Self Publisher Book Formatting Guide 1 provided by Self Publisher Resources- Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Canberra, Hobart, & Australia-wide!

Book Formatting Guide - Part 1

When you finish writing your manuscript, make it ready for printing in a few easy steps:

Proofreading

Check your manuscript for typing, spelling, and grammatical errors, and maybe even re-editing certain paragraphs that are not fluent or interesting.

The easiest errors to tackle are your typing and spelling mistakes which can be easily identified by the built-in spell checker in MS Word.

If you need to look up words fast while editing you visit Dictionary.com which searches for the meaning of the word that you want immediately.

There’s also the Thesaurus function that you can use to find an alternate word with the same meaning on the same site.

It is very important that you proofread your manuscript as many times as you can. Get someone else to do it too! When you have been so involved with your work, it is very hard to pick up mistakes that others can see easily.

The saying "You see what you want to see," is so very true.

If you really can’t find anyone, maybe you should think seriously about getting a professional to do the job.

It is our experience with writers that errors are still found at the last minute before printing even though they have edited and proofread their books many times.

If you need professional help, we can refer you to freelancers.

Formatting Your Manuscript Into A Book Layout

Book size is the first thing you should probably consider. A5 next to A4 (A4 is double the size of an A5, which is 148.5mmx 210mm) is the most popular choice except for textbooks or children’s books.

A5 size is the cheapest size to print. Anything bigger than an A5 size but smaller than an A4 size, would be priced as an A4.

In short, it costs more to print anything larger than an A5. Even if your book is 400 to 500 pages long, it’s still quite comfortably printed as an A5 or paperback.

The right font is the second thing to decide on, and can be hard to choose! It’s quite likely that you would have typed out your manuscript using Arial or Times New Roman. Other clear, clean and pleasant fonts such as Tahoma, Century Gothic, Verdana, Bookman Old Style are also pleasing and appealing.

These fonts make for easy ready whereas fonts such as those below are not suitable when you have a lot of text:

Bahaus 93
Algerian
Brush Script MT

Choice of font may also be determined by the kind of mood you want to set for your book as in a children’s, comics, or poem book. Keep trying different fonts for effects.

Some fonts are loud or severe looking or cheerful or modern. So you need to pick one that reflects what your writing aims to convey. One of the sites that you can go to for free fonts is www.1001freefonts.com.

Bear in mind that some printers don’t have the less common fonts so if you decide to use one, make sure you give a copy of the font to your printer.

Font size 12 is the most popular for most writers. If you have a lot of text, 12 or 10 is suitable. Ease of reading should be your first concern because potential buyers may be put off by an uncommon font or font size that is not easy to read or visually appealing.

If you wish to use an uncommon font or font size, the best way to find out if it’s acceptable is to get different people to read your text set in that particular font or size. Go with what the majority thinks.

Line Spacing refers to the horizontal space between the lines of your text. Most commonly used is 1.5 or single line spacing. In micrsoft word 2007 I found 1.15 a really good size. It gives more room between the lines without using double spacing.

The space between your text and the edge of the page is your page margins. A book needs to have a little more space for margins because you have to give allowance for the spine of the book and for trimming around the edges by the printer (the spine of the book is where the pages of book are held together and bound).

Headers & Footers

Headers and footers are placed in books to help readers navigate better around your book. The more artistic writers may use them to enhance the appearance of the pages.

Whatever your reason, they should never be intrusive, that is overly bold or distracting, to take your readers' attention away from the body text.

So go for simple, subtle or neat design for your headers and footers.

Their position on your page - Your page number, title, or chapter number must be placed in the correct position. I like to insert page numbering in the centre of the footer.

The "Help" function on your MS Word will give you more details on this.

Illustrations

The right illustrations, photographs or images can add visual appeal to your book and help you to convey your message better. You will have to provide a master copy of each illustration for your printer before printing.

If you are using images other than your own, it is important to purchase or obtain permission beforehand unless classified as free in some sites. If you need good but cheap pictures, a whole gallery of photos and illustrations can be found on www.istockphoto.com and www.bigstockphoto.com.

If you have images that go right to the edge of your pages, you will need to set crop marks and place bleed on your manuscript pages before you hand it in to the book printer. These are required for your printer to know where to trim the edges of your book.

When you print your book with Love of Books there is no limit on the amount of images you can place in your manuscript. Your price for the pages if BW means Black & White text or images.

Designing Your Book Cover

Once you have formatted your manuscript, it’s time to work on your book cover. In fact, you should even start to think about the design of your book cover while working on your manuscript.

The best way to make your own design is to study the covers of other successful books that talk about the same subject as yours. By the time you finish your writing, you will already have a good idea of the kind of design that’s appropriate for your book, and maybe even have someone work on it while you are doing your final proofreading.

