Hi friends! This video is a HUGE compilation of all 8 videos I created on formatting put together as one valuable resource you can refer to and hopefully get a ton of use out of! Like I mentioned in the video, I tried to share literally EVERYTHING I know! So hope you enjoy.
I love your series so far, but I have a question. can you point to which template you are referring to at the end of the video, specifically. there are more than a few templates on this site now and it does no good for anyone watching this video series if they don't know which template specifically you refer to as a "life saver".
I'm so glad I found this channel🎉 The fact she goes straight to the point, mentions very important point and putting the whole tutorial in one video... she's amazing.❤
You are so awesome for this! I am 17 and plan on publishing my first book by the end of the year. Even though it's a self-improvement book and not fiction, the tips in this video were still so helpful! I'll likely have this on repeat for the next month. 😊
Thank you SO MUCH. Spent 3 years drafting my book (in pages). It’s now done and I was like “now what?” - Totally feel confident in doing my own formatting since I work in law and compose legal documents and have a good word processing background. Love all the tips and look forward to viewing your other videos. Thanks again!
Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you so much for your time and knowledge. I'll send you a signed copy when I make the NYT Best Seller. Best wishes for your success. Sending good vibes.
This has been very helpful, thank you! Be looking out for my beauty horror fiction books. I would love to have you in my credits because you’ve been that helpful 🥰
You have been an incredible help. I finished my first book a month ago, and just set it to the side and started the sequel. In the zone. I have started several books, and the farthest I have made it in the past was about 6 chapters. Most much less. But honestly, I would have procrastinated forever publishing if not for your help. I watched this yesterday, followed your advice on formatting, then used d2d to just publish everywhere. Didn't have to mess with amazon's payment methods. It took me quite a long time. Probably 12 hours by the time I caught a few last-minute errors and re did the cover one more time. Today, already in two e-stores, one of them Apple. I call that a success. :) Now I can get back to writing again while waiting on the proof copy of the paperback. To me, that will be my personal payoff. Having an actual paper book with my story and name on the cover. I am sending you my hugest amount gratitude. So much, I can't even word it properly. Thank you.
This video is opening a new door for me. I'm glad I found it before I start formatting my book. Knowledge is power, and it's wonderful to have people like you who care about so many details and explain them to us. You've really put so much effort and your heart into teaching us. You are amazing!
Thank you so much, Bethany, for the video presentations. I'm writing my first novel in a four-part series and self-publishing. Your series is really helping me. I've completed a website, teasers, trailers, author snippets, and a visual realm, and now focusing on the book's interior design. Can't thank you enough :)
Thank you so much for making this video! I wish I had found it weeks ago when I started editing my husband's book. This would have saved me so much time and energy. Thank you!!
You are so cool! I appreciate this beyond words. I am working on my first book while I'm homeless with no help. This is exactly what I need along with your other videos and website. Thank you so much for being you!
I'm in love with this channel to be honest. And I sat till the very end of the video at one go, coz its sooo tempting. Thank you so much for helping me, who had literally no idea on how to size and resize, insert images and stuff!!!
This is a fantastic video! I have a high attention to detail so I like to format everything myself. I wish more indie authors took the time to do a decent format. I have almost 100 indie books and every book is formatted so differently. Some look like formatting wasn't even a thought and its sad because a well formatted book is just absolutely beautiful!
Wow, Bethany, these tips are amazing. I had already set a pile of about 10 books beside my computer to copy some elements I liked, and as you were talking, I checked them all for the formatting you listed--they had all of these things you mentioned. For example, putting the author and title (or title of the chapter) near the page number... I've never even noticed that. But it was in 100% of the books I chose. And I had coincidentally removed it from my own formatting because I thought it looked silly. Then I realized it's just kind of white noise and a reader doesn't even notice. I also hadn't noticed that the inner title page has the same font as the cover!! I 100% would not have thought to do that had you not mentioned it, but it does make it look very professional! Thanks for listing all of these things!
Thank you very much for sharing these formatting insights and experiences gathered over years of "trial and error". Your successful publishing career reflects how useful these tips and tricks are. Some ideas I would not have thought of, although my genre is different, but all suggestions are transferable. It is a pleasure to listen to your explanations, and I can see how genuinely invested you are in wanting to help others on their writing journey. All the best to you!
Enjoyed your video. There are so many decisions to make in self publishing books. I do believe that most traditional publishers use Serif Font (not San Serif Font) for the main body of text. It’s good to know self publishing is a bit more flexible. Thanks so much for take the time to cover so much information.
Thanks Clarice! So glad it was helpful - and love that note about the fonts, because that's good info for us indies to consider when trying to blend in with what trad pub typically does! :)
I have been formatting other peoples books for about 6 to 7 years. I have still learned some tricks and resources. Thank you. Also, a png fule just means the background is transparent. If you have a picture that needs to be black and white, Word has a feature that makes it black and white without you needing to save it on your computer.
