Book Formatting Mistakes Indie Authors Make ❌ Avoid These Cringeworthy Errors!
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- Опубліковано 12 чер 2024
- START THE FORMATTING MASTERCLASS HERE 👉 www.learnfromabbie.com/p/craf...
INDIE AUTHORS: do you want your book to look as beautiful and professional as traditionally-published books? Or…. do you want your potential reader to pick up your book, take one look at the formatting and run away screaming because it hurts their eyes to look at? How tragic would that be? You’re an incredible writer and you’ve written something that deserves to be read and enjoyed by millions of people! But if you make even ONE mistake with the formatting of your book, you could doom it to failure for the simple fact that it looks unprofessional and/or unreadable.
I’ve seen too many self-published authors make cringeworthy mistakes with their book formatting - and that's why, in today’s video, I’m going to share with you the top three biggest mistakes I see indie authors make with their formatting and how to fix these problems so that your book will stand proudly and professionally among the most beautiful traditional books in the marketplace. Also, I have something super exciting to offer you that I've been working on for a few months! So stay to the end of the video for the big news. 🥳
💻 Get a 30-day free trial of Microsoft Word here: www.microsoft.com/en-us/micro...
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🎥 T I M E S T A M P S : 🎥
00:00 How to format a paperback book?
02:39 Mistake #1: Font Choice
04:10 Mistake #2: Line Spacing
05:33 Mistake #3: Janky Justification
08:13 What about all the other stuff?
09:16 Get my complete formatting masterclass!
11:16 What’s in the masterclass
13:41 Step-by-step guide to formatting your own book
16:17 Subscribe for writing and publishing videos every Wednesday! :)
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Finally a subject no one talks about for some reason.
Agreed!
So true !
As a long time deaf viewer, I do miss when your videos were manually captioned as they were more accessible. I do hope you'll bring those back again soon.
Sorry if I sound rude but what is the difference between deaf and long-time deaf?
@@Harper_Batin I think they mean a long-time viewer of the channel, who is also deaf.
@@RidleyJones Okay , that makes sense
I was telling her that I'm a long time viewer of hers who is deaf and was subscribed to her because of her manually accessible content. @@Harper_Batin
@@RikkiPReadsI can relate. I am a long time viewer too. While I am not totally dead, but I do have a hearing aid since one ear of mine is totally shot. People who have hearing have no idea how much they take it for granted. I mean that little device in my ear has really made a difference in my life.
0:00 - 8:12: Garamond, size 11, 1.25 spacing, justification and manual hyphenation
8:13 - 16:56: Masterclass pitch
That hyphenation tip to make justified text look better is so useful. Why have no one told me this before
I’m so so excited to come back to this Masterclass when I’m ready to format my manuscript. Thank you for creating such empowering content, Abbie
This is the kind of thing I love to talk about when discussing the technical aspects of self-publishing. I've seen so many self-published books that, like you stated, really look amateurish and, well, look like "self-published books."
I self-published an anthology through KDP (Amazon) in 2019, in which I put together the interior layout, chose the fonts, edited the stories - everything but the final cover. My goal was to have a finished book that, if you were to pick it up off the shelf at a bookstore, you wouldn't think twice about why it was in the store - you wouldn't wonder how in the world did THIS thing get in here?
I've seen a lot of self-published books, some of which look just fine. But I've seen many more that have, like you said, terrible design mistakes. I did a ton of research about layout and basic novel page design when I was putting together my anthology. One of the first things I thought about was line spacing, or leading (pronounced as "ledding"), as it used to be called in traditional typesetting. I didn't realize how much there was to consider with just a page full of text: font, leading, type size, line length (you don't want the text to go too far to the outside edges of the page or too close into the gutter), where do you put page numbers, what should the headers look like, etc.
Then, once I got the stories in layout, I had to do a lot of finessing to fix widows, short lines at the beginnings of pages, spacing concerns, etc.. I've since found ways to do this that streamlined the process.
