@Switch Blayde
Chicago Manual of Style. CMS is the standard for book publishing, both fiction and non-fiction.
From:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/about16_history.html
The History of The Chicago Manual of Style
The history of The Chicago Manual of Style spans more than one hundred years, beginning in 1891 when the University of Chicago Press first opened its doors. At that time, the Press had its own composing room with experienced typesetters who were required to set complex scientific material as well as work in such then-exotic fonts as Hebrew and Ethiopic. Professors brought their handwritten manuscripts directly to the compositors, who did their best to decipher them. The compositors then passed the proofs to the "brainery"—the proofreaders who corrected typographical errors and edited for stylistic inconsistencies. To bring a common set of rules to the process, the staff of the composing room drew up a style sheet, which was then passed on to the rest of the university community. Even at such an early stage, "the University Press style book and style sheet" was considered important enough to be preserved, along with other items from the Press's early years, in the cornerstone of the new Press building in 1903.
That sheet grew into a pamphlet, and by 1906 the pamphlet had become a book: Manual of Style: Being a compilation of the typographical rules in force at the University of Chicago Press, to which are appended specimens of type in use—otherwise known as the 1st edition of the Manual. (See a facsimile of the 1st edition in PDF format.) At 200 pages, the original Manual cost 50 cents, plus 6 cents for postage and handling. Now in its 16th edition, The Chicago Manual of Style—with more than a thousand pages in print or more than two thousand hyperlinked paragraphs online—has become the authoritative reference work for authors, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers. This hundred-plus-year evolution has taken place under the ongoing stewardship of Chicago's renowned editorial staff, aided by suggestions and requests from the Manual's many readers.
The original manual is titled:
Manual of Style
Being a compilation of the typographical rules
in force at the University of Chicago Press.
and its Preface starts with:
The present work is a codification of the typographical rules and practices in force at the University of Chicago Press.
When the CMoS started its intent was to bring uniformity to the typesetting of the manuscripts of the academic books written by the university's professors.
Another telling point is the advisory board they now have:
Advisory Board for The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition
In creating the 16th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, the Press solicited the recommendations of an external advisory board, composed of a distinguished group of scholars, authors, and professionals from a wide range of publishing and academic environments. The advisory board members, listed below, reviewed the original proposal for and outline and complete first draft manuscript of the 16th edition. Their insights and expertise were instrumental in shaping the final content of this edition and ensuring it reflects the best practices of the broader publishing industry.
David Bevington, Department of English, University of Chicago
William Germano, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
John Hevelin, Publications Consultant
Alex Holzman, Temple University Press
Beth Luey, Editorial Consultant
Evan Owens, Portico
Margaret Perkins, New England Journal of Medicine
Nancy Perry, Bedford/St. Martin's
Oona Schmid, American Anthropological Association
Sem Sutter, University of Chicago Library
Robert Wald, Department of Physics, University of Chicago
edit to add the text from AJ's link:
Q. Hello. Are there any samples of manuscript formats for fiction writing in your new updated book?
A. The Chicago Manual of Style does not include guidelines for submitting manuscripts of works of fiction. Following a long tradition, the manual provides guidelines for editing and writing and publishing works of nonfiction. Most of our rules on punctuation and capitalization apply to all writing, and we do include recommendations for styling such things as direct and indirect discourse, but the "nuts and bolts" information about publishing and editing is primarily geared toward nonfiction articles and books.
