Manuscript

A manuscript is the original author's work that they send to a publisher. The manuscript is not the final published work; it still needs editing before being released to the public. Manuscripts are valuable because they are what the author originally intended for their work. Manuscripts have been used since Ancient Egypt (1571) and can be typed or handwritten. Manuscripts can be created using paper, bark, cloth, ink, pen, pencil, leaves, papyrus, and leather. Manuscripts can reveal culture and thought while serving as sources for future historians to analyze.

Manuscripts serve as rough drafts that need to be edited, formatted, and revised to become a book that can be published. Once this foundation is created, the author should research which publisher to use, potential design ideas, and what media or marketing outlets they want to use. While a manuscript will be edited and changed by editors and the publishers, a manuscript is commonly defined as the legible, fully written work ready to be evaluated. Manuscripts show the original intent of the book before it was published. Details and storylines could differ between the manuscript and the published book.

Things a manuscript should have

The formatting of manuscripts and the material used for them have changed over the years, but these key sections of a manuscript have not. Some things are crucial for a manuscript to include if an author wants a publisher and editor to even look at it: the author's name, contact info, book title, a legible font, no distracting font colors, standard margins, double-spaced text, and chapters. These all contribute to making a manuscript easy to navigate for readers and the editors.

Manuscript examples

The series "Harry Potter," known worldwide, started as draft pages by J.K. Rowling. She has shared some of those draft pages during interviews and exhibitions. Those draft pages are her manuscript for a book series that went on to become movies and tv shows. Within her manuscript/drafts are handwritten lines and illustrations that show the reader her thought process and creativity while writing it. Rowling has also used her manuscripts to attract readers by giving out copies to early fans as collector's items and selling others to organizations.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's book "The Great Gatsby" is read in many high schools. The manuscript is currently being held at the Princeton University Library for preservation and access to the public. Within the manuscript, there are side notes, scratched-out sentences, and passages that move around to different areas of the book. People who view this manuscript get to see the different ways that the story of "The Great Gatsby" could have been told and compare it to the finished result. People interested in book publishing can also look at manuscripts like Fitzgerald's and see that even writers who went on to create revolutionary books started with a rough sketch that had many mistakes.

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