Formatting Guidelines
*Submissions for our first issue will open in February.*
Just a quick note: Submissions that don’t follow the guidelines (both here and on our submission guidelines page) won’t be considered. Be sure to use the template and check every item before submitting.
We only accept Microsoft Word documents (.doc or .docx). We encourage authors to download and use this Microsoft Word Template, which contains the correct formatting as described below. If you don’t have access to Microsoft Word, you can use Google Docs and download your completed story as a .docx file.
How to name your file:
<YourLastName>-<StoryTitle>-<SparkIssue/Theme>
Example: Taylor-OnTheRoadAgain-OffTheBeatenPath
In the upper left-hand corner of the document (in the header), include:
- Your name as you would like it to appear in print
- Your contact information (phone number, email address, and mailing address)
- The title of your story
- The word count (excluding the title, your name, and your contact information)
The body of your story should be:
- Just the story. No need to include images or additional info.
- Double-spaced
- Size 12 black Times New Roman font
- 1” page margins
- Indented to 0.5″ using the ruler / paragraph settings (not a tab or five spaces)
Once you have your formatted manuscript ready and have read our Submission Guidelines, use the form on the Submission Guidelines page to submit your story.
