In todays post, ian andrew, former microsoft trainer turned selfpublished author, provides a simple beginners guide to using word to format ebooks. And like using the right font or proper margins, controlling spacing is an important part of document formatting. Tips for formatting your book correctly in microsoft word. How to create a table of contents in microsoft word. Youll save yourself a ton of work and formatting headaches if you set up your formatting before you start writing. To set this up, go to the modify menu for the normal style, as in step 2. Using the styles function in word can help you ensure your books font and spacing is consistent. What is the biggest mistake selfpublishing authors make when preparing their book for ebook conversion. All of these background elements can alter the look of your ebook once it is published. Formatting for kindle ebook amazon kindle formatting guide.
As tab spacing didnt convert into kindle format so you have to indent your paragraphs. Old school taught us to use the tab key to make paragraph indents. Lets quickly go through the steps to adjust the spacing using the paragraph options in ms word, just in case you want that. Vellum is the single best investment any author can make. Styles are words way to standardize the treatment and appearance of words, characters, and blocks of text. Kdp was very helpful in formatting the cover design for my print version of my ebook the hiindu temples in sri lanka.
In indents and spacing, 1 make sure line spacing is single, and 2 uncheck the radio. Simple ebook formatting using ms word molly greene. Adjusting line spacing to put lines very close isnt usually necessary for regular text. Ive discovered there are a number of things that authors are struggling with when it comes to formatting, so i thought i would share with you some of the questions i see most often asked. Readability is an interesting topic, and there are a number of readability formulas that can be. In this free detailed guide, im going to show you how to format a book for kindle for fiction and nonfiction yes, there is a difference when it comes to formatting fiction and nonfiction, so you need to make sure you follow the right process for your genre. After you format your manuscript in word, add finishing touches with kindle. For a good reading experience on kindle, a line spacing of. In the image above, you can see that first line indent is used to create paragraphs with no line spacing before and after a line. Self publishing your kindle book with microsoft word, or tips on formatting your document so your ebook wont look terrible.
Formatting ebooks with calibre selfpublishing advice. Jul 09, 2012 the thing is that you must start formatting your page size first before you do anything else. How do you format a kindle ebook how to write an ebook. You will find words separated by multiple spaces all throughout the document. Select home line and paragraph spacing, and choose the spacing you want. Sep 27, 2019 just write the draft first so neat and clean so that styling can be easy at a later stage. Instead, use the paragraphs settings in the formatting palette in word to set indents to the first line of each paragraph. How to format your ebook for easier distribution written word media. So a word like institution might appear on one line, which is not something you want. Line spacing is the space between each line in a paragraph.
But when you format your book, the layout of your content, structure and readability is just as important as the content itself. How to format a kindle book for pc ebook publishing school. Under spacing, set before and after to 0 pt, and line spacing to single. Word allows you to customize the line spacing to be single spaced one line high, double spaced two lines high, or any other amount you want. How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in. How to format your book for amazon kindle using microsoft. How to add paragraph spacing to microsoft word for kindle books. If a word is hyphenated because of being split on two lines, the pdf to word software generally does not know if the hyphen needs to be there or not, so keeps it.
Although your word doc formatting looks correct when you use the tab button to indent and the space bar to create multiple extra spaces, etc. The thing is that you must start formatting your page size first before you do anything else. You have to import your book, convert it and then look at it for errors. If you require something different, let us know before formatting begins. Word online spacingformat issues ive got a problem that is either with formatting or spacing. Still, this hasnt stopped it from becoming one of the most commonly used tools in selfpublishing and the reason why a lot of indie books look terrible. I had a bit of trouble with font size and line spacing, but otherwise it all seemed good. What if youve already indented every single paragraph in. On word uses an algorithm to hyphenate words to help with word spacing in justified text. Insider secrets to professional book formatting for print in.
Word automatically wraps to the next line as you type. In word, click the clear all formatting button to remove all formatting. Formatting your print book in ms word for kdp print april 11, 2017 october 6, 2018 leila if you are familiar with ms word, then it is not too difficult to format your print book interior for selfpublishing with createspace now kdp print using the formatted templates and this stepbystep guide. How to make an ebook kindle, epub and smashwords this is a quick guide to formatting ebooks i hope its useful. Select line spacing options and choose an option in the line spacing box. For a good reading experience on kindle, a line spacing of around 120% is ideal. Set paragraph indentation and line spacing indentation and line spacing. Six word tricks to reduce space between lines office watch. Set spacing green arrow below to 0 at both before and after again, to remove blank lines between paragraphs. To make sure that your ebook displays correctly and consistently on ereaders, youll want to indent paragraphs tab spacing doesnt convert to kindle and set proper line spacing. Build your book format a paperback manuscript word for. In this post i explain formatting your word file for. Under indentation special, set first line indent to 0.
