Single Or Double Space

Filed under Copy Editing, Improve your book.

As a professional editor it is very common to come across manuscripts that use double spacing between sentences. This is wrong and here’s why:

The habit of double spacing developed with the common use of the typewriter. The general thinking was that a single space between sentences left them too close together, but by adding an extra space you produced a more pleasing effect.

However, even in the 19th century a debate raged as to the correct approach. The English Method called for two strikes of the space bar between sentences, whilst the French Method asked for just a single space.

The debate was finally ended with the introduction of the word processor. The development of proportional fonts meant that the spacing between sentences was automatically adjusted, and therefore, just a single space was needed.

So for all you English spacers out there – please stop the French single method is the future.

Read more about single vs double spacing here…

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  • Snarkecho

    As someone who has done a bit of professional editing in her time, I really don’t care either way – when I see a manuscript, I’m more excited about good grammar, punctuation and a lack of spelling errors. I don’t bother to count the spaces between sentences and frankly, if we’ve come to the point where one more stupid thing is important for an author to submit their work to an agent, etc. – and this is the breaking point – no wonder the industry is in so much trouble.

    • garysmailes

      Thanks for your comment, you raise two very interesting points.

      The first is that attention to detail (such as spacing) is not important. However, spacing can be a big problem. When a manuscript is converted from Word to Indesign in preparation for printing, the number of spaces between sentences starts to become a big problem, since Indesign works on the assumption of just one space. Editing is far more than checking for typos, it is a holistic process that involves preparing a manuscript to be as close to ‘publisher’ ready as possible. This involves structural, stylistic and copy editing, and checking spacing is part of this.

      The second is that the industry is in trouble. It is true that certain outdated publishing models are under pressure and we are seeing the internet impacting on book shop sales, but despite what you may read, the industry is very healthy. At this moment in history, more people than ever before have access to the written word, and more people read and write on a daily basis than ever before. Yes, the industry is changing, and yes some narrow minded publishers will fail, but this is a golden age for writers.

      • http://twitter.com/AllieDillon Allie Dillon

        Positively refreshing. And how you say in UK, spot on! Allie D. in Austin–the liberal haven of Texas. Literary too–thriving independent bookstores and Texas Book Festival every September.

    • Dewisant

      Agree entirely. Secretary, copy typist and user of word processing for all my working life. Now 73 yrs old and still working. Pam S.

  • Snarkecho

    As someone who has done a bit of professional editing in her time, I really don't care either way – when I see a manuscript, I'm more excited about good grammar, punctuation and a lack of spelling errors. I don't bother to count the spaces between sentences and frankly, if we've come to the point where one more stupid thing is important for an author to submit their work to an agent, etc. – and this is the breaking point – no wonder the industry is in so much trouble.

  • garysmailes

    Thanks for your comment, you raise two very interesting points.

    The first is that attention to detail (such as spacing) is not important. However, spacing can be a big problem. When a manuscript is converted from Word to Indesign in preparation for printing, the number of spaces between sentences starts to become a big problem, since Indesign works on the assumption of just one space. Editing is far more than checking for typos, it is a holistic process that involves preparing a manuscript to be as close to 'publisher' ready as possible. This involves structural, stylistic and copy editing, and checking spacing is part of this.

    The second is that the industry is in trouble. It is true that certain outdated publishing models are under pressure and we are seeing the internet impacting on book shop sales, but despite what you may read, the industry is very healthy. At this moment in history, more people than ever before have access to the written word, and more people read and write on a daily basis than ever before. Yes, the industry is changing, and yes some narrow minded publishers will fail, but this is a golden age for writers.

  • http://twitter.com/AllieDillon Allie Dillon

    Positively refreshing. And how you say in UK, spot on! Allie D. in Austin–the liberal haven of Texas. Literary too–thriving independent bookstores and Texas Book Festival every September.

  • Dewisant

    Agree entirely. Secretary, copy typist and user of word processing for all my working life. Now 73 yrs old and still working. Pam S.

