A question came up in my critique group which I thought I’d post as a poll here on Inkygirl. In your manuscripts, do you use underlining to indicate italicized text, or do you just italicize whatever typeface you’re using. And what typeface DO you use for your standard manuscripts when printing them out for submission?
According to the MLA, underlining to indicate italics is not as common as it used to be. I’ve been underlining but am considering changing.
What about the rest of you?
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Mary 09.30.08 at 10:59 am
I am an italics whore, not gonna lie. As for font, I’m a big fan of High Tower Text. It’s similar to Palatino Linotype (which I used to use), but… nicer, I guess. Very readable and classy, yet with that special something extra.
Laura J. Underwood 09.30.08 at 11:41 am
I tend to do with what the editor says. If they want Times New Roman and underlining, they get it. If they want Bookman Old Style and italics, they get it.
When I am *writing* I invariably use italics, but only because I like seeing them and know how to turn them on and off with a keystroke.
Laura J. Underwood (Author of Dragon’s Tongue, Hounds of Ardagh, Ard Magister and many others)
JodiLee 09.30.08 at 1:04 pm
I find it easier to read good old Courier, so that’s what I use. I also find I follow the guidelines for wherever I’m planning on submitting.
Mari 09.30.08 at 2:36 pm
It’s always wise to follow the guidelines of the place you’re submitting to. However, having said that, I use Courier as it’s easier to read, and I use both italics and underlining - which I’ve found that most publishers like because a lot of time italics alone are and can be missed.
Katherine 09.30.08 at 4:28 pm
I generally use Times New Roman size 12 and italics.
Jenna 09.30.08 at 4:40 pm
I usually just italicize instead of underlining. It looks better to me. I usually use ten point times new roman because I print each weekend’s work so I can work on it during the week, and 10 pt TNR takes up less paper…
When I actually start submitting, I’ll go with whatever is requested.
Andrea 10.01.08 at 6:50 am
I italicize my titles, but I could see where both underlining and italicize would be helpful because just italics are easy to miss.
A question for you Debbie: What style book do you use for your magazine writing?
David de Beer 10.01.08 at 8:54 am
To affirm what’s been said already — follow the submission guidelines, if they want it underlined, I underline.
Having said that, if given a choice, I italicize. What I’ve noticed is that email submissions most often you can italicize, but print submissions want them underlined. My standard format nowadays:
courier. 12 point. double space. indent first line of paragraph.
it’s gotten to the point when even if I’m reading someone else’s story or article on my PC, I reformat them as indicated above. Just more comfortable for me.
Kayla 10.02.08 at 8:52 am
I was talking with an editor once and he brought up italics vs. underlining. He said the reason there was a rule about underlining is because when things were being written on a typwriter, there wasn’t the option to hit the italics key. You had to underline to indicate where you wanted italics.
I personally use italics just because I was never told anything else.
Katherine 10.03.08 at 7:22 am
Notwithstanding the caveat that others have pointed our re: submission guidelines, I use italics. Underlining is for when italics are not available. If you’re on a computer, they’re generally available. Underlining on a computer is generally only good for when they’re called for in submissions guidelines, or for a retro typewriter look.
Furthermore, underlining obscures the descenders on letters and slightly decreases readability, making a “g” look like an “a” or “o” and a “y” look like a “v”. That’s one of the reasons why there’s been a trend away from using underlining for web page links.
Julie 10.03.08 at 1:13 pm
I understood that underlining was used because typewriters couldn’t do italics, which lead me to believe that since italics are available now we should go ahead and use them.
I dislike underlining for large portions of text because it makes it difficult to read (see comment above). On-screen I always think I’m going to be able to click something that’s underlined and I have this frowny second or two if I come across good old-fashioned underlining-for-its-own-sake.
Julie 10.03.08 at 1:20 pm
Oh, and I’m amazed that the number of people who like Courier. I find it (sorry) ugly and would rather read text in something more “bookish”, like Garamond or even Times New Roman for printed materials. I like something sans serif, like Verdana, for on-screen reading.
As above, though, whatever an editor wants, an editor gets.
Criss 10.05.08 at 5:30 pm
I tend to over-italicize, so when I’m writing fiction (where my YA characters tend to emphasize the key words they’re saying to make sure the point gets across clearly) I prefer to underline because, as a fellow writer pointed out to me, you can see underlining more clearly (glaringly) than italicizing, so it’s easier to see how much you have (over) used it.
Mela 10.07.08 at 12:32 pm
Georgia and italics