Thanks for this awesome video! Just went through the whole thing and took three pages of notes. I have four novels written and now I can actually get them ready for publication.
Thank you for this series of videos being combined in one 😍 I appreciate it so much ☺️ This is super helpful and super useful, and explained so well :) Thank you 💜
I am just writing my first novella it started as a short story but then expanded to a novella it is at an early stage with a prologue and first chapter in long hand as was not confident in using word features but you have helped enormously. You make it look so easy I will still draft by long hand as I enjoy the freedom and have a hard original copy. I hope to publish my work by the end of the year and with this help, I am confident it will be a realistic ambition. Excellent work, I write fantasy both set in contemporary settings with a twist and also set in historical times.
I cannot thank you enough for this thoroughly explained and game-changing video. I’m just about ready to use one of the templates and launch my romance novel on KDP. Clear, professional and light-hearted, as a Boomer” the step by step processes you demonstrated all clicked and made perfect sense. You’ve truly helped me; this was a landmark tutorial for me and I thank you for that. ☺️
The numbers (called the printer's key) at the bottom of the copyright page indicate the printing sequence, not the edition. Traditionally, these numbers were on the printing plates, and if the publisher printed a new run of the same book, it would remove the rightmost number (perhaps by actually scraping it off the printing plate) to indicate that this is a new printing. For PDFs, you might remove a number
You are a life saver for my book Diversity By Nature. I'm still learning, but thank you so much. This is my first book, and it's been very hard to format. Also there is a new version of Microsoft Word was a bit difficult to find current areas.
I love this video. I'm watching it part by part as I am working on formatting my book. However, there are a few things I would like to add. Spacing - I have found that I like spacing my lines at 1.15. For the books I have worked, it makes the readability just a bit more relaxing as there is a tiny bit more space, but not too much to make it jarring. Hyphenation - This takes justification to the next level, in my opinion. Hyphens can help remove the larger spaces between the words when some are too long to be properly spaced. Windows and Orphans - This is a huge one and I think some indie authors don't know about it. This will just make sure that your top and bottom lines on each page are the same instead of up or down a row. Also, in regard to the page break. Doing this is incredibly important as it will help or hinder your footers and headers. If you just do a scene break or do the enters, page numbers are going to be a nightmare. Just a few of my own notes. I love formatting, which is an odd thing to say. Love your videos.
Hi Brandon! I am currently working to format my book in Word. I tried Atticus and I wasn't a fan of how everything looked with their options and I enjoy how much control I have in Word. That being said, the only issue I'm having is how to set up my headers and page numbers (in the footers). Do you have any knowledge on this? It seems I can get the numbers perfect or the headers perfect but when they are together, my page numbers follow the "Different odd & even page" rule so they disappear from every other page.
@@davidvissersbooks You need to create them twice, once for even pages and once for odd pages. After you do this, you will see your headers and footers. The reason for this is because a lot of books will have something different in the header on these pages. One page will be the author name and the other will be the name of the book.
@@authorbrandonjgreer aha! I figured it out! Thanks! I was relying too much on the toolbar instead of just clicking on the header & footers themselves.
Hi! Thanks for your video! Is it possible you share your advice on book title fonts - how do you create these calligraphy letters at the beginning of words? many thanks!!!
First, thank you for the video. It's very helpful! My question is this: When you zoom out to the level where multiple pages of your manuscript can be seen (ex. 1:03:43), it looks like there are additional panes on your pages to the right. Can you explain what those are?
I have a few short stories and one novel in the making. Following and learning from you for a while now. Thanks for sharing a lot of information. I have been writing poems over two decades now so I have more wirings ready. (all in Turkish)😊 Wish me luck Gökhan Çukurova 😉
Do you add maps to your ebooks as well. this was very informative and I appreciate you putting this together. Bonus I found your books and I love them.
Hi Bethany! Thank you SO MUCH for this compilation! I self-published in 2015 and never tried it again because it was such a headache. I decided to give it another shot this year and this video has totally given me the book I had always wanted to publish ❤ My only question is when uploading for an ebook, can we use the exact same images, headers, formatting, etc. as we've created for the paperback/hardback?
When it comes to sizing, do you have a video on figuring out the margins? My book is planned to be a 8.8x5.5 and I just popped in the margins I saw for your example, but don't know if that translates well with my 8.5x5.5 lol
This is extremely helpful. I've learned so much from your videos. I am working on a Family Drama series and I have a lot of characters. Would adding a Glossary in the back be a good idea although it is not Sci-Fi or Fantasy?
