How To Format A Book

In this blog post you’ll learn how to format a book.

You’re all caught up with the excitement of writing your book, your first-ever foray into publishing.

And sure enough, you don’t pay attention to formatting details.

Why would you?

You’re only worried about getting the words and stories onto paper at this point in your writing. You feel like formatting slows you down, and it does.

It’s all good, at least for now.

But you must deal with formatting sooner or later.

And the truth is that it’s a step you just can’t skip. A complete manuscript must go through the formatting process before showing it to a publisher or even self-publishing it.

And while you’re probably more afraid of dealing with formatting issues than the writing itself, it’s a necessary evil.

Formatting isn’t as complicated as it seems at first glance.

In essence, you only want your book to follow the industry’s standards for font size, type style, line spacing and margins. All these factors significantly impact how your book looks and reads.

Further Reading

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Why Is Book Formatting Important?

Even in their first attempt at writing a book, authors must strive to make the best impression with their manuscripts. Formatting is a crucial part of achieving this goal. A manuscript that isn’t properly formatted could be rejected by publishers.

Proper formatting addresses the following:

• Readability – The font size, type style, and line spacing must be adequate for readability. It makes a huge difference in how your book looks and reads.
• Page Layout – Page layout ensures that the text appears correctly when printed or converted into an eBook. This includes margins, page numbering, etc.
• Consistency – Consistency helps bring the look and feel of your book together. It also makes it easier to find specific sections in your manuscript.
• Branding – Proper formatting includes the use of a consistent logo or cover image on all pages of your book. This builds brand recognition and gives you a distinctive identity as an author.

What Makes Formatting a Book Challenging?

The main challenges for formatting lie in the software you use.

Not all software is created equal, meaning some programs don’t handle certain types of formatting well.

This could mean that your font will look different from what you wanted it to be or that the line spacing isn’t as perfect as you’d hoped.

Remember that different publishers have different specifications.

For instance, some might require specific fonts, while others may not care as long as they’re legible. Likewise, certain publishing houses require double-spacing for all text rather than single-spacing.

Before we dig into the specifics of formatting a book, let’s discuss the qualities of a manuscript and why it needs to be formatted.

What’s a Manuscript?

The term is Latin for “written by hand,” which tells you that a manuscript is essentially a rough draft of your book in its entirety. It contains all the words you had intended to write down, but it isn’t ready for printing yet.

The very nature of a manuscript is that it’ll be worked on and edited before being presented to a publisher. When editing a manuscript, your main focuses are the grammar, spelling, and clarity of ideas.

Formatting, on the other hand, is the next stage after the initial editing process.

It’s about ensuring everything looks professional and consistent throughout the book.

The formatting serves as the final “polish” that makes the book look presentable and attractive to would-be readers.

Format Your Book Manuscript

Formatting is essential before manuscript submission.

Think of it as a necessary step before you can even start thinking about getting it into print. Here are the steps for formatting your book manuscript:

Step 1 – Select formatting software.

You’re not using a typewriter! You must select an appropriate formatting program, and your options are as follows:

• Microsoft Word – Clearly the most popular choice among authors, Word offers an excellent selection of formatting options. It’s the sensible choice if you already have a Microsoft 365 account. This program is the oldest among the options here, which says a lot about its reliability. But it’s not perfect, with the glaring limitations on fonts and line spacing.
• Adobe InDesign – This is the most powerful of all the formatting tools out there. It’s pricey but makes up for that by offering almost limitless options for font styles and page layout. This is the program of choice if you want to make your book as visually appealing as possible. Aside from the price, another possible drawback is the difficulty using all the features.
• Scrivener – This program is designed for writers and offers a simple solution with its set formatting templates. It’s easy to learn but not as extensive as options. And by the way, you’ll need to do some extra work if you want your book formatted for an eReader device.
• Atticus – This software has a $ 147 lifetime subscription and is designed for authors who plan on writing more in the future. It offers a host of features for creating professional-looking books quickly and easily, with the added perk of having to design a cover page. And we’re not talking about a simple or laid-back style – every detail necessary for a professional-looking book is available here.
• Reedsy – If you want a free and user-friendly formatting tool, Reedsy gives you just that and more. It takes care of all the mundane formatting tasks while you sit back and focus on creating content for your book. This program also provides a built-in preview feature to see how your book appears as you’re working on it. There’s no learning curve here; everything is straightforward and highly intuitive. However, don’t expect advanced formatting tools in Atticus and Adobe InDesign.

Step 2 – Learn the formatting guidelines for each publishing platform for eBook and paperback.

The most prevalent reason proposals are either returned for alterations or entirely rejected is due to formatting issues.

If you want your book proposal to sail through, see that you adhere to the formatting guidelines for each publishing platform you plan to submit to.

From Amazon and Barnes & Noble Press to Google Play Store and Apple Books, the formatting demands of each platform is unique.

Familiarize yourself with the required standards: font sizes, page layout measurements, cover design formats, etc. Remember that there’s no such thing as a universal standard for formatting book manuscripts, so make sure to research each of the platforms you intend to submit your work to.

Embrace the fact that this will take a lot of work, but that’s nothing compared to being rejected or having to make numerous edits that could’ve been avoided had you followed the rules in the first place. Here are the links to the formatting guidelines for the major platforms:

Amazon

• eBook 
• Paperback

Barnes & Noble Press

• eBook 
• Paperback

Google

• eBook

Apple Books

• EPUB

Kobo

• eBook

Step 3 – Create the front and back matter.

Your book’s front and back matter must be written before you start formatting the interior pages.

