So, you wrote a book, whoo hoo! But now you’re staring at a your finished work wondering what in the world formatting even means. Don’t worry, friend. You’re not alone, and you don’t need to be a wizard to get your book looking polished and professional.
Here’s a super basic, step-by-step guide to help you format your book, even if you’ve never done it before.
How to Format Your Book
First, we're going to choose your trim size. This is the size your book will be when it's printed. The most common for fiction is 6”x9”. If you’re using a platform like Amazon KDP, they’ll give you size options. Pick one before you begin formatting, because changing it later is a headache.
Next, let's open your new document and set the page size to your trim size (File > Page Setup > Custom Size). Set your margins: usually 1” on all sides is safe for digital, but for print, you’ll want to use “mirror margins” (Word has a setting for this under Layout > Margins > Mirrored). Choose a clean, easy-to-read font like Garamond or Times New Roman, size 11 or 12.
Now I am going let you in on a little secret: for the love of all things good and holy, do not press enter a bunch of times for the chapters! We're going to use page breaks instead. At the end of a chapter, go to Insert > Page Break. Even if there's only a single space at the end of the page. Though, as you edit, always go back and make sure there aren't blank pages, because those can be accidentally added if you're page break is very close to the bottom of the page. But it's still okay, just go back and delete those blank pages.
Okay, let's now create some front matter for your book. The first few pages of your book should include your title page, your copyright page, a dedication page (if you want one), and a table of contents if you're doing and eBook. You can look at a few books you own to see what the order looks like.
Got chapter headings? Let's make them stand out. Use styles in your word processor for your chapter titles. This helps with consistency and makes it easier to create a table of contents later. Example: “Chapter One” should be in a larger size, centered, and bold. You can also make it a Heading 1 style in Word or Docs.
Okay, you're doing great :) Now let's format your paragraphs! Here’s a basic setup:
- Indent the first line of each paragraph (except for the first paragraph in each chapter). To indent: Highlight your text, right-click > Paragraph > First Line Indent (0.3–0.5 inches is typical). Make sure it's 0.50, and not 0.05...which is what I did one time and it looked terrible.
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Do not add extra spaces between paragraphs unless you're switching scenes (then I like to do 3, but you can do between 1-3).
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Use left alignment, not justified—it’s easier to read.
Remember to save your work correctly. If you're making an
eBook, save your file as a
.docx or convert it to
.epub using free tools like Calibre. If you’re going to
print your book (like through Amazon KDP), save it as a
PDF to keep all your formatting intact.
Formatting a book can feel overwhelming, but take it one step at a time. It’s like dressing your story up for the world: it deserves to look its best. And the good news? You don’t have to be fancy to be professional. Clean, readable, and consistent is all you need to start.
You’ve got this. Now, go format your book and get it published!!
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