I just got to the font size and guessed where you were going. Out of curiosity have you discussed the font size with your readers who have visual impairments? Even if they just wear glasses? Done a comparison if 12-point is easier to read rather than 10.5-point? YA readers can be from preteen but especially teen on up so it’s a wide variety. I’ve found that 12-point font (using Times New Roman as the size basis) is usually considered the standard book publishing font size. It’s why it is required for most manuscript submissions to editors, agents, publishers, etc. Many blog self-publishing sites offer 10-12 as average, but everything else lists 12-point as the regular/standard/minimum. Anything 18-point up is often considered “large print”; although some go with 16-point, accessible organizations generally go with 18-24. While you may feel 12-point is large, it’s actually the minimum to be accessible to folks like me. I wear glasses and read a lot. As a reader with dyslexia a small print is even worse. This is why I pass on buying books with too small of print; it’s difficult to read and makes me strain or crunch up to hold the book too close. I’d take more pages with a good font size rather than difficult to read font size and less pages. I don’t need large print, just a good size. I’m not saying your choice is too small. It will depend on the font, of course, as some fonts at 10.5-points are actually comparable to 12-point Times New Roman. I am curious if you’ve had reader input on the size difference. I, myself, having designed a variety of print products and other books over two decades size fonts so it’s easiest to read myself and be hopefully more accessible to others, but I’m working on publishing the first novel which will be a bit different than other books and projects thus far.
The timing of finding you and your videos is perfect. My question is, do these techniques apply to Adult Fantasy Fiction as well? I know you write Young Adult, so I just want to be sure it's pretty much the same. It seems it would be, but I'm honestly not sure being a first time author. Thank you.
I would assume so, but if any of them are in question, the best way to check is to grab a few Adult books off the shelf and look at those to see the standards.
Converting the document to PDF will allow to keep fonts (if they are embedded) and the proper format of text in languages using a different alphabet, e.g., Greek, or right to left text, e.g., Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew.
thanks so much for sharing this its helped me so much with getting started with self publishing! i have just one question about the front matter of the book. u said that ur using images for the title and it has a white background, but what if my book has a cream-coloured paper, wouldnt the white background of the image show in the actual paperback?
Loving yoru lessons. I am using Word for Mac that comes with Office 365. Your screen shots of Word look nothing like mind and the command choices are in different places. I have not been able to find several of the.🥴
Hi Bethany. I just finished writing my first fiction book. the story is going to make headlines for sure. will you help me formatting it please. it's about 160 pages with 18 chapters.
Rule #9 Author name and book title in the header. Is there a standard font size for this? I would think smaller would be better. Less distracting for readers but I am new to formatting.
Bethany, you should try writing a 390,000 word Brandon Sanderson size novel. That would be a fun read. This series is awesome as I'm coming up on the end of my debut MS and getting ready to pub. I am so unbelievably in the dark.
Hello. Great video! I was wondering what you meant by one time use only, from Canvas? Also if you have a pro account can you down load anything that says ffee to use in your book or are there some restrictions even on free canvas stuff.
Thank you so much for this helpful advice. How did you get the drop caps to work for your ebook? Did you use Vellum or did you find another way? I would really appreciate a tip, because I don't know how to do it. In word yes, but converting it into pub or mobi messes up the formatting.
Excellent video! Truly great info and put together well. But, Author name and Title being at the top of the pages has nothing to do with being able to take a photo of the page - it's been standard printing practice for a very long time, before cameras or social media came into being. It's called a 'Running Head' and has been used since the 16th century, but became standard practice in the 19th century. They were/are used for several reasons, but primarily so a reader can easily identify what book they are reading and the title.
Does Author or Printer add the phrase about all. People, places , etc no coincidence ( leaving out part of sentences) ,I.m.wondering as part of formatting.
I have a question. Do I start to format this on word before I start writing my book or should I just write my book and then format it once everything is written down on word
You know, I knew a lot about this stuff (indie publishing) before, but I learned a whole lot more. The only thing that saddens and frustrates me is no one discussing actual control over printing- i.e.: printed in USA or Canada, recycled paper or tree-free paper, soy-based ink or petroleum-free ink. All I have gotten so far is: MCRL Overseas Group EnNatura Superior Ink/ algae-based ink So, if you have heard of anything, please do let me know. I have spent a decade researching every aspect of publishing. I may be a little spent.
Yeah I've heard pretty good things about Atticus. For a little while it had some glitches, but I've heard they've done a good job smoothing them out and that it's pretty comparable to Vellum at this point!
I actually just used Atticus to format my first proof for my debut novel. Although it was easy to use for my ebook formatting, I was not happy with the paperback formatting. It doesn't have much diversity for fonts and What they did have made my book feel very YA (it's dark fantasy space opera). Im on the fence regarding keeping it for epub conversion or just getting my money back for it. Their support also told me I could put my page numbers in the side margins of the book and after I paid for the program, I learned that it's not possible. When I messaged them again afterward, they refused to acknowledge that they were wrong.
