How to format an ebook using microsoft word ebookauthor. Change the look by using the builtin themes on the design tab of the ribbon. How to format your word document for book printing on mac or pc. Free book formatting templates in ms word and indesign.
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. No worries, simply write to us through inbox or in the comments box, we will definitely help you in preparing your. In todays post, ian andrew, former microsoft trainer turned selfpublished author, provides a simple beginners guide to using word to format ebooks. Your book template file will open and appear on the. Then change the style of the first chapter heading. Nov 01, 2017 the thicker the book, the wider these margin need to be so that the text doesnt get eaten up by the spine. Attention to proper formatting will help your submission stand out. Feb 28, 2017 when writing your book you should separate the writing from the formatting.
This tutorial uses settings and options from the latest version of microsoft word, for mac or a pc. Apr 17, 2012 microsoft word has lots of features that make creating ebooks easy. The problem with this is that ms words gutter option wont work when it comes to book formatting. Now, select an area of text, such as the title in the image above, and then click on the style and your text will be changed to the new format. Using the styles function in word can help you ensure your book s font and spacing is consistent. If youre a tabhitter or spacespacespacespacespacer, select all of your text in word, then set indentation using format paragraph. If you want to learn to be a serious writer, use and learn screenplay, which has a novel template and has far more features than. You can use styles to format an ebook or update its formatting to work on a different platform.
These can be used in virtually any word processor like microsoft word, open office, pages, word perfect, etc. With a few customizations, it can make writing your book easy. May 16, 2016 how to format a picture book manuscript for publishers. The orientation automatically changes to landscape. 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. To make writing your next story fun, entertaining, and interesting, you should look beyond microsoft office word by choosing the best book writing software for your project. Oct 19, 2016 maxie spends a lot of time in word writing blog posts and articles for a variety of websites. How to format a novel in microsoft word selfpublishing. This adds a drop cap a large capital letter to the first letter of the first word in a chapter. Build your book format a paperback manuscript word for. Do not use tab or spaces to indentthis will be invisible on the page, but will drive your typesetter crazy.
Even with thinner books, though, it doesnt hurt to account for the fact that the binding will eat up some of the page. Here are the steps to write a book in microsoft word. As microsoft word goes through evolutions, the other writing software programs follow suit. Make sure youre familiar with standard manuscript format. You can help protect yourself from scammers by verifying that the contact is a microsoft agent or microsoft employee and that the phone number is an official microsoft global customer service number. Jan 15, 2020 here are the steps to write a book in microsoft word. The following table describes the file formats that are supported in word, alphabetized by extension. Then simply download your book template in microsoft word format. Currently, shes finessing a book proposal for her agent to pitch to publishersa book to help millennials learn how to uncover their passions, get ahead in their careers, and essentially, live their best lives.
We have free book template layouts for inside pages as well as cover templates. 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. Free book design templates and tutorials for formatting in. The book fold layout sets you up for printing your masterpiece automatically in the correct order, ready for folding and binding. 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. Its recommended that you adjust these setting before writing the content of your book to prevent formatting issues late on. Tech support scams are an industrywide issue where scammers trick you into paying for unnecessary technical support services.
Our book templates can save you time and money by automating some of the setup and formatting tasks. Microsoft word is the standard all the other programs are built on. The directions below are for ms word 7 and 10 the most. Read the description there or atleast see the template features section. Want to create a booklet for your products or services. 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. To reserve space on the inside fold for binding, increase the width of the gutter. Nov 29, 2016 this video explains how to write a book in microsoft word prior to submitting to an agent, writing coach, editor, or publishing company. Writing a story that will inspire people starts with two things. Supported file formats and their extensions are listed in the following tables for word, excel, and powerpoint.
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. Novels are simple, in terms of software, but ultimately editors and agents want the satanic tm microsoft word file. Change the setting for multiple pages to book fold. These steps include including setting up the correct trim size, setting up the correct margins, formatting the text, and numbering the pages. Try various book writing templates offered by ms word and create beautiful, professional and out of the box books along with saving your big bucks as well as time. Here are the basics steps on formatting your manuscript in microsoft word for self publication. How to format a book in microsoft word with pictures getting started. Format chapters place your cursor next to the first paragraph of your first chapter and click chapter first paragraph. Make sure to apply to the whole document instead of this section. Open microsoft word on your computer and click file then navigate to open. Whats more, theyll even calculate a rounded word count for you.
Putting multiple files book chapters into one file. File format reference for word, excel, and powerpoint. 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 write a book using microsoft word microsoft word is great for editing your book. 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. This video explains how to write a book in microsoft word prior to submitting to an agent, writing coach, editor, or publishing company.
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. Now that youve mastered microsoft word, go write your book. The xmlbased and macroenabled file format for word 2019, word 2016, word 20, word 2010, and office word 2007. Book manuscript create a cover page for your book manuscript with this accessible simple black and white template. Common mistakes made when writing a book in microsoft word. How to use microsoft word to create an ebook pcworld.
Jul 15, 2017 well walk you through the steps to format your word document for printing a book that is a 5. If you are starting your manuscript follow these formatting. The standard way of calculating word count, aside from simply using the word count feature of your word processor, is to format your document in standard submission format and then multiply the number of pages by 250. In word, do this either by using the ruler bar at the top of the page, or by setting first line by 0. Book template free book templates book layout template. Microsoft word is universally recognized, and youre probably already familiar with it. Click size more paper sizes and set the document to 6x9 or your book size. You can use the preset styles in microsoft word or modify them for a custom look. If you want to write a book, you need word processing software thats up to the task. Create a cover page for your book manuscript with this accessible simple black and white template. Here microsoft word users can download and install handy files to help speed the task of formatting short story and novel manuscripts.
Nevertheless, with many writing tools out there, it may be. If you use microsoft word, heres how your paragraph settings should look. This accessible booklet template makes it easy to personalize a simple booklet to help you market your company. Self publishing, book printing free book templates. For the sake of this little discussion, i am using word 20, but much of this also applied to earlier versions too. Zip file that contains our microsoft word book layout templates in multiple design programs. 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.
This is the technique that was used back in the days before computers could instantaneously count the number of words in a. Jul 20, 2017 but while vellum, for example, is a favorite among mac users, a very common starting point is microsoft word. In the page setup group, click the small arrow at the bottomright. As a former microsoft trainer turned selfpublished author, he is able to speak from considerable relevant. There are a lot of different programs that you can use for writing a novel, including a pencil and paper, but there is a reasonable chance you are using microsoft word. Microsoft word has lots of features that make creating ebooks easy.
838 452 469 785 974 1433 833 895 45 497 943 401 1034 1479 619 115 1499 597 121 846 1311 997 290 726 1540 1209 1342 607 938 1035 791 119 338 451 850 532 47 560 1379