It’ll include the title page, copyright information, table of contents, acknowledgments and any other pieces of text you deem necessary to include. The same formatting principles apply here as with the main body: font type, size, and colour.

Depending on the number of pages in your book, you may need to create a separate section for the acknowledgments.

This is especially true if you’re using a standard-size spine template; otherwise, you’ll run out of pages in the front matter.

The contents of your front matter will depend on your preferences, but in most scenarios, the following is essential:

• Title Page – Includes the book title, author(s) name and any other information relevant to the book.
• Copyright Notice – A statement affirming that you are the copyright owner of your work.
• Table of Contents – Indicates where each section begins in the main body of your book.
• Foreword – A preface written by someone other than the author.
• Dedication Page – A tribute to someone special. This one must be brief and must appeal to the emotion.

As for the back matter, there are several elements to consider.

These include an index, acknowledgement, glossary of terms, list of resources, author information and a book promotion page.

Again, your selection will depend on the type and length of your book; but if you can fit all these in without compromising other aspects of your formatting, go ahead!

The acknowledge and “about the author” pages are the only necessities here, but it doesn’t mean you can’t add others.

A book promotion page effectively encourages readers to check out your other works or reach out for interviews and collaborations. It’s also where you may ask them to leave reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, or any other relevant platform.

Step 4 – Focus on optimizing the title page.

The title page plays an irreplaceable role in your book. It’s the face of your book, so it must be aesthetically pleasing and reflective of the story.

Pick a font that’s easy yet elegant enough to tickle the senses of your potential audience.

But don’t get too creative here; the title page should be easy to read and understand at a glance.

The font size and type must be consistent with the rest of the book and other elements, i.e., colour and artwork. Most importantly, keep it simple – you don’t want to distract your readers with an overly designed page.

The page must contain the book’s title, author name, and contact information.

If submitting to a publisher, include pertinent information like the ISBN and publisher’s logo (if available). You may add elements like a blurb or author bio/headshot, but that’s entirely up to you.

Step 5- Order the Table of Contents

Formatting a book’s table of contents is crucial for easy navigation.

To achieve a well-organized table of contents, follow these guidelines:

Begin the table of contents on a new page, using a clear title like “Table of Contents” or “Contents.”

List all chapters or major sections in the order they appear in the book, including the preface and introduction.

Include chapter or section titles exactly as they appear in the book, using consistent capitalization and formatting.

Add the corresponding page numbers for each chapter or section. Align the page numbers accurately, and use dot leaders to connect titles and page numbers.

Maintain consistency between the table of contents and the actual book content.

Ensure that the page numbering sequence is correct throughout the book, using lowercase Roman numerals for front matter and Arabic numerals for the main content and back matter.

Place page numbers at the top or bottom of the page in the header or footer, respectively, with even pages on the left and odd pages on the right.

Remember to update the table of contents whenever there are changes to the book’s structure or page numbers.

For eBooks, consider using “locations” or “percentage read” for navigation, as page numbers are not fixed in digital formats.

Always refer to the publisher’s guidelines or style guide for specific formatting requirements.

Step 6 – Prepare your manuscript for interior formatting.

You can’t start working on the content until you prepare the document properly.

It entails simple tasks such as running a spelling and grammar check, proofreading the text to eliminate errors, removing any extra line spacing or indentation and double-checking that margins are consistent throughout the pages.

See that all headers and footers are set up properly, more so during the eBook conversion process, as this ensures the content looks neat on different platforms. Another crucial step is to add page numbers to your manuscript; this goes without saying, but you’d be surprised that some authors still overlook it.

Step 7 – Format the chapters.

You can work on the main content once the front and back matter are ready.

This includes adding chapter titles, subtitles, headings and subheadings, and page breaks where necessary.

The key is to use a consistent font size throughout the book; doing so will help maintain the readability of the text.

You should also pay attention to the chapter headings and page numbers.

Use a different font size, colour or style for the headings; it makes sense since it becomes easier for your readers to scan the book quickly. Ensure that page numbers are present in all sections of your book so that readers conveniently navigate from one section to another.

Step 8 – Work on the appearance and layout.

Here’s one step that many first-time authors fail to consider: the appearance and layout of your book.

In this case, your goal is to create a sufficiently spacious, visually appealing page that balances the text and white space.

You should also add relevant illustrations, tables, charts or graphs; it goes without saying that your readers will appreciate having visuals to refer to while reading. But never overdo the images, as this can make the reading experience cumbersome.

The images must be of high resolution and decent size.

Otherwise, they’ll appear pixelated and ugly.

Step 9 – Finalize and publish your book.

Once all the steps are complete, you must proofread the entire manuscript one final time to ensure everything is in its right place.

Test-read the entire book for an immersive experience; it’ll help identify elements like text colour or line spacing that may have gone unnoticed during editing.

It pays to check the manuscript at least three times before you submit it for printing or release via online publishing platforms.

Once you’re confident the book is ready for publication, submit it to a publisher or self-publish it on your preferred platforms.

Whichever method you choose, your book has to meet all industry standards before publishing.

Last Thoughts On How To Format A Book

Formatting your book is a vital step in bringing your literary vision to life.

By adhering to the proper guidelines for font, spacing, margins, and chapter headings, you can ensure a polished and professional appearance that captivates your readers. Remember, consistency is key, and attention to detail will elevate the reading experience.

Whether you’re self-publishing or working with a traditional publisher, a well-formatted book enhances credibility and readability.

So, invest the time and effort needed to get your formatting right, as it sets the stage for your words to shine and leaves a lasting impression on your audience. Happy formatting and best of luck on your journey to becoming a published author