Looks like lots of great info ...buuuut... tech challenged boomer here and would like to find a pro to format etc my book for KDP. Already published and sold out 1,000 copies in print (in only 10 years, they flew off the shelves...lol. ) where do i find help? Thanks
Thank you so much! I'm an author from Brazil and am not only striving to format my first book (not to save money, 'cause to save it you first need to have it! 😅), also KDP recently made it available printing paperbacks in here as well! Am I the only human being that can't understand measurements for the gutter part? Would you tell me? Or anyone? Please, I'm begging! Also! The free images from Canva, can we use it commercially? Thanks in advance and many thanks for this amazing compilation!❤
Hi Bethany-I just found your channel. Though I am a published author, I work with small presses. I want to expand to a more major publishing house and get an agent, etc. When I submitted to my small press, they told me not to worry about title page etc. But with the big guys and agents, I know it's important. I do everything of course, but you referenced a template. I searched WORD. Which one is it. I have WORD 2019. I need to be able to have the title page and getting the page numbering to start on second page of manuscript, not on the title page or first page of manuscript. In my WORD, I have only been able to find ther story manuscript format which has no saeparate tiotle mage and the write a novel template , which is weird. Help.
I write Bible Workbooks and teaching tracts (booklets) for my work as a minister. Im trying to use Affinity Publisher 2 have tried to use Word in the past. Im havinge an issue with one of my booklets. My page size is 4 in by 6 inch.facing pages starting on right. I have flowed in my material. I usually try and create a booklet and self-publish not trying to make millions on amazon or anything like that, Just self print these for local consumption. Anyway when I go to print and create booklet it goes for a scosh and then I get a Print workflow error and stop. Any ideas? Other sizes I need to do for workbooks 6X9.
Thank you so much for your video, that’s help me a lot❤ My I ask you some questions about publishing paperback with KDP, I checked with KDP website, how to set up margins. My book about 501-700 pages and they told me to set - inside margins = 0.75” - outside margins(bleed) at least 0.375” I followed them but it look not right 😢 May I ask how much you set for inside margin and outside margins please?
I have no idea! I use the pre-formatted template that takes care of that. But I bet you can search for youtube videos or google to find the answer, that's what I did when learning.
Sorry if I missed this, but is there a way to fix the formatting to drop your chapter headings 1/3 or whatever (your chosen position) down the page? Or is it a case of going through the document manually and adding it each time? And how do you apply it as? A bunch of paragraph lines? Another way? TIA
In Microsoft you (1) create a chapter header style in the style pane (2) format the paragraph spacing to have about 72-125 or something before the word starts. I don’t have the ability to share in depth here but pretty sure I demonstrate this near the very end of this video. Good luck!
Hi friends! This video is a HUGE compilation of all 8 videos I created on formatting put together as one valuable resource you can refer to and hopefully get a ton of use out of! Like I mentioned in the video, I tried to share literally EVERYTHING I know! So hope you enjoy.
Thanks
Thank you ❤
I love your series so far, but I have a question. can you point to which template you are referring to at the end of the video, specifically. there are more than a few templates on this site now and it does no good for anyone watching this video series if they don't know which template specifically you refer to as a "life saver".
Yes please let us know the template 🥰
Thank you so much for this. Referencing it alot as I finish formatting my very first book. Wish me luck!
I'm so glad I found this channel🎉
The fact she goes straight to the point, mentions very important point and putting the whole tutorial in one video... she's amazing.❤
🥰❤️
I agree!
I swear you are psychic! This is EXACTLY the video I needed in my life right now 😭 what perfect timing!!
Woohoo!! LOVE hearing that haha, perfect timing!
Same!
I remember this series, and thank you for uploading the entire series in one video!
Yayyy thanks Aaron! So glad you like it! :D
@@BethanyAtazadeh You're welcome!
I remember watching this series when I published my first book! You helped to make things easier for me to understand. Thank you! ❤
Yay! Thanks Nohea, that makes me so happy to hear!
You are so awesome for this! I am 17 and plan on publishing my first book by the end of the year. Even though it's a self-improvement book and not fiction, the tips in this video were still so helpful! I'll likely have this on repeat for the next month. 😊
Yayyy so exciting! Glad it was helpful!
Thank you SO MUCH. Spent 3 years drafting my book (in pages). It’s now done and I was like “now what?” - Totally feel confident in doing my own formatting since I work in law and compose legal documents and have a good word processing background. Love all the tips and look forward to viewing your other videos. Thanks again!
Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you so much for your time and knowledge. I'll send you a signed copy when I make the NYT Best Seller.
Best wishes for your success. Sending good vibes.
This has been very helpful, thank you! Be looking out for my beauty horror fiction books. I would love to have you in my credits because you’ve been that helpful 🥰
I am so glad I found this channel. Love your creativity and the way your ideas flow!
Yay! Thank you!
