A manuscript is the early stage of book writing, usually handwritten rather than typed or printed out by the authors. The term comes from the Latin manu scriptus, meaning written by hand; for publishing purposes, a manuscript refers to books submitted for consideration to publishers with hopes that they might get published.
Manuscripts were the sole form of book production before the invention of printing presses in the 15th century, which made reading them extremely difficult and costly due to being written manually.
Today, manuscripts remain an option for many writers who prefer writing by hand or do not feel confident using computers. Others find seeing their early draft helps them edit and revise more efficiently.
Scholars and historians use manuscripts as research sources to develop particular works or an author’s writing style, providing valuable insights into their thoughts and intentions that might have yet to come across in published books.
A manuscript should be an incomplete work ready for publication, featuring professional formatting with chapters and sections delineated and no errors or typos present.
Submitting a manuscript to a publisher allows them to read it and assess if they wish to publish it; should this happen, they will work closely with both author and publisher to edit and format the book for publication.
Ms is an author’s original handwritten or typed work from which their book will ultimately be created. It represents their vision in its purest form before editing takes place or changes are made by anyone else. Furthermore, reading their manuscript gives insight into their thought process and their intent for it being read by readers.