Iam planning on publishing my book once its done and i dont really know what a manuscript is completely. Please explain and if any of you writers out there have anything that you wish you knew before you went and published your book. Anotherwards any advice! Also i want serious people that know what their talking about and not some rude comment!
2006-07-02 22:15:18 · 5 answers · asked by ? 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
The reason why i dont want a rude comment is because theres alot of people on here that arent serious about the answer and they are rude!
2006-07-02 22:20:39 · update #1
A manuscript is basically your completed book, printed out on one side of a stack of paper - double spaced. You'll want your last name and the title of the book, as well as a page number on each page.
I put mine in the top right hand corner so it looks something like this:
SMITH/This is my Book 145
But there are other formats. Some people will tell you to put your page numbers centered on the bottom of the page. I don't think it matters so much what format you choose as long as you're consistent.
New chapters always get a new page, and generally you start the first line of a new chapter a third of the way down the page. Again, there are different styles. I took a novel workshop last summer and all of us had recognizable, legible manuscripts - but none of us had chosen the exact same formatting style, so don't stress over it.
The cover letter serves as introduction for both you and your book. You want to give a brief description that will really draw someone into reading the manuscript. Examples are available in various how-to write books and also on Miss Snark and Evil Editor's websites. If you haven't checked out Miss Snark or Evil Editor, I'd definitely recommend it. They take a lot of the mystery out of the publishing process, along with good doses of humor.
2006-07-03 17:25:50 · answer #1 · answered by poohba 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A Manuscript is everything that you want to get into print. ( In a logical sort of order, of course it also depends on the type of book/ story/ short story/ novel etc. that you are writing and wish to get published.
A Cover letter is a brief description of the work sent to an editor or publisher, so that they (the editor/publisher) can tell you if they are interested in your book. Actually, I think I may have cunfused a Summary for the cover letter.
At any rate, I would highly reccomend you first visit some of these sites to further answer all of your writing, editing, publishing needs.
I'm still taking a course through the mail to hone my writing craft. I'll put the link below since they give great advice to writers of all levels.
2006-07-03 05:34:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Manuscript: A typewritten or handwritten version of a book, an article, a document, or other work, especially the author's own copy, prepared and submitted for publication in print.
cover letter: A letter sent with other documents to explain more fully or provide more information.
The one IS your book. The other is about who you are and you wanting them to publish it...
Cover letter end usually with:
Awaiting your rejection,
Yours desperately,
Anonymous (worlds most famous writer)
2006-07-03 05:22:06 · answer #3 · answered by Puppy Zwolle 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you really need to do your research before getting your book published.
A manuscript is basically your novel, typed neatly, usualyl double-spaced.
A cover letter is a letter addressed to the publisher describing your novel/story in brief.
2006-07-03 05:22:50 · answer #4 · answered by scholar 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are some wonderful books on writing that explain all your questions, go to Amazon.com and peruse books on writing you first novel, non-fiction, biography, proposals, cover letters, manuscripts, etc...
2006-07-03 06:54:16 · answer #5 · answered by ZZ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