  • Dave Bartlett

    “So for all you English spacers out there – please stop the French single method is the future.”

    I agree that double spacing between sentences isn’t necessary, but it’s hardly a worth labouring the point, when you join clauses with hyphens (a questionable practice) and also don’t even bother with terminating sentences at all.

    Can I suggest “So for all you English spacers out there, please stop: the French single method is the future.” or perhaps “So for all you English spacers out there: please stop. The French single method is the future.”

    Spacing between sentences doesn’t really seem that important really, does it?

    Please don’t take offence, I appreciate that the error just escaped proof reading. I’m making my comments in good nature. Basically I’m just a piss-taking git. :) )

    • garysmailes

      Dave – piss take accepted. I am using blog grammar so anything goes… ?!?!

      Though a serious point here. I noticed that my editor (at a very big publisher) had recently added a hyphen into some of my work. When I pulled it up, the editor explained that the style was being used more often with children’s books since they felt the reader would be more comfortable. So, if anything, this post must show that grammar is fluid :-)

      • Dave Bartlett

        Yes. I’ve heard of hyphens being used as punctuation and I’ve seen it more and more in published works. I agree that it illustrates that publishers find it more and more acceptable, and of course English as a language is constantly developing.

        That doesn’t mean that we have to lie down and just accept it though. It isn’t editors and publishers that define the language: it’s all the people who use it. In the case of written English, that’s the people who read and write the stuff.

        I appreciate that there may be times when the odd hyphen is the best way a writer can think of to express the tone of the idea that he’s trying to get across, but let’s not be lazy and just accept that. (And certainly let’s not be pressured into using them by editors or anyone else for that matter!)

        I for one will use any other traditional grammatical tool before I’ll consider using a hyphen, but will still consider it if and when I feel it’s necessary.

        • http://andreajwenger.com AndreaJWenger

          The correct grammatical tool in this case is the em dash rather than the hyphen. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that a true em dash will survive Internet formatting (either in email or on the Web), so I resort to a double hyphen in its place. Space-hyphen-space can also serve as a dash, but I think it looks amateurish.

          • garysmailes

            I think I see myself as a grammar maverick!!!

      • http://twitter.com/meredithgreene Meredith Greene

        I was arguing the “fluid grammar” point with a rather emotional editor the other day; when she lamented today’s ‘blog’ grammar, I pointed out that the majority of young readers text more than they talk and think that OMG is a word.

  • Dave Bartlett

    “So for all you English spacers out there – please stop the French single method is the future.”

    I agree that double spacing between sentences isn't necessary, but it's hardly a worth labouring the point, when you join clauses with hyphens (a questionable practice) and also don't even bother with terminating sentences at all.

    Can I suggest “So for all you English spacers out there, please stop: the French single method is the future.” or perhaps “So for all you English spacers out there: please stop. The French single method is the future.”

    Spacing between sentences doesn't really seem that important really, does it?

    Please don't take offence, I appreciate that the error just escaped proof reading. I'm making my comments in good nature. Basically I'm just a piss-taking git. :) )

  • garysmailes

    Dave – piss take accepted. I am using blog grammar so anything goes… ?!?!

    Though a serious point here. I noticed that my editor (at a very big publisher) had recently added a hyphen into some of my work. When I pulled it up, the editor explained that the style was being used more often with children's books since they felt the reader would be more comfortable. So, if anything, this post must show that grammar is fluid :-)

  • Dave Bartlett

    Yes. I've heard of hyphens being used as punctuation and I've seen it more and more in published works. I agree that it illustrates that publishers find it more and more acceptable, and of course English as a language is constantly developing.

    That doesn't mean that we have to lie down and just accept it though. It isn't editors and publishers that define the language: it's all the people who use it. In the case of written English, that's the people who read and write the stuff.

    I appreciate that there may be times when the odd hyphen is the best way a writer can think of to express the tone of the idea that he's trying to get across, but let's not be lazy and just accept that. (And certainly let's not be pressured into using them by editors or anyone else for that matter!)

