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Subject:Re: Two spaces after periods? Not! From:"Cheryl L. Higgins" <cwhitnah -at- NETMEG -dot- NET> Date:Sat, 6 Mar 1999 10:05:45 -0500
Rebecca:
Two spaces after periods was, as Geoff Hart said, a typewriter convention
necessary for typwritten manuscript for the typesetters and presses before
electronic typesetting.
Today, It is not only not needed, but the presses and typesetters can't
format their pages with it. When a writer submits a manuscript with double
spaces, the copy editor or proofreader has to talke all of them out before
they can go to press. Publications today do not print with double spaces,
and more and more publishers, knowing that writers generally know this, are
viewing manuscripts with double spaces as a sign of inexperience and lack of
knowledge on the part of the writer. If you are editing a manuscript and
miss the double spaces, your press or publisher will likely not ask you to
take on another job. If you are submitting examples of your writing skills
for application to take on a project, most editors will view your double
spaces as a sign that you aren't as experienced as the other writers vieing
for the project. If you can't train yourself not to double space, as I have
still not gotten myself out of the habit of, use your search and replace to
replace "period space space" (the characters) with "period space" (the
characters) before each draft is looked at by the client or editor. Your
clients know this, too, so be diligent! My advice is to get a hold of a
copy of the Chicago Manual of Style for a necessary reference on your
bookshelf. It is not specific to electronic or tech writing (the new
version to come out year 2000 (15th edition)) will include more electronic
and tech conventions. CMoS is the bible for most presses and publishers.
Mentioning in your resume that you adhere to conventions of the CMoS, unless
the client's preference is of another authority source is sound advice; the
potential client will know that you are well-schooled and/or at least aware
of the need to adhere to industry standards. Other manuals you like for
technical conventions of course should be on your bookshelf. But for basic
writing and pre-press manuscript, CMoS is the industry standard. Knowing
basic writing standards will get you far beyond many of your competitors
when bidding on writing jobs, or editing jobs and put you in the pool of
candidates under consideration either for employmen or freelance.
Gotta go.
Cheryl L. Higgins
cwhitnah -at- netmeg -dot- net http://folks.netmeg.net/cwhitnah
'The hills show scalp and lift trees/ listless against no wind and less
birds/ leeching sky with bony fingers /like close-cropped hair, thin and
wired up to formless clouds/ their boles weighted, pulled down by great
shags of vine: /bittersweet, greenbriar, wild grape' "Midwinter, coastal New
England'
