Hiya! I’m so excited that you’re making progress in the self-publishing process! The next step is formatting. I like formatting. It is a little tedious sometimes, but it brings order to the manuscript, making it look like a book.

CAUTION: Formatting your manuscript comes after you are COMPLETELY finished editing. If you make changes to the manuscript within your formatted design, you may have to go through all your formatting edits again. So, finish all story edits before taking this next step!

What is formatting?

Quite simply, formatting is the art of typesetting a manuscript as it will appear in book form.

What is the goal of formatting?

To make the words of your story easy to read, pleasing to the eye, and place them in a congruent order.

Proper word spacing and alignment on the page makes it easy to track from one line to another. Keeping sentences together helps readers complete thoughts. Bold and italic words distinguish particular sentences from others (for instance, it becomes easy when the hero is or isn’t thinking). Page numbers help readers remember where they left off. Visible breaks between paragraphs, images placed near the section which describes the scene, and more also add to the pleasure of reading.

It can also be to display certain facts –author name and book or chapter title.

Ever asked your sister, “What book are you reading?” only to have her reply, “I don’t know. Can’t see the title.” We often display the author name and book title (or chapter title) as a running header in books so it is simple to remember those facts when you need to spit them out.

At the end of the formatting process, you will have a PDF Print copy of your manuscript.

Isn’t formatting part of the editing process?

Nope.

If you are self-publishing and going with a printer, you will be required to format your manuscript.

If you are self-publishing and going with a publishing company, you may be able to choose a package that allows the company to format for you.

So, depending on which path you choose, you may or may not need the formatting process. That’s why formatting is its own branch in the self-publishing process.

How do we accomplish formatting?

Overall, there are three ways to accomplish the formatting process.
1) Choose a self-publishing program that does it for you.
2) Learn to do it yourself.
3) Hire someone who knows how. (The fee is rather small if that someone happens to be a family member or close friend.)

Let’s spend a minute talking about option 2. That’s the one I chose.

There are several platforms you can use to format the text. Word, Pages, and Adobe InDesign are the most common platforms used to format – because they have the ability to generate a compatible PDF file. You just have to be sure to check with your printer or self-publisher to find out what criteria you need to meet.

For me, using Adobe InDesign to generate a PDF print has worked very well with every option.

What exactly does the formatting process look like?

Clean up.
Filter through the text and delete any unnecessary spaces. Because, if you have 145 unnecessary spaces in the document, that’s going to shift your formatting in the final PDF.

There’s a nifty trick to this! Use the find/change tool. Put two spaces in the find bar and one space in the replace bar. Easy!

Set paper size.
With InDesign, the first step is setting up a document, which includes setting up parameters for page size.

In Word or Pages, you can either 1) choose a preset book document or 2) create the parameters yourself in a blank book.

I haven’t used Word or Pages like this in a professional way, so it is best to seek advice elsewhere if that’s where you are going.

Typeset the text.
Go through the story and make all chapter titles, chapter numbers, paragraphs, sentences, words, running headers, and page numbers look exactly as you want them to on the pages.

Generate a PDF print.
Save a copy of the typesetting as a PDF. The option is under Save As or Export. The standard is PDF/X-1a:2001. The compatibility is Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3). Any standard greater than this is incompatible with most programs, especially if any graphics or pictures are included. Any standard lesser than this isn’t worth the quality.

How long will this take?

That depends. There are several variables –  how much time you can devote to it, how well the programs are running, what unexpected something comes up in between. You get the idea.

As a general picture, I was able to format Trapped (206 pages) in only two days. Approximately five hours of work each day. I really should have taken that one in smaller chunks. Oops.

It took me longer to format Chained (254 pages) not only because it was longer, but because I was new and learning it all as I went. Betrayed (undeclared number of pages) took me quite a bit longer, as I ran into some technical and typesetting issues.

Now that you have a great foundation for formatting, let’s move on. Here are some of tips for you!

Tips for the Formatting Process

1) Be consistent.
For example, will the protagonist’s thoughts begin on a new line? Will accented words be italic, bold, or ALL CAPS? Decide how you want the words to look. Stick with it.

If you change your mind halfway through, remember to go back and make the other half consistent with the changes.

2)  Use three fonts or less.
Ideally, (so I’ve been told) you only use 1 font in a book. You simply change size, bold, or italics to differentiate between segments.

Okay, that’s great. I prefer, though, to use a more creative style font for chapter titles and numbers than the plain serif which makes up my body text. Also, if you include handwritten notes, journals, or messages throughout the book (like me), you may want to include a different font for that.

Spicing up the flavor of the book with a couple extra fonts is totally permissible. It can also really help immerse the readers in the story. Just don’t go crazy. Three, maybe four, is a reasonable max.

3) Create white space.
The more white space, the more pleasing it is to the eye, and the more likely readers are to digest it all rather than skip the descriptions.

Here are a few ways to create white space:
Choose to separate paragraphs at about 4-6 sentences.
Make the hero’s thoughts (or anyone’s) start a new paragraph.
Create an indent of 0.25in (equivalent to five space bars) at the beginning of paragraphs.

I’m sure you can find other ways to create white space, too!

4) Keep the story together.
Sometimes, when we create white space, we also create too much separation in the story. We accidentally disconnect some words from each other, which disconnects the readers.

As you format, read through the text and try to keep thoughts, voices, and descriptions together.

Tips to Save Enthusiasm and Sanity

If you choose to format yourself, or ask a friend or sibling to do it – here are a few tips I have found helpful to saving enthusiasm and sanity!

1. Pray!
   Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I need God’s help every step of the way. He’s there to help, if I choose to call upon Him. God will help you, too!
2. Save copies of your work as you reach new milestones.
   Keep the extra files in a backup folder – maybe even on a separate hard drive – so that, if something crashes, you can work up from the last milestone.
3. Take plenty of breaks.
   Long hours on computer screens wears on our brains and eyes. Completing the typesetting in several smaller chunks, rather than large ones, will help ward off fatigue.
4. Snack.
   Don’t forget to keep your favorite dessert on hand, too.
5. Keep the encouragement flowing!
   Set small goals you can reach in a day. Celebrate each milestone. Be thankful to God and anyone else helping you. If you are not the one formatting, check in on the progress often. Commend the progress. Tell them what you’re liking. Say “thank you.” Bring them snacks. Give them the credit due at the end of the process.

I hope this blog has been helpful to you on your self-publishing journey! Blessed book formatting, friend!

Comment below! Which option are you choosing? What was your formatting experience like?