Authors have enough costs and publishing challenges to deal with already, so ive built an amazing package of book formatting templates in ms word and indesign you can download for free. 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. To access the standard book template in word, follow these steps. How to format your ebook for kindle using microsoft word kindle publishing bible 2. Every section you include in your manuscript foreword, dedication, chapters, etc. Less whether you want to create a booklet for an event or print out an ambitious book project, consider using the prebuilt page settings for booklets that comes with word. Common mistakes made when writing a book in microsoft word. Start by doubleclicking on the ruler at the top of your document and bring up the document formatting window. At diggypod, we offer free book templates for the author wanting to publish a book. To help understand microsoft word formatting, lets look at the four types of formatting. Change the setting for multiple pages to book fold. Microsoft word formatting can be less frustrating when you know how word works and applies text and layout formatting. Attention to proper formatting will help your submission stand out.
This stepbystep guide shows you how to turn a manuscript written in microsoft word into a file ready to be uploaded to kdp. General tips for book formatting in word all stand. In this stepbystep video guide, we walk you through formatting a paperback manuscript in microsoft word. Special formatting for nonfiction books in microsoft word. Microsoft word is the standard all the other programs are built on. Double click books folder icon in the available templates section. Word has a ton of options for editing your story, including comments, tracking changes, and comparing documents. Enter the title of your book or whatever text you would like to appear at the top of your pages. Word will tag your entry with xe in the text of the document. Make a bigger impact with your documents and master the writing, formatting, and collaboration tools in word 2019 and word online. We often get customers come to us asking for advice on how to setup the page size, margins and other typesetting questions so we thought we would put all this information in a simple and easy to read document. I wont go over the basics of how to format a book for publishing, since i covered it. Usually they are blank space, but you can also put headers or page numbers in the margins.
In case you have a finished manuscript, you can copy and paste the manuscript on the tool or pre format the raw manuscript using the interior design templates and create a. How to format a book in microsoft word with pictures getting started. There are 5 templates, and each template has 5 different chapter page styles, so you can mix and match to find something perfect for your book. How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in. Zip file that contains our microsoft word book layout templates in multiple design programs. Every time you publish a new book, all you have to do is open the word file and add the new title to your backlist section. How indie authors can use microsoft word to quickly and easily format their self published books for paperback and print, as well as ebook, for.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the kindle formatting bible. Then leftclick and drag your mouse to select it red arrow below. I have a problem i used a book manuscript format for my book and the first chapter uses a content control box but when i try and find the same one to use for chapter 2 i cant find the exact content control box. You dont need any special skills to format your book. In the page setup group, click the small arrow at the bottomright. Using word styles is the easiest way to prepare your word file before you publish your ebook. Amazons kdp kindle direct publishing service gets easier to use every year. 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. Before you start typing your ebook you should set up your word document using microsoft word styles. With the above described blank document open in microsoft word, go to the top tool bar. Within ebooks, hyperlinks, with a touch of a finger or the click of the mouse, will take your readers to where you want them to be. Even if you dont use a book template, you can still write a book using microsoft word just be aware that you may have to spend more time formatting your book when its time to publish it.
To ensure your book body text displays consistently, youll want to indent paragraphs tab spacing doesnt convert to kindle and set line spacing. If you have a completed manuscript with botched book formatting on your hands, this article will teach you how to fix it using microsoft word. I now want to format it as a book in a classic style, but i am not sure where to start. You can use styles to format an ebook or update its formatting to work on a different platform. How to format a book in word a stepbystep tutorial youtube.
Formatting can be done with microsoft word, but many professionals use indesign. You need to see the formatting marks, so turn them on. As microsoft word goes through evolutions, the other writing software programs follow suit. Formatting a manuscript in microsoft word left hand. Book formatting for selfpublishers, a comprehensive howto guide. Some of the most popular downloadable book word templates are discussed here. There are certain elements in a book that are controlled by a master setting in ms word, for example page number style, page headerfooters etc. Styles are simply preformatted settings for your chapter titles, subheadings, second level sub headings, bullet lists, numbered lists and quotes. Heres how to properly format your headers and footers on a microsoft document before printing, for both a mac and pc.
The orientation automatically changes to landscape. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Formatting print books with word selfpublishing advice. Free book design templates and tutorials for formatting in ms. Getting rid of the junk code requires a solid knowledge in xhtml programming and bundling in epub and mobi formats. Page margins are the spaces around the edge of the page. Free book design templates and tutorials for formatting in ms word. Enter your information into the userfriendly form choose your formatting options and. To reserve space on the inside fold for binding, increase the width of the gutter. We often get customers come to us asking for advice on how to setup the page size, margins. Proper manuscript formatting microsoft word scrivener demo duration. However if your ebook does not contain these formatting issues, here are 6 easy steps to turn your microsoft word document into a kindle book.