Formatting your print book in ms word for kdp print spread. Line spacing is the amount of white space between two lines of text. Insider secrets to professional book formatting for print. Take pride in your ebook formatting part ii posted by guido dec. How to format line spacing for an ebook inventing reality editing.
What you need to know about formatting your own ebook. Some common formatting issues include wacky spacing, entire sections or chapters bolded and italicized, paragraphs split up, text flowing behind pictures and more. Anyone whos tried formatting their ebook themselves will tell you its no small feat. Apr, 2016 i started doing ebook and paperback formatting for a small publishing company a couple of years ago and now i also have my own formatting company. Paragraph spacing is the amount of white space between two paragraphs. The minimalist guide to formatting your ebooks vocal. I personally use microsoft word, and while the following document will. Aug 07, 2016 insider secrets to professional book formatting for print in ms word. But while vellum, for example, is a favorite among mac users, a very common starting point is microsoft word. A quick guide to formatting your microsoft word manuscript. If your kindle book has bullet points, graphics, tables, block quotes or any other special formatting issues, this tutorial may not work for you.
Word doesnt export epub files the most common ebook format, but most digital publishers will. This lists all the available styles for this specific word document. Different versions of word come with different default settings for line spacing. White space between lines acts like rails guiding your readers eyes from word to word along each line. If you can remove just one word from that paragraph, you save a line and often thats enough to get rid of those widow chapterends. How to format a manuscript for an ebook working writers. How to publish your ebook from word to kindle in under ten minutes by ed ditto provides a detailed and illustrated walk through of this quick method for creating ebooks. How to publish your ebook from word to kindle in under ten. How to automatically switch tab indents to proper ebook manuscript indents.
Ms word is a pretty decent word processor, but it should not be used for book formatting. It will make sure that your document will be clean of background code that can affect fonts, paragraph styles and line spacing in your ebook. For onscreen reading such as an ebook, a sanserif font is easier on the eye, e. I am very particular that the cover design should fit the contents of. Your ebook will have a dedicated formatter who will go line by line through your content to make sure that you have consistent spacing, font sizes, and headers. Updated april 7, 2020 derek haines 285 views comments. In todays self publishing world, its a good idea to have your book available in as many formats as you can. This can be a difficult habit to breakbut break it you must. In the first place i made changes by going back and editing the word file and then reimporting and reconverting.
The information we give is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are similar in most versions. For your ebook to display correctly on the kindle, you must format your document using the styles and formatting. But no matter how i phrased the question there was no answer. Using word styles is the easiest way to prepare your word file before you publish your ebook. How to make an ebook kindle and epub conversion diy book. Jun 28, 2016 if a word is hyphenated because of being split on two lines, the pdf to word software generally does not know if the hyphen needs to be there or not, so keeps it. Just write the draft first so neat and clean so that styling can be easy at a later stage. Our system handles most common font styles such as bolding, italics, underlines, superscripts, and the like. What are ebook launchs print book formatting parameters for. Reducing the line spacing or vertical gap between lines in word paragraphs can be done in six different ways depending on the situation. In this free detailed guide, im going to show you how to format a book for kindle for fiction and nonfiction yes, there is a difference when it comes to formatting fiction and nonfiction, so you need to make.
May 07, 2014 instead, use the paragraphs settings in the formatting palette in word to set indents to the first line of each paragraph. Insider secrets to professional book formatting for print in ms word. The reader of an ebook can change the fontsize and linespacing. To accomplish this, the wordspacing is adjusted so that the text falls flush with both margins. We will send a pdf proof for approval before printing. Quite often, you can fix that simply by finding a way to edit out a couple of words within the chapter. Most ebook manuscripts are typed using microsoft word. How to format your book for amazon kindle using microsoft word.