You have been an incredible help. I finished my first book a month ago, and just set it to the side and started the sequel. In the zone. I have started several books, and the farthest I have made it in the past was about 6 chapters. Most much less. But honestly, I would have procrastinated forever publishing if not for your help. I watched this yesterday, followed your advice on formatting, then used d2d to just publish everywhere. Didn't have to mess with amazon's payment methods. It took me quite a long time. Probably 12 hours by the time I caught a few last-minute errors and re did the cover one more time. Today, already in two e-stores, one of them Apple. I call that a success. :) Now I can get back to writing again while waiting on the proof copy of the paperback. To me, that will be my personal payoff. Having an actual paper book with my story and name on the cover. I am sending you my hugest amount gratitude. So much, I can't even word it properly. Thank you.
This video is opening a new door for me. I'm glad I found it before I start formatting my book. Knowledge is power, and it's wonderful to have people like you who care about so many details and explain them to us. You've really put so much effort and your heart into teaching us. You are amazing!
Thank you so much, Bethany, for the video presentations. I'm writing my first novel in a four-part series and self-publishing. Your series is really helping me. I've completed a website, teasers, trailers, author snippets, and a visual realm, and now focusing on the book's interior design. Can't thank you enough :)
This is right on time! Thank God for you and your videos.
Yayyy perfect timing! Glad it’s helpful!
Thank you so much for making this video! I wish I had found it weeks ago when I started editing my husband's book. This would have saved me so much time and energy. Thank you!!
You are so cool! I appreciate this beyond words. I am working on my first book while I'm homeless with no help. This is exactly what I need along with your other videos and website. Thank you so much for being you!
Good luck, my friend! You will def get there.
I'm in love with this channel to be honest. And I sat till the very end of the video at one go, coz its sooo tempting. Thank you so much for helping me, who had literally no idea on how to size and resize, insert images and stuff!!!
This is a fantastic video! I have a high attention to detail so I like to format everything myself. I wish more indie authors took the time to do a decent format. I have almost 100 indie books and every book is formatted so differently. Some look like formatting wasn't even a thought and its sad because a well formatted book is just absolutely beautiful!
Wow, Bethany, these tips are amazing. I had already set a pile of about 10 books beside my computer to copy some elements I liked, and as you were talking, I checked them all for the formatting you listed--they had all of these things you mentioned.
For example, putting the author and title (or title of the chapter) near the page number... I've never even noticed that. But it was in 100% of the books I chose. And I had coincidentally removed it from my own formatting because I thought it looked silly. Then I realized it's just kind of white noise and a reader doesn't even notice.
I also hadn't noticed that the inner title page has the same font as the cover!!
I 100% would not have thought to do that had you not mentioned it, but it does make it look very professional!
Thanks for listing all of these things!
Thank you very much for sharing these formatting insights and experiences gathered over years of "trial and error". Your successful publishing career reflects how useful these tips and tricks are. Some ideas I would not have thought of, although my genre is different, but all suggestions are transferable. It is a pleasure to listen to your explanations, and I can see how genuinely invested you are in wanting to help others on their writing journey. All the best to you!
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you! So glad it’s valuable!
This is amazing. I’ve watched this today whilst formatting my first murder mystery book. Thank you sooo much ❤
You are amazing you really helped me I'm a new author and you really helped my book get published and I thank you thank
Oh my gosh! this video was so helpful, kinda overwhelming but I am determined :) Thankyou. I look forward in seeing more.
Enjoyed your video. There are so many decisions to make in self publishing books. I do believe that most traditional publishers use Serif Font (not San Serif Font) for the main body of text. It’s good to know self publishing is a bit more flexible. Thanks so much for take the time to cover so much information.
Thanks Clarice! So glad it was helpful - and love that note about the fonts, because that's good info for us indies to consider when trying to blend in with what trad pub typically does! :)
I have been formatting other peoples books for about 6 to 7 years. I have still learned some tricks and resources. Thank you. Also, a png fule just means the background is transparent. If you have a picture that needs to be black and white, Word has a feature that makes it black and white without you needing to save it on your computer.
Thanks for this awesome video! Just went through the whole thing and took three pages of notes. I have four novels written and now I can actually get them ready for publication.
Yay! So glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this series of videos being combined in one 😍 I appreciate it so much ☺️
This is super helpful and super useful, and explained so well :)
Thank you 💜
Thank you so much for this vid. I waisted so much time with other vids prior to yours, and yours gave the help I was needing.
Yay so glad to hear it helped
I am just writing my first novella it started as a short story but then expanded to a novella it is at an early stage with a prologue and first chapter in long hand as was not confident in using word features but you have helped enormously. You make it look so easy I will still draft by long hand as I enjoy the freedom and have a hard original copy. I hope to publish my work by the end of the year and with this help, I am confident it will be a realistic ambition. Excellent work, I write fantasy both set in contemporary settings with a twist and also set in historical times.