Click size more paper sizes and set the document to 6x9 or your book size. The goal when youre selfpublishing is to always make your book look as traditionally published as possible, so im giving you a stepby0step guide on formatting your novel. Formatting a book in microsoft word is very similar to adobe indesign and other typesetting software. These book templates are only for the body of your book and do not include the book cover template. Word was one of the first writing software programs on the scene, which means it set the tone for the features programs need to have, and it continues to do so. How to use microsoft word to create an ebook pcworld. The index functions included in microsoft word make it easy to generate a dynamic index for your book project. Adding a word or phrase to the index can be completed in a few short steps. They have them for short story format and for manuscript format. If you use microsoft word, heres how your paragraph settings should look. Our book templates can save you time and money by automating some of the setup and formatting tasks. You have now put your book in the correct basic format. Free book formatting templates in ms word and indesign. Office 365 issues formatting page numbers for book.
Tips for formatting your book correctly in microsoft word. One of the common questions authors ask me is about how to get the right formatting for an ebook for kindle, smashwords, or draft2digital. Sometimes, however, we need to use more than one style for these elements within the same book. Apr 26, 2018 complete book formatting howto guide for word templates duration. Self publishing, book printing free book templates. Next, right click your mouse and youll get a dropdown menu. The book design wizard helps you format your book using microsoft word. All of these background elements can alter the look of your ebook once it is published. I wont go over the basics of how to format a book for publishing, since i covered it all in a post from last year.
In this article, we will see how to do different formatting for different parts of the book. However, there are some steps you can make when writing your book in microsoft word that will make the job of formatting your book easier and help prevent errors in the book formatting process. How to format your book for amazon kindle using microsoft. A comprehensive guide to the language used to customize microsoft office visual basic for applications vba is the language used for writing macros, automating office applications, and creating custom applications in word, excel, powerpoint, outlook, and access. Nov 01, 2017 the problem with this is that ms words gutter option wont work when it comes to book formatting. Word for microsoft 365 word for microsoft 365 for mac word 2019 word 2019 for mac word 2016 word 20 word 2016 for mac more. Book formatting for selfpublishers, a comprehensive how. But when it comes to selfpublishing, you may not know how to format your word document for book printing. With a few customizations, it can make writing your book easy. Jan 15, 2020 because word is a flexible word processing system, you can simply use a book template within word, and start typing your book directly onto the page. Create and print a booklet, brochure, or book from your document. Depending on your version of microsoft word, this may be a popup or a sidebar.
May 16, 2016 how to format a picture book manuscript for publishers. Adobe does offer a free trial for 30 days, and has monthly plans as well. Below you will find our free microsoft word book templates for the inside pages. To ensure consistency and save time, modify the normal style. How to format a book in microsoft word for createspace, lightning source, or ingramspark this is a guide to formatting your book in microsoft word 2010.
As you can see in the image below, there are a number of builtin styles in use in my example document. The directions below are for ms word 7 and 10 the most. Write a book manuscript that you can submit to an editor with this template for word. Well walk you through the steps to format your word document for printing a book that is a 5.
You will need a template for the inside pages of the book, and a template for the outside cover of your book. We have free book template layouts for inside pages as well as cover templates. Here are the basics steps on formatting your manuscript in microsoft word for self publication. How to format your word document for book printing on mac. I use the comments feature to make notes to myself where i need to recheck facts or add description later. Word count can be obtained in microsoft word under the tools menu. 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.
If your document already has content, the text is formatted automatically, but you. It features styles for keeping the fonts and spacing formatted properly, a title. You can bring up the paragraph options under the layout tab and clicking the little arrow underneath. Nonfiction book formatting for microsoft word lulu blog. Under the insert tab, select the header menu and click on edit header. A quick guide to formatting your microsoft word manuscript.
How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in 6. The book word format templates could be many and varied as these look to address the various facets of the book. In microsoft word, you can create a book format by setting specific page margins. This is a short step by step guide to formatting an ebook in a microsoft word document. A clear hierarchy and readable typeface help create a layout that is inviting to your reader. Use the format menu font to change all your text to times 12pt. The reason for this is that what you see as the first, left page in your word document is actually located on the right and not left side of the book. While many authors might think that it is difficult or even tiresome trying to get a manuscript passed by smashwords. For our novel we are going to use a basic style which is common in most fiction novels. Dear microsoft, ive used ms office from day one, so im fairly advanced at most functions. How to format a book in word a stepbystep tutorial. Formatting a book in microsoft word book formatting made easy. Make sure to apply to the whole document instead of this section. How to format a novel in microsoft word selfpublishing.
