Manual spacing might look something like this:!NoteWorthyComposer(2.75)
|AddStaff|Name:"Staff"
|StaffProperties|EndingBar:Open (hidden)|BoundaryBottom:16|WithNextStaff:Layer
|Lyrics|Align:Standard Rules
|Lyric1|Text:"fail-ing\n"
|Note|Dur:8th,Slur|Pos:-3|Opts:Stem=Up,Slur=Upward,Beam=First
|Spacer|Width:75
|Note|Dur:8th,Slur|Pos:-4|Opts:Stem=Up,Beam=End
|Spacer|Width:75
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-5
|Spacer|Width:100
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-6
|Spacer|Width:75
|Bar
|AddStaff|Name:"Staff-2"
|StaffProperties|EndingBar:Open (hidden)
|Note|Dur:4th,Slur|Pos:-8|Opts:Stem=Down,Slur=Downward,StemLength=4
|Spacer|Width:0|Color:1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-7|Opts:Stem=Up
|Spacer|Width:0|Color:1
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-6|Opts:Stem=Down,StemLength=5
|Spacer|Width:0|Color:1
|Bar
|Spacer|Width:0|Color:1
!NoteWorthyComposer-End
and yes, it can get tedious.