How to Write a Manuscript for Your Book Submissions! Here’s Your Basic Guide for Correct Manuscript Format!

While learning how to write a manuscript, I spent a little extra time and research developing a guide to help you create a manuscript for your fiction. This guide helps me format my manuscripts prior to submission to traditional publishers or literary agents.

When writing a manuscript, you may think that these standards are pretty strange and make your book look bad, but don't worry about how it looks. A publisher generally sends it to other entities that edit and format your book from the standard manuscript format into a standard book format during the publishing phase of your book. When you are self-publishing your own fiction, you will skip the manuscript writing stage altogether and jump straight to formatting your book on your own.

First, here is a few need-to-know tips on writing your manuscript:

1. You should use 1 inch margins all around your text on every page.

2. Use double spacing throughout the content of your manuscript. This makes it easier to edit and read.

3. Do not use italics in your manuscript. The text you should be italicizing during the final published version should be underlined in your manuscript.

4. When typing your manuscript, spell out all numbers. Do not use numbers as numbers (4, 10 , or 25). They should look like four, ten, or twenty-five.

5. Don't use the percent sign or dollar sign. Spell out "dollar" or "percent". That goes for the "&" (ampersand and) symbol too.

Many publishers have a particular format they want your manuscript in when they receive it. Not all publishers want the same things, but by researching several publishers, I've noticed quite a few similarities that help you understand how to write a manuscript in a more standard format universal to most publishers.

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