My background is as an editor (started out as a proofreader way back when), so that was also important for putting the book together. The anthology began as a project for our writers group, and when I started soliciting stories, I told everyone that the stories would be vetted and edited, that it wasn't just a group project that would be published using any and everything that was submitted. As I mentioned, I wanted the book to look and be the best it could be.
I'm not a designer, but the research I did resulted in a nice final product. If I was doing a book that required lots of interior graphics and photos, I'd probably want to utilize a professional designer.
I saw one self-published nonfiction book where the type size was so large that it looked like a children's book. This same book included black and white photos, but because the paper was not the better, slicker paper, many of the photos looked muddy. That, plus, none of the photos looked like they had been adjusted to look good - they looked like they were simply imported to the page without any adjustment for lighting, contrast, etc.
I saw another self-published book that on the foreword page, it was spelled "Forward." I saw one book that had a photo on the cover that was only maybe two inches tall and the photo was the full width of the cover - the image had been "stretched" to the width of the cover only horizontally, but not proportionately, using both width and height.
Also, far too many of the self-published books I've seen have a buttload of typos in them. I don't mean maybe four or five in an entire book - I've counted fifteen errors just in the foreword of one book. They weren't all spelling errors, some were bad punctuation, extra word spaces, things that the general reader wouldn't catch. But that's the thing - if you're reading a book and you notice multiple errors on just one page, that can put you off from reading the rest of the book.
Bad amateur book covers are a whole other topic.
hello sir! Can you please tell us if it's profitable to self-publish on KDP-amazon? or If you have any other site suggestions pease feel free, I'm open for suggestions!
Wait… what?! I just had my manuscript formatted, but I’d love to learn how to do this myself, and even possible improve what I just had done. ☺️ this is very exciting!
Keep in mind that this is for self-publishing books, meaning it's different from manuscript formatting! The former skips the manuscript part 'cause you're not sending this to a publisher, so it needs to be book-ready out the gate! The formatting for each is very different! lol.
This was literally so helpful. I had most of my book in Times, save for flash-back scenes that were in a different font- I kept enjoying those scenes more during re-reading and now I know why. Thanks a ton Abbie!
I love header/pov/chapter imagery. Just adds something different. Im also enjoying text convos in bubbles 😅
Perfect timing, Abbie! So excited for this! ❤
I never did any formatting when I self published my first book. The publishers did it for me and now seeing the examples that you have given I must say , huge difference, when I queried it with them they said that's how their formatting works. Now I know better and will defiantly apply this to my future books.
"Defiantly" or definitely?
@@petehealy9819 Well Pete, it would be quite hilarious if they decided to apply them reluctantly 😂
@@petehealy9819 I cant tell if they are joking or not
Thank you for making this master class because I'm like jumping out of my chair right now with excitement! 🎉 I've been trying so hard to figure out formatting, and you are the best guide I'd want through it! You are so easy to understand, and your videos have helped me through so many other pitfalls as a writer!
Thanks, Abbie- Your instructional video posts have had such a positive effect on my writer's journey, Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have never thought beyond the nitty-gritty of editing my manuscript, but this video has opened my eyes to a wider gamut when bringing down the curtain. You are amazing, and you have inspired me to Rock 🙏🙏🙏🙏
This was such a fantastic video! Not only the content but also the the way you presented it.
I'm about six months from publishing my first book. Huge thanks for this video, Abbie.
This is a perfect timing to understand this. I still have time to serialise every chapter from the last draft to the final product. Can't wait! And yeah it will be a better video I know. ❤
If you do by-hand hyphenation, then what do you do the instant you have to do an edit anywhere in your manuscript? every hyphenation you did after that edit you have to find, delete, and rehyphenate. It seems as if there should be a good, automated solution out there.
i have the same question...
@@WolfWriterL.P it was more of a rhetorical question -- no one should do by-hand hyphenation. LaTeX doesn't have these problems, and it's how I actually write my books. it's automatic hyphenation is way better than both automatic in Word and by-hand.
Great information Abbie. Never thought about these things, but so glad you shared this with us.
I just love you. I was literally talking about how I don’t know how to format. I’m working on my first novel and you’re helping so much!
