Manuscript
PublishingA work's complete text as submitted to publishers — today a file, formerly handwritten pages.
Example
"Complete manuscript, 12-pt serif, double-spaced, numbered pages" — the most widespread submission convention.
Strictly, a manuscript is a handwritten text (manu scriptus); in current publishing usage, the word names a work's complete text as submitted to a publisher, whatever the medium — you "send your manuscript" whether it's a file or a printed typescript.
Publishers generally publish their submission requirements: expected form, sober readable layout (generous line spacing, margins, page numbers), finished text. Beyond conventions, what reading committees eliminate first isn't layout: it's the text submitted too early — before revision, before beta reading, before the first chapter earns the rest.
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