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How should I format a novel with numbered verses?
I have a manuscript for a novel, which I am ready to submit to some literary agencies. Of course, I've researched all the information about how to format a novel, how to indent the paragraphs, etc. The problem is that my novel doesn't have paragraphs, per se; it has numbered verses — like biblical verses — typically about one to three sentences long. So...
Should I just treat each verse like a paragraph, and begin each paragraph with the verse number? When I do this, the indentation looks ugly, and seems like it would be a strain to read.
Or, should I use a simple numbered list? This looks better, and seems easier to read, but it is not as consistent with standard manuscript formatting.
Replies from published authors or (especially) literary agents would be appreciated.
1 Answer
- Anonymous7 years agoFavorite Answer
You might as well emphasize your gimmick as it is the selling point, as it is very likely the reason that most publishers will reject it outright.
You've decided to "buck" conventions by not writing a book which respects the idea of paragraphs, but instead is a deliberately in the style of the bible. You can't hide that, as hiding this would basically just mean you rewriting your book into a regular format. So give up the idea that you can convert it.
Will it look "ugly?" Yes it will. Will it be an annoyance to most readers? Yes it will, but this is what you chose to do when you chose to write the book this way. There isn't a quick fix, a bit of type setting trickery which is going to change the inherent annoyance most readers will feel about such an odd book.
So "when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Steer into the weird, with the hope that someone will understand your weirdness and take a chance on an oddly organized book. We've had the books with no capitalization, we've had books with no punctuation, and we've even had the book without the letter E. So why not your gimmick as well?