Please save this to your computer, and then unzip to get access to the microsoft word templates. How to format your book for self publication bookstand publishing. Free book design templates and tutorials for formatting in. The issue with these three sections is that only the story part should have the title and page numbers in the header andor footer. The information we give is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are similar in most versions. The information is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are similar in most versions. The first one im having is i want everything in single space but i cant get all of the paragraphs next to eachother without any spaced between them. How to format a book for kindle using microsoft word. Book outline template a book outline template word doc helps you with main arrangement of the book right from the cover page till the conclusion. Yes, youve guessed it this time, hes explaining how to use word to format print books.
If you are using microsoft word, or any other word processing program, it can be very difficult to set up bleeds correctly and have everything line up evenly throughout the interior of the book. For simple layouts, word is surprisingly robust when it comes to nonfiction book needs. Professionally formatted text is an important part of book design. Formatting a book in microsoft word book formatting made. If you know how to click buttons and highlight text, then youre perfect for this job.
Factors such as numbers of images in the book and amount of chapters make it difficult to pinpoint. If you are like most selfpublishing authors, you want to tackle the task of designing your book on your own but you might be worried about formatting your book correctly. Please save this to your computer, and then unzip to get access to the microsoft word. In word preferences, turn on views and view all to see all the invisible paragraph marks, spaces, hidden text, tab marks, etc. For the many indie authors who still favor microsoft word for formatting their books, heres a companion piece to ian andrews recent post about using word to create ebook interiors. Format your book microsoft word on a mac bookbaby blog. Top tips for ebook formatting in word learn to view your document correctly. How to format your book for amazon kindle using microsoft word in only 30 minutes 0 comments one of the factors that decides whether your book will be successful or a flop on amazon kindle is the formatting. Apr 12, 20 formatting in word for a book i am having several problems while trying to write a book in word. Posts how to format your book using microsoft word on a mac whatever your story, bookbabys book editing service is the right fit if you dont pay for book reply voices silenced.
Before sending your book to print, you will need to layout the book. Build your book format a paperback manuscript word for. My last post led us through the process of getting rid of all the junk, hidden code, and other weirdness. These steps include including setting up the correct trim size, setting up the correct margins, formatting the text, and numbering the pages. These can be used in virtually any word processor like microsoft word, open office, pages, word perfect, etc. See our separate guides for formatting a paperback in microsoft word for mac and pages for mac. These tags are invisible in your printed, pdf or ebook final files. Apr 17, 2012 microsoft word has lots of features that make creating ebooks easy. Make a bigger impact with your documents and master the writing, formatting, and collaboration tools in word 2019 and word. How to format your book for self publication bookstand. You can also use the styles gallery to make a quick style change.
Oct 23, 2018 the goal when youre selfpublishing is to always make your book look as traditionally published as possible, so im giving you a stepby0step guide on formatting your novel. Microsoft word is universally recognized, and youre probably already familiar with it. There is no guarantee your book will fit neatly into the projections below, but it will help you to obtain a ballpark figure. Your book will be divided into three main formatting sections the main one is the story itself, and then there are the mandatory front matter and optional back matter. How to format an ebook in microsoft word using styles. Depending on your ebook, some steps may be unnecessary e. Understanding microsoft word formatting of long documents. Its recommended that you adjust these setting before writing the content of your book to prevent formatting issues late on. Mar 06, 2020 which, as a strong advocate for layout software that is not microsoft word, it hurts me to say. How to write a book using microsoft word the write practice. When writing your book you should separate the writing from the formatting. Atkinsin a recent three part post i discussed how to prepare your manuscript for publication when using a book design template. We suggest using a more robust piece of software like adobe indesign.
Plus, that makes it really easy to update your manuscripts. Using microsoft word styles to format a book for kindle. The book fold layout sets you up for printing your masterpiece automatically in the correct. To use this program, launch the book design wizard addon in microsoft word then.
How to format your word document for book printing on mac or pc. If you want to write a book, you need word processing software thats up to the task. Because word is a flexible word processing system, you can simply use a book template within word, and start typing your book directly onto the page. Formatting a book in microsoft word doesnt have to be confusing. Click the circled p sign to view all the formatting marks in word.
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