    I for one will use any other traditional grammatical tool before I'll consider using a hyphen, but will still consider it if and when I feel it's necessary.

  • Steve

    I will continue to type double spaces between sentences while I can still type. It does look better and spacing between sentences is not always adjusted. I’ve read quite a number of books lately where there is single spacing between sentences and it looks cramped.

    Websites always take out the double spacing so my efforts to put double spaces in here will be lost anyway. :(

    • http://twitter.com/TheLitReview The Lit Review

      That’s the HTML standard for you. You could type 500 spaces & it’ll be interpreted as one.

  • Steve

    I will continue to type double spaces between sentences while I can still type. It does look better and spacing between sentences is not always adjusted. I've read quite a number of books lately where there is single spacing between sentences and it looks cramped.

    Websites always take out the double spacing so my efforts to put double spaces in here will be lost anyway. :(

  • http://slightlymorethandirt.blogspot.com Alissa

    By the way speaking as a former newspaper editor, there is an easy way to correct this problem in your manuscript by using the find and replace feature in Word. In the find box hit the spacebar twice and in the replace box hit the spacebar once.

  • http://slightlymorethandirt.blogspot.com Alissa

    By the way speaking as a former newspaper editor, there is an easy way to correct this problem in your manuscript by using the find and replace feature in Word. In the find box hit the spacebar twice and in the replace box hit the spacebar once.

  • http://andreajwenger.com AndreaJWenger

    Here’s a problem, though: In dialogue, if the final sentence ends in a question mark, two spaces after the quotation mark make it clear that it’s the end of the sentence. One space doesn’t, especially if the first word of the next sentence is the speaker’s name. For the sake of clarity, I’ll keep using the extra spaces, until an editor tells me I have to take them out. InDesign, after all, is just a tool, and tools can be changed. Human perception has taken millions of years to evolve and is less mutable.

    • garysmailes

      InDesign is indeed a tool (an industry standard tool, but still a tool), but so is a word processor and typewriter and the printing press, come to think about it. I always advise writers that they need to as ‘publisher’ friendly as possible, I suspect this might be just on of those cases.

      • http://andreajwenger.com AndreaJWenger

        Part of my point is that I want the double spaces to be published in the final book. I haven’t experimented in InDesign yet to see if that’s possible. However, in FrameMaker (also an Adobe product), you can set up the file to allow a double space between sentences. If InDesign doesn’t work that way, it should, and I’ll raise that point with Adobe.

        I believe in being publisher friendly — if the publisher can’t (or won’t) publish the work with double spaces, then there’s no point in including them with the file. What’s more important to me, though, is being reader-friendly. The double spaces convey meaning.

        • garysmailes

          Andrea – InDesign will do just about anything you require. If you are choosing double spacing as part of the aesthetic feel of your book, then I am 100% behind you. I am a big fan of using font and white space to alter the reading experience. In fact, this is one of the writing signatures of BubbleCow’s own Caroline Smailes (www.carolinesmailes.co.uk).

  • http://andreajwenger.com AndreaJWenger

    Here's a problem, though: In dialogue, if the final sentence ends in a question mark, two spaces after the quotation mark make it clear that it's the end of the sentence. One space doesn't, especially if the first word of the next sentence is the speaker's name. For the sake of clarity, I'll keep using the extra spaces, until an editor tells me I have to take them out. InDesign, after all, is just a tool, and tools can be changed. Human perception has taken millions of years to evolve and is less mutable.

  • http://twitter.com/anthonylevings Anthony Levings

    Alissa’s find and replace tip indeed saves much time and should be used wherever possible for other edits as well, but be careful not to inadvertently make unintentional changes using find and replace – if in doubt step through using ‘find next’ not ‘replace all’. I’d also say ignore what the text looks like in Word when it comes to spacing. The Word doc should never be styled to look like the finished product, it does not help the publisher or typesetter. This means, for example, no multiple returns after a sub-heading. Since this is not how typesetting software works – the typesetter specifies space above and below each style of text. It is far more useful, therefore, for the writer to use the Word formatting bar to give style headings h1, h2, h3, etc. (You can add any new style name you like by typing in this box and hitting return, and these will show up in InDesign ready for the typesetter to add the formatting.) This is far more useful than adding bold or italics to text to denote a heading.