A typical shopper will only pick up a book if it grabs his or her attention, and if your book title arouses their interest. They will then continue to read the back cover and maybe browse through the book before making the decision to buy.

For your book to compete with the thousands of books in a store, your design has to be OUTSTANDING! A design that commands attention will get attention.

So what makes a book cover outstanding?

The easiest way to find out is to study the covers of bestsellers and successful writers. Spend time to check out the covers that attract you in any bookstore.

A cover can be outstanding without the use of overly loud colors which can actually be offensive. This is not to say that you shouldn't use loud colors. No, loud colors are attractive if used properly.

Also ensure that the color(s) that you choose is the right match for the subject matter of your book. For example, pink may be a very attractive color for a romance book, but it’s totally unthinkable for a business book unless it's about the cosmetics or flowers industry.

If you are using a picture on your front cover ensure the color that you use around it compliments your picture. If you are using a few colors on your cover, be sure they match or look right combined.

We have been conditioned by colors all our lives. Put another way, people identify colors with different emotions. White signifies purity, yellow is a happy color, black is grim or modern, red is hot and sexy, and the list goes on…So make sure your choice of colors, arouse the right emotions you are after.

Choice of font for your cover is another thing you have to think carefully about. The type of font, the way the words are arranged, and the size of words determine largely what and how much impact they make. Always ask yourself if your cover text gives the kind of impression that you want to create with your book.

The use of an image often enhances the appeal of a book cover if an appropriate one is used for a picture tells a thousand words! The right image definitely says much more than words can ever do.

A cute or funny image may enhance a book on parenting but would be considered distasteful for a book about abortions. So ask if your picture is right or relevant to your book subject.

Another thing you have to pay attention to is the arrangement of cover image, if any, in relation to the text layout on your cover. Your choice of font, the way your cover text is layout and even its size determine how your picture looks on your cover; they may either enhance or distort and deface your picture.

Also, if your cover image is intended to stand out as opposed to a background image, don’t let your text crowd it out.

Space may be empty but it is a very useful thing to have on your cover. Used well, space will give your cover a clean, uncluttered look that is visually appealing. A cover that’s overcrowded with text and graphics make it hard to make out and can put people off from even reading it. Very often a cover design that’s simple and clean can also be attractive and enticing.

As you have seen earlier book titles also play a tremendous role in advertising your book. It will also decide whether your book sells so think deeply about it. The first question that you have to ask is if your title reflects the message you are trying to convey in your book? If it doesn’t, it will put off your readers.

Other than relevance, is it catchy or memorable? Make your title too long and you make it hard for people to say or remember your book title. People in general don’t have good memory for long or complicated titles. Even if a person doesn’t buy your book when they first see it, they may go back if they remembers the title when the subject of your book becomes useful to them later.

Ask yourself too if your book title is provoking enough. A provoking title that arouses emotions or appeals strongly to the intellect will sell. People are basically emotional creatures; words that bring up their emotions have huge impacts on them.

See what emotions the following titles have on you:

The One Minute Manager (a bestseller) - Hmm, makes managing sounds so easy.

Death By Prescription - Oh no, what about the medications I’ve been taking? Fear?

The Insider's Guide To 52 Homes in 52 Weeks - Wow, mind-boggling possibility!

When The Market Moves, Will You Be Ready? - All stock investors sure want to be!

It can also be useful to include a subtitle if it expands or offers a solution like theirs:

Death by Prescription
The shocking truth behind an overmedicated nation

The Insider's Guide to 52 Homes in 52 Weeks
Acquire your real estate fortune today!

How to profit from major market events

If your book is a fiction, it is often useful if you add in a short exciting description on your front cover. And if you manage to get an official book review, show it off on your front cover as well. These will definitely attract more people to pick up your book.

Nothing is more powerful than an official review in selling your book! So seek for reviews as soon as you finish your manuscript. To impress and increase the chances of getting one, it is a good idea to print a few books first. Submit these to newspaper review columns, your local book club, or official book reviewers before you print the lot.

Here are two good examples:

Fast, Furious and Deadly….
GENESIS II
Paul Adams

‘Very exciting…a highly effective thriller’ – Literary Review
History can be changed…the future can be hidden
Ken Mitchell

Alternative 3

‘Fast paced and witty, Alternative 3 is a rollercoaster read with more twists and turns than an English country lane.’ - The Book Review.

The old saying that one cannot judge a book by its cover is no longer true. Whether you like it or not a book is judged by its cover in our busy world. There are far too many books in a bookstore, and people don’t have time to go through so many. so they will ONLY pick up what attracts their attention. Even if your book is fantastic, how is anyone to know if it fails to capture their attention?

