Ann Burnett, writer and tutor

If you want to see your work in print then you must produce professional looking manuscripts. No publisher or editor is going to be bothered looking at a tatty, dog-eared, coffee-ringed manuscript that looks as if it has been sent round many publishers before it lands on his desk. Pristine efforts are the order of the day.

They must be double-spaced in size 12 print and in a regular font like Times New Roman. The pages must be numbered and each should have the title and author's name on it. What happens if your paper clip or staple comes out and your work is scattered all over the office floor? Remember, 100's of manuscripts arrive every week; it's all too easy for work to be lost or pages to be separated.

And if your work has arrived by email (after checking that they are willing to accept such) then make sure that a contact address is on each page.

KEEP A COPY OF YOUR WORK. If you wish it to be returned to you, then enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Take a note of what you send where and when you sent it. Do not expect a reply for weeks. In fact, some don't even bother replying at all.