posted
Not sure if this is the place to ask but...
Could anyone explain the proper way to handle an opening quotation when preparing a manuscript?
For example, I quote a line from Keats at the beginning of my story like so:
Story Title
blah blah blah - Keats
John Doe waved his knife menancingly. Etc. Etc.
Mostly wondering about formatting. Do I just center it above the opening paragraph or what?
Can't seem to find any helpful references on the web. If anyone could point me in the right direction or provide an example, I'd appreciate it. Thanks .
Fellow Hatracker Brad T Torgensen opened his winning WotF story Exanastasis with the Greek definition of the word. If you're using someone elses work it's best to credit where you are using the passage from, whether the passgae is from a fictional publication or not. Just put the borrowed passage in italisized text and make sure you credit the author. Also make sure the author won't have an issue with it, copywrite laws and all.
posted
I just grabbed a bunch of books off my shelf and found those type quotes to be on a page by themselves.
Thus, I think for submitting you could do it that way as well, or as you have it in italics.
Regarding to center or not to center when submitting, I'm not sure. I think the title is in bold in the center, then if you have some italics then the - Famous Person indented below it the agent/editor would get the hint.
Just remember to try to keep those 13 lines on the first page.
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