How well your book sells depends on a large extent on the impact that your book cover and title make on someone who sees it. So don’t use your emotions – don’t opt for a cover just because it is designed by a spouse or grandson unless it is professionally done. Be prepared to spend some money to get a professional to do it if you are not qualified to. Every dollar invested on a great cover design is well spent.

A blurb is a short summary that appears on your back cover. After you have caught the initial attention of your potential buyers with your great cover design and provoking title, this is your chance to entice them to buy your book.

An exciting description that leaves potential buyers wanting to know more is likely to end up in a sale for your book. So give it your best efforts – use your best writing skill to arouse strong curiosity about your book. Make it so irresistible that they have to buy your book in order to satisfy that urge.

Learn to do that by studying how other successful authors write their blurbs. So this means more trips to your local bookstores or library!

The Technical Aspect of Your Cover Designs

Cover designs are usually done with software like Adobe 'In Design', 'Photoshop' or 'Illustrator'. If you don’t have the skill, it’s best to pay a friend or a professional freelancer to do it. But if you choose to do it, here are a few technical tips.

The front and back cover is actually one design with the front cover on your right, and the back cover on your left with the spine along the middle - from top to bottom. This cover is done in one integrated piece so that it can be folded to hold the book together. The spine refers to the space that is allocated for holding the pages together.

The space that is given to the spine depends on the number of pages in a book. How do we know how much space is required for the spine? This is calculated by multiplying the number of pages in your book by the thickness of the paper used. Just click on our Spine Calculator to work it out for you.

If you lay a book down on its back cover with the spine facing you, you will usually see the author’s name on your far left, the book title in the center, and the publisher name or logo on the far right. Although some book spines show book titles first, and then author’s names, the publisher's name and logo always appear last.

Whatever sequence you choose, ensure that you type your name and book title to appear upright while the publisher name and logo sit on the bottom of the spine - when your book lies on its back. Take a look at some printed books to see how it’s done.

Printers need guidelines in trimming your book and cover. That is why you need to insert crop marks which are fine lines that tell your printer where to trim your book. They also require bleed on your cover which is the extra space outside of the designated size for your book.

This means you have to extend your colored cover design beyond your book size so that the white paper that your cover design is printed on doesn’t show up as white lines around the edge of your book cover after trimming. ISBN and Barcode appear on the back cover of your book, usually at the bottom right. No stores will take your book if they don’t appear on your cover so don’t forget to insert them in your design.

The page sequence in your book

There are no hard and fast rules as to how pages, especially the first few, are arranged in a book. Some writers may leave an empty page at the beginning of their book. But they all follow a common pattern.

The Title Page is usually the first page that you see on your right as soon as you open a book. Most writers put the book title and sometimes their name on this page. If a publisher is involved, its name would appear at the bottom of this page.

Next is the Copyright Page which is placed directly on the back leaf of the title page or the 1st left hand page of your book.

Some writers, however, put a brief description of themselves on the first page instead of the book title while others place theirs on the back cover with the book summary, or at the end of the book.

Download copyright sample page here.

Sometimes, the list of their other books appears on the back of this description page before they insert the title page. Others conveniently choose to place this list at the end of the book together with an order form.

Most writers will also put their acknowledgement and dedication pages before or after the Contents page. Sometimes even the Preface is placed before Contents. As we said, there are no hard and fast rules as where certain pages should be.

The only common pattern is that the Title, Contents, Preface pages always start on a right hand page whereas the copyright page always appears on a left hand page immediately after the title page. However way you wish to arrange them, these pages should always appear before the main body text of your book.

Converting your files into PDF

Now that you have prepared your manuscript and your cover design, it’s time to convert them into PDF format for printing.

If you know nothing about converting files into PDF, just follow these steps. First, go to www.pdf995.com to download their FREE PDF conversion program. Once the download is complete, you can either save it or just open and run it (if you are doing the PDF conversion right away and do not wish to save it). This software will now appear as a print driver in your print menu.

Next, open up your manuscript document in MS Word. Then choose File>Print> on your menu bar. Select PDF995 from your list of printers under printers names. After you make your selection, click OK.

This will NOT print your document but immediately converts it into a PDF file. It’s that easy!

Now do the same with your cover design. All your files are now ready for uploading to us via our File Send FTP.

Once we receive your print ready files, a free proof will be made from the files that you send. Yes, you actually get to see an actual copy of how your files look as a book!

Please remember that nothing can be changed after your book is printed. All changes must be done prior to your confirmation. It is your responsibility to make a very thorough check of your proof.

Only after you complete your final checking and confirm that you are happy with the way it looks, we’ll go ahead with the actual printing of your order.

Read on to Part Two

Read more: Self Publisher Resources