- The purpose of a manuscript is to share knowledge, inspire others to take action and embrace new viewpoints, or entertain people with a compelling story. Before you start writing, ask yourself what you want your manuscript to accomplish.
- Identify the demographic that will read your manuscript. You could be writing for a creative writing teacher for a grade, or for a book editor who may want to publish your manuscript. The better you understand your readers, the more closely you can tailor the content to appeal to them.
- If your goal is to sell to a publisher, resources such as "Writer's Market" will specify desired word counts. If it's an assignment for a creative writing class, an instructor usually advises how many pages of content are acceptable. Prepare a working outline to determine how much space to allocate to each topic and chapter.
- Manuscripts are typically double-spaced and left-aligned with a .5" indentation for each new paragraph. The preferred font is 12 pt. Courier or Times New Roman. Content is printed on one side of 8-1/2 by 11 inch white bond, and page numbers are placed in the upper or lower right corners.
- A cover page with the title and author's contact information precedes the body of the manuscript. Works cited, glossaries and index information are placed at the end of the manuscript.
- Comprehensive research or an original story won't score any points if the manuscript is full of spelling and grammar errors or falls short in organization, neatness and cohesion. Always recruit extra pairs of eyes to proofread your work thoroughly before you submit it.
