Under spacing, line spacing is usually set to double. If you want to keep more than two paragraphs together, select all but the last paragraph. Word is easy to format and manipulate, which is why so many ebook authors choose to use it. What you need to know about formatting your own ebook. Click on new from the file menu, and then click on save to save the ebook. A wellformatted ebook file will appear exactly the same in any ebook format including kindle, rtf and epub files. You can do this the debate continues, but im back to tell you yes, you can format and upload your ebook manuscript in microsoft word. Insider secrets to professional book formatting for print in ms word. For an ebook, though, youll want to indent your paragraphs and remove the space between them. Updated april 7, 2020 derek haines 209 views comments.
Never use double spacing, avoid manual line breaks use paragraph breaks instead, and utilize words alignment tools to arrange your text. If you edit it in word processor and export it to pdf, for example, use paragraph settings to set the spacing between paragraphs and line indenting. All of the setup that can take hours elsewhere happens automatically with every book you create. Line spacing is the space between each line in a paragraph. Follow these stepbystep illustrated instructions to format your book for amazon kindle in only 30 minutes using microsoft word. By colin dunbar in todays self publishing world, its a good idea to have your book available in as many formats as you can. When publishing with smashwords, your ebook file needs to be suitable for nine different ebook formats, not just one it is why you need to change your thinking from merely producing a word document to producing an ebook file. Formatting for the kindle is really plain formatting just like typing on a typewriter, if youre old enough to remember those days. Lets now get into the step by step process on how to write an ebook using microsoft word. Provided by alli partner member the book reality experience, the course lasts just over an hour and will show you, stepbystep exactly how to implement the tips above. Word allows you to customize the line spacing to be single spaced one line high, double spaced two lines high, or any other amount you want.
If youve polished your manuscript and had it edited, youre ready to publish on kindle. And vellum goes beyond the basics to prevent widows, balance page spreads, and avoid short pages all automatically. Because word adds the space below each line of text in the paragraph, the last line in the paragraph will also have a little extra space after it. How to format an ebook in microsoft word using styles. Word online spacingformat issues ive got a problem that is either with formatting or spacing.
A quick guide to formatting your microsoft word manuscript for. Do make sure you keep saving the ebook as you write, to avoid losing your hard work. So a word like institution might appear on one line, which is not something you want. The coming article shall show you 6 handy tips to add line numbers and set their formatting in your word document. Word online spacingformat issues microsoft community. You will find words separated by multiple spaces all throughout the document. Line numbers number each line on your document in order which enable you to have a quick idea of which line you are. When i first began publishing ebooks through fiction attic press which publishes short stories, essays, and novellas by new and emerging writers in 2012, formatting an ebook required a lot of work on the backend.
In word, format the paper using the following settings. By the way, the less manuscript formatting you do, the better it will look. If you are still floundering, you might like to consider the new free on line course of how to format a word document for ebook. Just to add, dont ever handle the formatting by adding spaces or tabs and empty lines. How to control line and paragraph spacing in microsoft word. Its not that hard to format your word document for a kindle ebook if you know how. How to format your book for amazon kindle using microsoft word. In this chapter, let us discuss how to set line spacing in word 2010. Instead, use the paragraphs settings in the formatting palette in word to set indents to the first line of each paragraph. Lets quickly go through the steps to adjust the spacing using the paragraph options in ms word, just in case you want that. And like using the right font or proper margins, controlling spacing is an important part of document formatting. Three ways to expose formatting inconsistencies in a word document.
You will also need to make sure that your document is clean of any background code that can affect fonts, paragraph styles and line spacing in your. How to format a manuscript for an ebook working writers. For onscreen reading such as an ebook, a sanserif font is easier on the eye, e. After i write it, i can just format it to whatever the house style calls for, but for right now, i want to look like im writing journey to the end of the night.
Set spacing green arrow below to 0 at both before and after again, to remove blank lines between paragraphs. But when you format your book, the layout of your content, structure and readability is just as important as the content itself. Im using word 2016 on a windows 10 64bit system, but these features are available in older versions. Line spacing is the amount of white space between two lines of text. The information we give is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are similar in most versions.