I'd always wondered about hyphenations in the books I read and why they're there - really enjoyed learning why.
Totally needed this ASAP!! THX ABBIE!! You're the best by far
I've been wondering about this, and toying with it as I've been writing my book. Thanks for the tips and the class. I'll definitely check it out!
Like, literally. Right when your struggling with your book, guess who swoops down and saves the day with one of her amazing vids!! Thanks for the video Abbie!! Your the best
Thank you for this video/masterclass!! I love formatting and thinking about how I want to format my own books so this is super helpful❤️
Thank you for this Abbie. I joined your Masterclass for book formatting and more. This will help me immensely as I never knew all what was entailed. I love that I can go back to it over and over to help me. As currently I use Arial Font and Size 12. I just use the standard MS Word margins and indents. But once I am ready to set up the formatting your class will help a lot. So thank you for doing this.
This class is worth every penny, I can tell. Saving the link, and it's on my to-do list. Thanks, Abbie!
Such valuable information! Thank you so much.
Aah, this is so helpful! Thank you, Abbie! You're videos are always the best :D
For some reason I really don’t like it when people put little images or shapes in lines of text. I think if you’re going to put something there it should take up half or a whole page. If it matters enough to put in your book it deserves to shine. Besides everyone loves a bit of artwork to look at, that’s why we had maps and other pictures at the beginning of books.
I miss seeing that. I only see it with authors who mainly published in the 70’s and 80’s
Thank you. Super helpful. What I struggle with is probably the easiest for others. Page numbering and section breaks. Always gets me huffing and puffing!
Thank you Abbie, sharing and learning from your experiences is fantastic, you always have an insight and I think this topic is an important element for a first time (self or otherwise) publisher of any genre. Keep writing :-)
Thank you for this advice. I really need that.
It’s like you read my mind! My editor and I are nearly done editing and about time to format!
Thank you so much, Abbie! This is the one superimportant topic nobody ever cares to talk about!
Also, can you make one about book trim sizes? I'm so confused which one to use for my book!
As always, love your videos (and your voice)! 😁
This was very helpful. I couldn't find video that explains all those editing problems, until I watched this!
I love your videos, they are addictive, understood and relatable. TYVM ❤🤗
Aesthetics! Thanks for this piece, Abbie.
6:05 THANK YOU! I see this in so many Kindle books as well and it annoys the heck out of me.
Congrats on 400k! You deserve it xxx
My fav font lately is Calibri. I used to hate it, but it grew on me somehow before I knew it.
As a writer and reader with Dyslexic thank you! It’s important to be readable or, well, we won’t read it 🤷🏻♀️
Thanks this was useful 💫👍🏾✨
Excellent video. Thanks😎
I remember when I was little we were reading The BFG by Roald Dahl in class and I was annoyed at how the new chapters started on the same page that old chapters ended on. But then I read Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly that used the same thing and I loved how seamlessly you could just flow into the next chapter (especially since there were a lot of cliffhangers). And it saves paper, so i love it even more! 😂
Thank you for your content
This makes me happy I saw this video before I returned to writing. This has really good advice. It also inspired me to get an account at Microsoft word. It also inspires me to write a book, even if it just sits on a self at the store collecting dust, because I would still like to see something of mine in print, but I never once gave any though to fonts. That makes me look at things totally different. Now I wonder how many books I turned down not due to a boring story, but simply due to the font? It also answered my question about spacing. This video also makes me wish I could show Abbie one of my stories some day. I am so glad I saw this video!
This is great -- I'm set to start formatting soon :)
This was hilarious-and brilliant! Thanks, Abbie!
Thank you for confirming the reasons to format my own book.
Excellent! I will absolutely purchase the master class when my manuscript is complete. Also, will you offer a master class on cover design also?
Graphic designer here. I have to disagree with you on point #3. I much prefer left aligned text over justified. While justified looks neater at first glace, having an uneven right edge actually helps the eye keep track on where you and it also doesn't sacrifice the even spacing between words.