I cannot thank you enough for this thoroughly explained and game-changing video. I’m just about ready to use one of the templates and launch my romance novel on KDP. Clear, professional and light-hearted, as a Boomer” the step by step processes you demonstrated all clicked and made perfect sense. You’ve truly helped me; this was a landmark tutorial for me and I thank you for that. ☺️
Thanks!
You’re welcome!!
Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is extremely informative and is one I certainly will refer back to in formatting my own novels.
Glad it was helpful!
I'm so grateful that you put this together for us! You're killing it!
I had to pause to comment
Your Google introduction was amazing. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this video! It's exactly what I'll need after I'm done with my final edits!
Woohoo!! So happy to hear that, hope it’s super helpful!
Thank you so much! It was simple and easy to follow. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge!
The numbers (called the printer's key) at the bottom of the copyright page indicate the printing sequence, not the edition. Traditionally, these numbers were on the printing plates, and if the publisher printed a new run of the same book, it would remove the rightmost number (perhaps by actually scraping it off the printing plate) to indicate that this is a new printing. For PDFs, you might remove a number
You are a life saver for my book Diversity By Nature. I'm still learning, but thank you so much. This is my first book, and it's been very hard to format. Also there is a new version of Microsoft Word was a bit difficult to find current areas.
I love this video. I'm watching it part by part as I am working on formatting my book. However, there are a few things I would like to add.
Spacing - I have found that I like spacing my lines at 1.15. For the books I have worked, it makes the readability just a bit more relaxing as there is a tiny bit more space, but not too much to make it jarring.
Hyphenation - This takes justification to the next level, in my opinion. Hyphens can help remove the larger spaces between the words when some are too long to be properly spaced.
Windows and Orphans - This is a huge one and I think some indie authors don't know about it. This will just make sure that your top and bottom lines on each page are the same instead of up or down a row.
Also, in regard to the page break. Doing this is incredibly important as it will help or hinder your footers and headers. If you just do a scene break or do the enters, page numbers are going to be a nightmare.
Just a few of my own notes. I love formatting, which is an odd thing to say. Love your videos.
Thanks for the notes Brandon, formatting can be fun! Although I will say it's not my personal favorite haha!
Hi Brandon! I am currently working to format my book in Word. I tried Atticus and I wasn't a fan of how everything looked with their options and I enjoy how much control I have in Word. That being said, the only issue I'm having is how to set up my headers and page numbers (in the footers). Do you have any knowledge on this? It seems I can get the numbers perfect or the headers perfect but when they are together, my page numbers follow the "Different odd & even page" rule so they disappear from every other page.
@@davidvissersbooks You need to create them twice, once for even pages and once for odd pages. After you do this, you will see your headers and footers. The reason for this is because a lot of books will have something different in the header on these pages. One page will be the author name and the other will be the name of the book.
@@authorbrandonjgreer aha! I figured it out! Thanks! I was relying too much on the toolbar instead of just clicking on the header & footers themselves.
@@davidvissersbooks Glad you got it all worked out.
Hi! Thanks for your video! Is it possible you share your advice on book title fonts - how do you create these calligraphy letters at the beginning of words? many thanks!!!
This is so helpful for my fantasy series that I'm currently writing!
First, thank you for the video. It's very helpful! My question is this: When you zoom out to the level where multiple pages of your manuscript can be seen (ex. 1:03:43), it looks like there are additional panes on your pages to the right. Can you explain what those are?
I have a few short stories and one novel in the making.
Following and learning from you for a while now. Thanks for sharing a lot of information.
I have been writing poems over two decades now so I have more wirings ready.
(all in Turkish)😊
Wish me luck
Gökhan Çukurova 😉
Your beautiful and great explanation.
Do you add maps to your ebooks as well. this was very informative and I appreciate you putting this together. Bonus I found your books and I love them.
Great series. So helpful. Thanks for all of the time you put into this.
Bethany, You are amazing! Thank you for sharing this valuable information.
Absolutely! Glad it was helpful!
1:14:15 bleed feature
1:28:00 chapter headers
This was a wealth of information 👍👍
So glad to hear it!
What a wonderful video! Thank you so much for sharing all this information!
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Hi Bethany! Thank you SO MUCH for this compilation! I self-published in 2015 and never tried it again because it was such a headache. I decided to give it another shot this year and this video has totally given me the book I had always wanted to publish ❤ My only question is when uploading for an ebook, can we use the exact same images, headers, formatting, etc. as we've created for the paperback/hardback?
When it comes to sizing, do you have a video on figuring out the margins? My book is planned to be a 8.8x5.5 and I just popped in the margins I saw for your example, but don't know if that translates well with my 8.5x5.5 lol
This is extremely helpful. I've learned so much from your videos. I am working on a Family Drama series and I have a lot of characters. Would adding a Glossary in the back be a good idea although it is not Sci-Fi or Fantasy?
Very informative, thank you! Just curious what kind of Word subscription has the Format thing?