The trick formatting pros dont want you to know youve seen it beforewhat amazons kindle file conversion software does to your indents. If they were 12 pts and single spaced, then one space is 12pts and you would enter 12pts in the spacing above setting to get the equivalent of a 12pt space. Word automatically wraps to the next line as you type. Six word tricks to reduce space between lines office watch. Formatting text 1 of 44 formatting text in microsoft word page setup 2 centering text 3 line spacing 4 paragraph spacing 4 indenting a paragraphs first line 5 hanging indentation 5 indenting an entire paragraph 7 selecting a font 9 font size 12 font style 14 bold 15 italics 16 underline 18 using symbols 20 font style 23. Reducing the line spacing or vertical gap between lines in word paragraphs can be done in six different ways depending on the situation. For 12, 12pt spaces, you would multiply that by 12 to get 144 pts. After you format your manuscript in word, add finishing touches with kindle.
You can format a kindle book yourself and upload it to amazon for no charge. For a good reading experience on kindle, a line spacing of around 120% is ideal. Most ebook manuscripts are typed using microsoft word. Spacing for before and after is usually set to 0 pt. The minimalist guide to formatting your ebooks vocal. Using the styles function in word can help you ensure your books font and spacing is consistent.
To make your ebook as pretty as can be, avoid the tab key and space bar for paragraph indents. Some common formatting issues include wacky spacing, entire sections or chapters bolded and italicized, paragraphs split up, text flowing behind pictures and more. Insider secrets to professional book formatting for print. You can use the preset styles in microsoft word or modify them for a custom look. How do you format a kindle ebook how to write an ebook. How to format your ebook for easier distribution written.
How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in. Either way, you dont need to be a coding genius to get your book ready for popular ereaders though if youre a real technophobe, youre probably better off hiring someone, since you will need to know your way around microsoft word. Select the first of the two paragraphs that you want to keep together. Adjusting line spacing to put lines very close isnt usually necessary for regular text. To make the editing process go more smoothly, you should work through the document.
Readability is an interesting topic, and there are a number of readability formulas that can be. When writing in microsoft word online, i get this problem where words are cut off, moved, awkwardly spaced and completely pressed together when cut and pasted to other applications, word documents, etc. If formatting your own ebook still seems like the best path for you, heres everything you need to know. To make sure that your ebook displays correctly and consistently on ereaders, youll want to indent paragraphs tab spacing doesnt convert to kindle and set proper line spacing. If a word is hyphenated because of being split on two lines, the pdf to word software generally does not know if the hyphen needs to be there or not, so keeps it. Find out about microsoft word with help from a certified career, small business and life coach that helps clients bring out their own strengths in this free video series. How to format your ebook for easier distribution written word media. Paragraph spacing is the amount of white space between two paragraphs. Under the spacing menu, look for the line spacing option, and select multiple in the drop down menu. Three ways to expose formatting inconsistencies in a word. Changing the line spacing in a word 2010 document inserts extra space between all lines of text in a paragraph. While typing in letter in singlespace format, then pressing the return i get double spacing instead.
Formatting your books indents for kindle in microsoft word. For an ebook, though, youll want to indent your paragraphs and remove. How to format your book for amazon kindle using microsoft. Single line spacing is fine, but avoid line spacing that is greater than 1. You can increase or decrease this distance as per your requirement by following a few simple steps. How to write an ebook using microsoft word clothed in. In indents and spacing, 1 make sure line spacing is single, and 2 uncheck the radio. Its also easy to save a word file over to a pdf, which is a common file format for finished ebooks. How to format your word or pages doc for your ebook. To format a heading row properly and consistently, use table properties, not empty paragraphs.
White space between lines acts like rails guiding your readers eyes from word to word along each line. Word 20 word 2010 word 2007 word starter 2010 more. My last post led us through the process of getting rid of all the junk, hidden code, and other weirdness. A line spacing is the distance between two lines in a microsoft word document. How to format line spacing for an ebook inventing reality editing. A quick guide to formatting your microsoft word manuscript. I personally use microsoft word, and while the following document will. Because they neglected to create a conversion software that recognizes use of the tab button. By colin dunbar naturally, the quality of the content of your book is the number 1 priority. Using styles also saves you time because you dont have to format the font and spacing. To set this up, go to the modify menu for the normal style, as in step 2. Using word styles is the easiest way to prepare your word file before you publish your ebook.