Update #8: No TOC in the manuscript of your novel

Nooo!

Don't do it.

Do NOT put a table of contents in a novel you send on submission (unless of course who ever requested it wants one.)

Here's why: it requires formatting, and every bit of formatting you put in that doesn't transfer has the potential of gooping up your manuscript.  It doesn't matter if chapter 6 starts on page 3000 if I can't actually read the pages.

Second, I'm reading electronically starting at the front and proceeding apace.  My Kindle doesn't even recognize page numbers.

Third, I'm reading electronically so I'm going to use a search function to find a chapter, or a word, not the TOC.

Fourth, unless you have it set to automatically adjust when the font/layout is adjusted, it will be wrong if I change the font to something other than yours, and fix the margins.***

Notice on the photo above that the Epilogue starts on page 229 according to the TOC.
Now look at the bottom: page 3, Sec 1 3/205. That means there are only 205 pages in the document.

That's because I changed the font from Courier to Times New Roman. And that means your TOC isn't useful at all.


There's no compelling need for a TOC in a novel submission.  Leave it out.

You should also leave out: dedications, acknowledgements and notice of copyright.  All that is added in at a later stage (AFTER the book is sold, and edited.)


***NOT TO MENTION DOUBLESPACE THE DAMN THING...oh wait, was I shrieking?