You are ready to start submitting your poems, you have more work that needs to be done. Once you have gathered all of your well-revised selection of poems and you are ready to choose from to put together a manuscript of your poetry, you have to know how to format those poems. You can’t just turn in anything.

As with any publications, there are common standards to which you should stick to in order to get your poetry. Here are the standards you need to pay attention to:

• Paper: Use plain white 8.5 x 11 inch paper. Don’t attempt to be cute and use stationery with flowers as the border.

• Font: You should always type your poems on a computer. It’s important to use a clear font, such as Times New Roman, Courier or Arial. You also want to use an easy to read font size like a 10 or 12 point. While you can type the title in all caps that tends to scream at the person viewing it, so try to steer clear. Whether you want to accept it or not, it is your goal to make the editor’s job easier.

• Page Formatting: Your name and address should go in either the right or left top corner of the page and then space down a few lines for the title. For poems that are, type “Untitled” on the title line and continue. Next, space down a few lines and type the poem.Most poetry markets are fine with single-spaced stanzas, but some insist on double-spacing. So when you’re choosing which markets to send your poems to, read the guidelines of the publication carefully.Your margins should have at least a 1-inch margin all the way around your page.If your poem extends to more pages, indicate such by typing the page number at the bottom right of the page to indicate its continuation. Be sure to indicate if the page break occurs in the middle of a stanza or after one by writing “[stanza break]” or “[no stanza break]” at the bottom of the page placed within the brackets as indicated.At the top of a page that extends beyond page 1, and the rest, put your last name, the poem’s title, and the page number.Do not put copyright notices anywhere on your poetry. Not only is it insulting to editors you submit to, but your poems are copyrighted simply by your writing them down.

• Proofread: Make sure to spellcheck your writing and punctuation on a computer, and then have a friend give the poems a final proofread. Involuntary misspellings are the death of a poem.

Format your poems according to the tips shared to make sure that you are doing it right and don’t miss out on publishing opportunities.