I just submitted a story to the Gettysburg Review, which was kind of ambitious of me, but I realized when I read their FAQ page that they want the submissions to be double spaced. Unfortunately, I didn't know this at the time I submitted. Have you ever run into a similar small issue like that? If so, was your piece dismissed for not following the rules for formatting?
I'd send a follow up saying you'd attached the wrong file and here is the double-spaced one, or something like that. It might be tossed at a glance if you catch a particularly moody or busy reader, or they might see that the writing is coherent (putting you in the top echelons of submissions) and overlook it. No way to tell.
You can withdraw it and resubmit if you did it online. If you hard mailed it in, I would just wait and see what happens. It will probably be more of an issue if you draw attention to it. And it's not that big of a deal. It just makes it easier for the editor to read. If your piece is accepted, they'll have there own formatting that you'll see in the galley proofs. Just keep in mind that pretty much all places want submissions double spaced unless it's poetry.
Hey, I also have a question regarding submissions. I was really careful about following the Shunn format but there are some points that confuse me, mostly I'm interested if these are out-dated or are still valid 1. "To emphasize a specific word or phrase in your manuscript, do so with italics. It used to be done so with underlining." This is correct? Italics are done in manuscript with italics? 2. "If you want to indicate an em dash--the punctuation that sets off this phrase--simply type two hyphens. Most word processors will convert the two hyphens to a dash automatically. (Courier users might want to turn off this particular feature of autocorrect, since in monospaced fonts a dash is difficult to distinguish from a lone hyphen.) There’s no need to put spaces around the dash." I'm not sure I get these right. If I submit the manuscript in courier, then all the em-dashes should NOT be typed but rather indicated with two hyphens--? If I submit in Times New Roman, the em-dashes have to be typed correctly as em-dashes and not indicated with two hyphens? 3. "Standard practice today is to put only one space between sentences. Back in the typewriter era, two spaces was the standard, but those days have flown." This is correct, the standard today is to use only one space between sentences? Thank you.
