), but I strongly suspect that double-spaced lines are
what is required.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
manuscripts a week that never make it - on the other hand don't let me
put you off: some do!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Thank you to everyone who has so eagerly given me advice. I realise I have
been a complete dunce and have now- correctly!- double spaced the LINES! Re:
the lack of initial research- I didn't start writing this book to get
published- it was something I did for enjoyment and then decided I wanted to
try and take further! And I am, of course- here I ahve done my research!-
prepared for rejections. Such is life and you've gotta keep trying!
Thanks again all.
 
Suzanne said:
I'll second everything (e-mail address removed) said. As an editor I have never
seen a requirement for double spacing between words. It might be that some
publishers would require two spaces after a period or colon (that's a whole
nother ball of wax), but I strongly suspect that double-spaced lines are
what is required.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
manuscripts a week that never make it - on the other hand don't let me
put you off: some do!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Thank you to everyone who has so eagerly given me advice. I realise I have
been a complete dunce and have now- correctly!- double spaced the LINES! Re:
the lack of initial research- I didn't start writing this book to get
published- it was something I did for enjoyment and then decided I wanted to
try and take further! And I am, of course- here I have done my research!-
prepared for rejections. Such is life and you've gotta keep trying!
Thanks again all.
 
Thanks for the agreement Suzanne! In my experience most publishers do
not want double spaces anywhere (except between lines). It used to be
done after full stops and certain other punctuation when using
non-proportional fonts like courier, but now that nearly everyone uses
proportional fonts, putting double spaces anywhere plays havoc with the
justification process that publishers use. Therefore, I am always
expected to strip out such spaces. Incidentally, I find the search and
replace function in Word 2000 does not always do this faultlessly, and I
often have to manually tidy up. BTW, Suzanne, is there an editors'
newsgroup?
 
I'm sure there must be Usenet NGs for editors somewhere, but not on this
server (msnews.microsoft.com), which is the only one I currently bother
with.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
katnco via OfficeKB.com wrote:
<SNIP.
Re the lack of initial research- I didn't start writing this book to get > published- it was something I did for enjoyment and then decided I wanted to try and take further! And I am, of course- here I ahve done my research!- prepared for rejections. Such is life and you've gotta keep trying!
Thanks again all.
Click to expand...
A pleasure Katnco. You'll quickly find that this is one of the most
friendly and productive newgroups there is. I've learned heaps from it
and still do.

The start of your book ('for enjoyment') is one of the best ways to
start. If you don't like the work it soon shows through. But bridging
the gap between that and a saleable product (all that the publisher is
interested in) is a big ask (and incidentally, involves the editor!).
Just remember that the publisher must have his eye on the P&L account,
and only 25 (!) hours in the day to read the shoals of stuff that lands
on his desk. (In fact he is too busy looking at the P&L to read *any* of
it - that's the professional reader's job). But best sellers do get
written every month. So don't give up but don't bet the farm on success
either.
 
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