Of course, this is up to preference, but I think justified is sticking around as much based on tradition as anything else. In newspapers and magazine, left aligned is becoming more and more common, and I think books might follow too.
Same. I use align left since justify always looks more wonky than the "wonky" align left 😂, uneven spacings make me cringe, and because I use spaces for paragraphs (I know you aren't supposed to do that), justify means my paragraphs aren't aligned 😂😂😂
I haven't seen a physical newspaper in ages...seems that columns wouldn't be very column-y without justification ...or do you mean online magazines and news sources? Because yeeessss, the eye tracks much better generally with a ragged right, and the effect is more marked with online content.
Hyphenation does the trick for justified text with a lot of rivers in it, but it sure would be easier to leave everything flush left.
I've been looking for something like this, but in spanish, for like yeaaaars. Thankfully UA-cam has good CC and I can actually read english. You're really amazing!!
Perfect timing! ❤❤❤️
Thank you for the tip on proper justification... I didn't even know what that was! I went to my book (I'm finalizing the formatting), I switched it over, and now I can't UNSEE the huge difference it makes!
Can't wait for this!
Thanks abbie i really needed this oh, and you gained a new subscriber❤❤❤
Your Persuation Skills is definitely high level. Even though I can't afford the book right now. One day I will purchased it when my book got published. Thanks
Hi Abbie, Great tips hope I need your class soon. Have tried writing my first book 5 times in the last 12 months starting 5 different stories. My first attempt was a mystery romance and a little too ambitious so I decided to go for plain romance but kept hitting a brick wall after a chapter or two I finally found a method that works and am almost halfway through my extreem rough draft of my 5th attempt. All thanks to some of your tips on another of your vids. Hopefully I can publish my first book before I turn 41. It's my goal for my 40th year. Hope to go back to the other books I started and finsh them as well.
Justifying and hyphenating make it harder for me to read books because of my dyslexia.
Is there a way to keep my book professional but still accessible for readers with dyslexia?
Just what I was going to say! I find reading hyphenated words really fustrating. I think finding the middle-ground between readers with and without dyslexia must be a tricky balance. I don't think I really appreciated the thought that went into formatting before, but I will now!
I'm going through the Masterclass and Abbie explains how to make these more readable. I understand now why taking the time to format properly is so important!
Excellent tips! And y’all who are formatting in Word are super smart and tech savvy. I use Vellum and it saves my life lol
7:11 so THAT'S why they do that! That makes so much sense!
your energy is awesome inspiring
Congrats on 400K!
I use Vellum for my paperback and ebooks. Love it ❤
I did not know that about Times font... interesting. thanks.
Thank you.
I got so many flashbacks from my Print Publishing class (mainly for magazines), a lot of the points you made were brought up then too even though magazine and books are different formats.
Lora font is what I use! Awesome.
Good food for thought. Another good tip is to always use styles. Set up a style set for each appearance you need and change layout with a couple of mouse clicks. I'm not sure if Word supports loadable style sets, so that may not be a viable thing for all users.
Hey Abbie! Is the masterclass covering ebooks or just paperbacks? I love formatting my paperbacks but I’ve had trouble doing ebooks.
This course is just for paperbacks and hardcovers -- but I have an in depth free tutorial on how to use Vellum for formatting ebooks: ua-cam.com/video/phus9fRekR4/v-deo.html
I just bought Atticus last month to rebrand my book Series with new formatting with the new covers I'm getting so this would have been so helpful to have before then. Like you I've made a lot of mistakes but I bought Atticus cuz word didn't allow me to do custom scene break images or chapter heading images (that I knew of) or easy converting to epub so I can't wait for your masterclass
I tried formating in the suggested fonts and I didn't try printing, but can't stand these fonts on the computer, so I left myself a note on the first page of the novel to reformat when printing. When editing, I love Ariel because it is so easy to read on the computer screen.
Just the video I was looking for 😅
The first one was a bullet to the heart cause i love times new roman font 😂
Thanks a lot, Abbie
Also a question: what's your opinion on Microsoft Publisher?