Love the video ❤ so helpful thanks Bethany
Yay! So glad it was helpful! 🎉
I'm having trouble with the margins. Did you use the 1" margins for the book?
I love the dog in the background :)
This is so helpful. As I want to be an indie author, but in 2025/26 when I publish my debut novel. It’s a four book series.
That's awesome, you've got this! So glad the video is helpful!
I just got to the font size and guessed where you were going. Out of curiosity have you discussed the font size with your readers who have visual impairments? Even if they just wear glasses? Done a comparison if 12-point is easier to read rather than 10.5-point? YA readers can be from preteen but especially teen on up so it’s a wide variety.
I’ve found that 12-point font (using Times New Roman as the size basis) is usually considered the standard book publishing font size. It’s why it is required for most manuscript submissions to editors, agents, publishers, etc. Many blog self-publishing sites offer 10-12 as average, but everything else lists 12-point as the regular/standard/minimum. Anything 18-point up is often considered “large print”; although some go with 16-point, accessible organizations generally go with 18-24.
While you may feel 12-point is large, it’s actually the minimum to be accessible to folks like me. I wear glasses and read a lot. As a reader with dyslexia a small print is even worse. This is why I pass on buying books with too small of print; it’s difficult to read and makes me strain or crunch up to hold the book too close. I’d take more pages with a good font size rather than difficult to read font size and less pages. I don’t need large print, just a good size.
I’m not saying your choice is too small. It will depend on the font, of course, as some fonts at 10.5-points are actually comparable to 12-point Times New Roman.
I am curious if you’ve had reader input on the size difference. I, myself, having designed a variety of print products and other books over two decades size fonts so it’s easiest to read myself and be hopefully more accessible to others, but I’m working on publishing the first novel which will be a bit different than other books and projects thus far.
Yeah, it's a great video and excellent presentation, beautiful and clear video and you.
Thank you very much!
Thank you, Bethany! This is very helpful.
🚀
Glad it was helpful!
Question here, would it work, similarly, for LibreOffice? 🤔
"She [Google] knows more than I do."
Now that's humility right there 😂
Thank you and continued success 💕 will rewatch and take copious notes on that s much-needed guide 🙏
Yay! So glad it’s helpful!
The timing of finding you and your videos is perfect. My question is, do these techniques apply to Adult Fantasy Fiction as well? I know you write Young Adult, so I just want to be sure it's pretty much the same. It seems it would be, but I'm honestly not sure being a first time author. Thank you.
I would assume so, but if any of them are in question, the best way to check is to grab a few Adult books off the shelf and look at those to see the standards.
Converting the document to PDF will allow to keep fonts (if they are embedded) and the proper format of text in languages using a different alphabet, e.g., Greek, or right to left text, e.g., Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew.
thanks so much for sharing this its helped me so much with getting started with self publishing! i have just one question about the front matter of the book. u said that ur using images for the title and it has a white background, but what if my book has a cream-coloured paper, wouldnt the white background of the image show in the actual paperback?
Loving yoru lessons. I am using Word for Mac that comes with Office 365. Your screen shots of Word look nothing like mind and the command choices are in different places. I have not been able to find several of the.🥴
Hi Bethany. I just finished writing my first fiction book. the story is going to make headlines for sure. will you help me formatting it please. it's about 160 pages with 18 chapters.
Rule #9 Author name and book title in the header. Is there a standard font size for this? I would think smaller would be better. Less distracting for readers but I am new to formatting.
What was the name of the template you used?
Bethany, you should try writing a 390,000 word Brandon Sanderson size novel. That would be a fun read. This series is awesome as I'm coming up on the end of my debut MS and getting ready to pub. I am so unbelievably in the dark.
Haha thanks! Technically the Stolen Kingdom series collectors edition omnibus is about that long! :) good luck to you!
@@BethanyAtazadeh That has to be a rockin' read. I will have to make the purchase.
@@BethanyAtazadeh I should also add, I hope the new little-one on the way is doing good. Congrats!!
Hello. Great video! I was wondering what you meant by one time use only, from Canvas? Also if you have a pro account can you down load anything that says ffee to use in your book or are there some restrictions even on free canvas stuff.
Thank you so much for this helpful advice. How did you get the drop caps to work for your ebook? Did you use Vellum or did you find another way? I would really appreciate a tip, because I don't know how to do it. In word yes, but converting it into pub or mobi messes up the formatting.
Excellent video! Truly great info and put together well. But, Author name and Title being at the top of the pages has nothing to do with being able to take a photo of the page - it's been standard printing practice for a very long time, before cameras or social media came into being. It's called a 'Running Head' and has been used since the 16th century, but became standard practice in the 19th century. They were/are used for several reasons, but primarily so a reader can easily identify what book they are reading and the title.
Does Author or Printer add the phrase about all. People, places , etc no coincidence ( leaving out part of sentences) ,I.m.wondering as part of formatting.
I needed this in my life! 😊❤
Yay! So glad it was helpful!