Change the line spacing in a portion of the document. The following are ebook launchs print book formatting parameters for nonfiction books. How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in 6 easy. The most important point about creating an ebook file in word is maintaining consistency throughout the whole document. First youll need to put your manuscript on microsoft word for kindle ebook formatting. Using word to prepare a kindle book isnt nearly as difficult as many will tell you, but. In printed books the page length, margins, fontsize, and spacing can be strictly controlled. Jun 23, 2014 in your word document, type any text 1 or 2 words is fine. Click the format list the dropdown at the bottom of the dialog box and choose paragraph. For an ebook, though, youll want to indent your paragraphs and remove the space between them. Using styles also saves you time because you dont have to format the font and spacing for each part of your book. Look for paragraphs that end with a singleword line. You will also need to make sure that your document is clean of any background code that can affect fonts, paragraph styles and line spacing in your. Formatting for the kindle is really plain formatting just like typing on a typewriter, if youre old enough to remember those days.
Word is easy to format and manipulate, which is why so many ebook authors choose to use it. Select this text, then click the arrow at the bottom right of the change styles button top right of the home menu bar. The epub conversion process will go smoothly and your readers will be happier, too. Once you have a great topic that interests you, the next step is formatting your ebook to sell or give away. If youd like one line, section, or word to appear in a larger font, just set the font size for the section to a larger size. How to control line and paragraph spacing in microsoft word. This is the second installment of a series of articles. Im sure it can be posted to kindle from apple or corel programs however i do not have those programs so i. You do this using the styles and formatting options in word to tell kindle how you want it to display your ebook. Line spacing what size to use and then spacing between paragraphs.
Jul 20, 2017 top tips for ebook formatting in word. When writing in microsoft word online, i get this problem where words are cut off, moved, awkwardly spaced and completely pressed together when cut and pasted to other applications, word documents, etc. Jan 23, 2020 first youll need to put your manuscript on microsoft word for kindle ebook formatting. Using word to prepare a kindle book isnt nearly as difficult as many will tell you, but its also not as simple and straightforward as others claim. What are ebook launchs print book formatting parameters. And my problem is that i must first convert my paperback to the right ebook formatting before i make all the other changestoo many to mention. Aug 23, 2017 either way, you dont need to be a coding genius to get your book ready for popular ereaders though if youre a real technophobe, youre probably better off hiring someone, since you will need to know your way around microsoft word. Fortunately, adjusting the spacing between lines is easy enough in a word processing program. Using styles also saves you time because you dont have to format the.
Formatting your print book in ms word for kdp print. Make sure you visit the homepage and sign up for the free book formatting templates. Under the spacing menu, look for the line spacing option, and select multiple in the drop down menu. When i visit message boards for authors on the the internet i keep coming across the same question over and over again, followed by.
You need to see the formatting marks, so turn them on, as well as the navigation pane and the ruler, by clicking the backtofront p sign the paragraph symbol used by proofreaders. My last post led us through the process of getting rid of all the junk, hidden code, and other weirdness. How to format your ebook for easier distribution written. Either way, you dont need to be a coding genius to get your book ready for popular ereaders though if youre a real technophobe, youre probably better off hiring someone, since you will need to know your way around microsoft word. Jul 09, 2019 how to create a table of contents in microsoft word. We offer both ebook manuscript formatting and print manuscript formatting black text. As an author, you want your ebook to look professional, and we take this job very seriously. If formatting your own ebook still seems like the best path for you, heres everything you need to know. Never use double spacing, avoid manual line breaks use paragraph breaks instead, and utilize words alignment tools to arrange your text. Single line spacing is fine, but avoid line spacing that is greater than 1.
You can use the preset styles in microsoft word or modify them for a custom look. How to format an ebook in microsoft word using styles. Jan 20, 2014 what is the biggest mistake selfpublishing authors make when preparing their book for ebook conversion. By colin dunbar naturally, the quality of the content of your book is the number 1 priority. In word, click insert at the top menu bar and select page break. Every section you include in your manuscript foreword, dedication, chapters, etc. How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in 6. How to publish your ebook from word to kindle in under 10. Apr 11, 2017 formatting your print book in ms word for kdp print april 11, 2017 october 6, 2018 leila if you are familiar with ms word, then it is not too difficult to format your print book interior for selfpublishing with createspace now kdp print using the formatted templates and this stepbystep guide. Your ebook will have a dedicated formatter who will go line by line through your content to make sure that you. Word online spacingformat issues microsoft community. Aug 24, 2017 you have to import your book, convert it and then look at it for errors. You can do this the debate continues, but im back to tell you yes, you can format and upload your ebook manuscript in microsoft word.
403 134 1334 733 1374 101 382 956 705 713 1214 118 507 160 977 509 340 1514 216 904 6 662 185 466 649 203 246 662 344 319 1095 1179 1015 806 430 1066 712