I was told a long long time ago that Times New Roman is what I should use. While listening to you I changed my whole thing into Baskerville and I am amazed. When looking at them seperately I didn't think that looks so different but seeing it transform it is such a huge difference!
I used to do hot metal typesetting, and Garamond was always my favorite, followed by Bodoni Book.
Park Avenue makes for very attractive titles.
Congrats for 400k 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉!
From the research I've done the default font size is 12.
Much needed topic
Not only we have storytelling but we have also text formatting! Being an author is tough!
Question: When accessing the formatting masterclass, will access to it be available for a limited time or do we have access to it forever? XD Just thought I'd ask in case!
I'm months away from needing this and wouldn't have had a clue this was the a thing to consider
I'm a bit late to the video, but I generally just watch your vids when I can. But this time around I had a couple questions
Is this something (the masterclass) thats going to be available to buy for a while? I'm not quite ready for this learning step yet, and honestly I am broke. But I would love to be able to grab this later down the road. Is that something that I'll have access to? Or is this only available for a limited time?
I've not joined or bought any of your master classes yet but as I grow as a writer and get closer to my goals of self publishing I've been hoping to join/grab some of these. Your videos always help me a lot even if I already generally understand these things, the way you say things and put them into perspective really helps.❤
You rock with relevant info!
I use InDesign and like it better than word, I feel like this would still help me? Is it easily translatable across software differences?
I should also thank you for turning me on to using scrivener as well, Love it!
as a student journalist and writer i can confirm that times new roman is used specifically to keep more words on the page, which is why i never use it when i'm writing for myself 💀
I like TNR while I'm writing, for the font shape (specifically, the serifs). I just zoom in a bit and voilá. Side note: journalistic skills are very handy for developing the knack for titles, hooks, and crisp writing, don't you think?
I've only been reading eBooks for years. So my favourite books are formatted the way I want them. My printed books are usually 20+yo. All in Times New Roman and no spacing.
I’m glad I get to watch this video so I can improve while formatting my book. I invested in vellum and now I need to upgrade to the print book edition but if I can do it using Microsoft Word I will.
How long will the Master Class be available? I have to pay bills and plan out when I can purchase it.
Hey Abbie, does all your masterclasses cost each or is it the same as a subscription to access all of them?
For headers, I use display fonts. I aim for thematic ones that fit the subject matter. For Ciem-related content, I use Bebas Centipede. For Anarteq, I use Extrano-Arano for English text and Kisiska for everything that's going to be written in Inukitut. For Sodality, I use 60sekuntia. For Extirpon, I use Tequila Heights. For Cherinob, I use Living Hell. And for Swappernetters, I use Orbitron. What would you suggest with regards to using these fonts for headers? (I wouldn't use them for main story text. That'd be preposterous!)
Dyslexic friendly fonts are the best fonts. And bigger fonts tend to be present in the books I like most.
It’s really heartwarming to know I’m not the only one who’s completely turned off by janky justification!
I recently read salam's lot in a very particular format because it is older and smaller, with very tight print. At the end of the book I didn't dislike it but certainly it made it hard for me to read as I don't see that well when things are so crushed together
Thanks Abbie as always. I will have to play around with it some more. I currently use Arial 11pt 1.15 spacing. I copied and pasted all four fonts for comparison, modified to 1.25. Spacing. I compared to the original. I get the scary feeling of possibly trashing the entire story. 😊
Arial is terrible for me. When I see something in that I immediately want to change it. It's too liney.
😅 might explain why I doze off during the editing sessions.
Hi Abbey. How long will the early bird price last for on this course?
8:12 As a spanish writer using the spanish version of Word, autohyphenation in spanish works perfectly fine. didn't know english version had that error... how interesting
My book has some text and some comic panels, I couldn’t decide between text or graphic novel so I just decided to do both
gratz to 400k! 🥳
Hi Abbie, I do love your videos. Would your master class work for someone who's written his novel in Scrivener? I'm about ready to start the formatting process and I would love your help, but it looks like you're doing it in Word, so I don't know if it will help?