6 things to think about when formatting your book

One of the most common things independent publishers have to learn about when they first start to think about publishing their book is formatting. Formatting a book is something that needs to be done and, even though you can pay people to do it for you if you’re not sure about the process,  it’s worth knowing a bit about it so you’ve got a general idea of what it entails.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the things you need to think about when formatting your book. It isn’t an in-depth ‘how to’ guide, but hopefully will provide a brief overview of the different issues you need to consider when it comes to formatting – with regards to both print and e-books. Please feel free to add your own thoughts or tips in the comments.

The size of the book. This particularly matters when it comes to print books, as the size of the book will affect everything from the margins to the number of pages.
The margins. Again, this matters in particular with regards to print books; not enough space in the centre of your book and it will be hard to read. Too much space around the text and it will all look a bit odd.
The spacing and paragraph indents. There isn’t just one way of setting out your book, but once you’ve decided how you’re going to do yours, you need to stick to it. Your formatting shouldn’t start jumping around midway through the book.
The number of different e-readers. Most independent publishers go down the e-book route, and you need to make sure your book can be read on all of them. A standard Word document, for instance, simply won’t do, not least because the pages will never properly translate to the range of different screen sizes. This brings us on to…
Digital files. You’ll need to convert your manuscript into a digital file for e-book publication. The ePub and Mobi files are the two big types of digital file that you need to know about.
What it actually looks like on screen. You could spend ages formatting but unless you’ve actually checked what it looks like on a range of e-readers, it could well be for nothing. It’s vital that you check how your work displays before hitting publish, or else you could end up with serious readability issues.