    • garysmailes

      Spoken like a true publisher – writers please listen Anthony speaks from experience!!!

  • garysmailes

    InDesign is indeed a tool (an industry standard tool, but still a tool), but so is a word processor and typewriter and the printing press, come to think about it. I always advise writers that they need to as 'publisher' friendly as possible, I suspect this might be just on of those cases.

  • http://twitter.com/anthonylevings Anthony Levings

    Alissa's find and replace tip indeed saves much time and should be used wherever possible for other edits as well, but be careful not to inadvertently make unintentional changes using find and replace – if in doubt step through using 'find next' not 'replace all'. I'd also say ignore what the text looks like in Word when it comes to spacing. The Word doc should never be styled to look like the finished product, it does not help the publisher or typesetter. This means, for example, no multiple returns after a sub-heading. Since this is not how typesetting software works – the typesetter specifies space above and below each style of text. It is far more useful, therefore, for the writer to use the Word formatting bar to give style headings h1, h2, h3, etc. (You can add any new style name you like by typing in this box and hitting return, and these will show up in InDesign ready for the typesetter to add the formatting.) This is far more useful than adding bold or italics to text to denote a heading.

  • garysmailes

    Spoken like a true publisher – writers please listen Anthony speaks from experience!!!

  • http://andreajwenger.com AndreaJWenger

    Part of my point is that I want the double spaces to be published in the final book. I haven't experimented in InDesign yet to see if that's possible. However, in FrameMaker (also an Adobe product), you can set up the file to allow a double space between sentences. If InDesign doesn't work that way, it should, and I'll raise that point with Adobe.

    I believe in being publisher friendly — if the publisher can't (or won't) publish the work with double spaces, then there's no point in including them with the file. What's more important to me, though, is being reader-friendly. The double spaces convey meaning.

  • http://andreajwenger.com AndreaJWenger

    The correct grammatical tool in this case is the em dash rather than the hyphen. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that a true em dash will survive Internet formatting (either in email or on the Web), so I resort to a double hyphen in its place. Space-hyphen-space can also serve as a dash, but I think it looks amateurish.

  • garysmailes

    Andrea – InDesign will do just about anything you require. If you are choosing double spacing as part of the aesthetic feel of your book, then I am 100% behind you. I am a big fan of using font and white space to alter the reading experience. In fact, this is one of the writing signatures of BubbleCow's own Caroline Smailes (http://www.carolinesmailes.co.uk).

  • garysmailes

    I think I see myself as a grammar maverick!!!

  • http://twitter.com/TheLitReview The Lit Review

    That's the HTML standard for you. You could type 500 spaces & it'll be interpreted as one.

  • http://twitter.com/meredithgreene Meredith Greene

    An interesting issue; to me, this particular point falls under a ‘personal preference’ category, verses being a ‘red flag’ for manuscripts. A company I interned at out of high school demanded that all memos be written in double-spaced block capitals.

    Consider that digital literature offers a good deal of ‘tweaking’ options, if you will; if I buy a good-quality eBook, I can often adjust the spacing, formatting and font. On a side note, I noticed that the words on this page are in 1.5.

  • http://twitter.com/meredithgreene Meredith Greene

    An interesting issue; to me, this particular point falls under a 'personal preference' category, verses being a 'red flag' for manuscripts. A company I interned at out of high school demanded that all memos be written in double-spaced block capitals.

    Consider that digital literature offers a good deal of 'tweaking' options, if you will; if I buy a good-quality eBook, I can often adjust the spacing, formatting and font. On a side note, I noticed that the words on this page are in 1.5.

  • http://twitter.com/meredithgreene Meredith Greene

    I was arguing the “fluid grammar” point with a rather emotional editor the other day; when she lamented today's 'blog' grammar, I pointed out that the majority of young readers text more than they talk and think that OMG is a word.