Thanks so much. You are a real lifesaver!
I want to use a program to help, as I’m new. Is Kindle create good to start with, I’ve heard it’s free
I have a question. Do I start to format this on word before I start writing my book or should I just write my book and then format it once everything is written down on word
You know, I knew a lot about this stuff (indie publishing) before, but I learned a whole lot more. The only thing that saddens and frustrates me is no one discussing actual control over printing- i.e.: printed in USA or Canada, recycled paper or tree-free paper, soy-based ink or petroleum-free ink. All I have gotten so far is:
MCRL Overseas Group
EnNatura
Superior Ink/ algae-based ink
So, if you have heard of anything, please do let me know. I have spent a decade researching every aspect of publishing. I may be a little spent.
great video, but I didn't see info/link for the free templet you talk about
Paperback.only for my novel in printing, plain cover,nocolor or illustrstions , am I asking for.
There is a formatting program option for PC users called Atticus. On the fence about purchasing but it is a one time purchase.
Yeah I've heard pretty good things about Atticus. For a little while it had some glitches, but I've heard they've done a good job smoothing them out and that it's pretty comparable to Vellum at this point!
I actually just used Atticus to format my first proof for my debut novel. Although it was easy to use for my ebook formatting, I was not happy with the paperback formatting. It doesn't have much diversity for fonts and What they did have made my book feel very YA (it's dark fantasy space opera). Im on the fence regarding keeping it for epub conversion or just getting my money back for it. Their support also told me I could put my page numbers in the side margins of the book and after I paid for the program, I learned that it's not possible. When I messaged them again afterward, they refused to acknowledge that they were wrong.
what should my margin size be?
Looks like lots of great info ...buuuut... tech challenged boomer here and would like to find a pro to format etc my book for KDP. Already published and sold out 1,000 copies in print (in only 10 years, they flew off the shelves...lol. ) where do i find help? Thanks
Use the program I mentioned in this video, Vellum.
Thank you so much! I'm an author from Brazil and am not only striving to format my first book (not to save money, 'cause to save it you first need to have it! 😅), also KDP recently made it available printing paperbacks in here as well! Am I the only human being that can't understand measurements for the gutter part? Would you tell me? Or anyone? Please, I'm begging!
Also! The free images from Canva, can we use it commercially?
Thanks in advance and many thanks for this amazing compilation!❤
The DYI templets says you have to down load the font. I dont understand?????
Hi Bethany-I just found your channel. Though I am a published author, I work with small presses. I want to expand to a more major publishing house and get an agent, etc. When I submitted to my small press, they told me not to worry about title page etc. But with the big guys and agents, I know it's important. I do everything of course, but you referenced a template. I searched WORD. Which one is it. I have WORD 2019. I need to be able to have the title page and getting the page numbering to start on second page of manuscript, not on the title page or first page of manuscript. In my WORD, I have only been able to find ther story manuscript format which has no saeparate tiotle mage and the write a novel template , which is weird. Help.
I write Bible Workbooks and teaching tracts (booklets) for my work as a minister. Im trying to use Affinity Publisher 2 have tried to use Word in the past. Im havinge an issue with one of my booklets. My page size is 4 in by 6 inch.facing pages starting on right. I have flowed in my material. I usually try and create a booklet and self-publish not trying to make millions on amazon or anything like that, Just self print these for local consumption. Anyway when I go to print and create booklet it goes for a scosh and then I get a Print workflow error and stop. Any ideas? Other sizes I need to do for workbooks 6X9.
Thank you for sharing this!
Good work Bethany!!
what fonts do you use?
I use Libre Office. Hopefully the concept here will transpose across.
Thank you so much for your video, that’s help me a lot❤
My I ask you some questions about publishing paperback with KDP,
I checked with KDP website, how to set up margins.
My book about 501-700 pages and they told me to set
- inside margins = 0.75”
- outside margins(bleed) at least 0.375”
I followed them but it look not right 😢
May I ask how much you set for inside margin and outside margins please?
I have no idea! I use the pre-formatted template that takes care of that. But I bet you can search for youtube videos or google to find the answer, that's what I did when learning.
@@BethanyAtazadeh Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️
Sorry if I missed this, but is there a way to fix the formatting to drop your chapter headings 1/3 or whatever (your chosen position) down the page? Or is it a case of going through the document manually and adding it each time? And how do you apply it as? A bunch of paragraph lines? Another way? TIA
In Microsoft you (1) create a chapter header style in the style pane (2) format the paragraph spacing to have about 72-125 or something before the word starts. I don’t have the ability to share in depth here but pretty sure I demonstrate this near the very end of this video. Good luck!
Thank you! Working through the video(s).
thank you so much i really needed this
Where is the template you talk about throughout the video?
Immense gratitude!
do you publish with Derek Murphy? and are they good to work with?
No, and no he's not a publishing company.