

The following tips will work with any version of Word.Īpart from the specific publishing advice below, there are some basics. Key points for formatting your ebook with Word These are guidelines that you should apply when you are preparing Kindle ebooks as well. However, there are just a couple of points worth making that are common causes of problems with getting an ebook approved by Smashwords. You know the expression if all else fails, read the instructions. I usually discover that authors who have problems and ask me questions haven’t read it.
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It’s the best reference book for a new ebook publisher to help one understand how to format an ebook.
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Then I can be sure that the ebook will also be perfect on Kindle.Ī good starting point is to read the free Smashwords Style Guide. I now have the habit of preparing a new book for Smashwords first and then publishing it to KDP. It is why you need to change your thinking from merely producing a Word document to creating an ebook file.Ī well-formatted ebook file will appear the same in any ebook format, including Kindle, RTF, and epub files. When publishing with Smashwords, your ebook file needs to be suitable for nine different ebook formats, not just one. You can avoid these problems by formatting your ebook correctly before uploading and publishing.

It is extremely annoying when fonts, line spacing, and paragraph formatting change., You can also find page breaks that create unwanted blank pages, or the table of contents is incorrect. I have read many Kindle ebooks that have suffered from this problem. The problem with this is that any poor formatting inherent in your document will affect the quality of your ebook. Kindle converts your file to its proprietary ebook format, and you will usually pass as long as your text fits on the screen. Ready to learn about Microsoft Word Styles? First, let’s explore where to find them.For authors who are used to using Kindle Direct Publishing, it often comes as a surprise that the file you uploaded to KDP is unsuitable for other formats. You can simply set and apply Word Styles to do the work for you, saving you time and ensuring consistency throughout your manuscript. Styles eliminate the need to toggle back and forth within Word to repeatedly change the font, size, or color of text in each section of your manuscript. If you’ve never used Microsoft Word Styles before, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover how easy the Microsoft Word feature makes writing a fully formatted manuscript. Additionally, your project editor will provide you a Microsoft Word Styles template you can use to begin writing your book. This guide will walk you through how to find and apply styles in Word, how to customize styles, and how to use other Word features to help with formatting your manuscript. A well-formatted manuscript allows our production team to clearly discern how your text is to be laid out and ensures your students will receive a highly organized, easy-to-understand book.īecause quality formatting is so crucial to our layout and production processes, we ask all Cognella authors to use Microsoft Word Styles when writing and formatting manuscripts. The way in which you format your manuscript is nearly as important as the writing itself.
