After popular request, we now have a Word template you can download that works well with Kindle and epub. The main article on creating your own styles is beneath this article.
A few snapshots of the template follows, then a clickable link to download the document in either U.S. or UK format. This is a clean and simple method and enables you to get on with writing your novel (or you can paste into this document). Instructions are included in the document, which you can delete once you have finished writing or have a handle on things.
Click HERE to download the U.S. MS Word template
Click HERE to download the UK MS Word template
You will be directed to the download page:
You will be directed to the download page:
The download will likely be in "read only" mode -- simply re-save it under another name to use it.
On to the main article: Layout Tips
When it comes to formatting your word document for novel and biography writing, it really is a good idea to set off in the right direction, by using a publisher and Kindle-friendly format - this will save you time and money during the proofing process. The following method has been tried and tested to be friendly to mobi files (Kindle; iPhone etc) as well as for conventional publishing.
First, set your normal document to TNR 12pt:
Microsoft Word places automatic line breaks between each new paragraph, which need to removed first.
The next step is to set the chapter headings, making them easy to use and recognizable by free mobi converting applications such as Calibre (more about this later) in which you can automatically create a table of contents for Kindle if you use the 'Heading 2' facility:
In general, the best option for manuscripts is Times New Roman 12pt font size; but for the chapter heading we will adopt a simple yet effective centered and bold 14pt font size as below.
First, hit the return key and then replace the cursor back on the top line.
Center the text and change to 14pt font bold.
First, hit the return key and then replace the cursor back on the top line.
Center the text and change to 14pt font bold.
So we block on the text: Chapter 1 and right-click the Heading 2 box; a dialogue box pops up and once you select: 'Update Heading 2 To Match Selection', all you have to do in following chapters is type 'Chapter x', no need to center the text or change to bold or change from the 12pt font you will be using after this - placing the cursor to the left or blocking on the text and left-clicking the 'Heading 2' box will do all this for you. See below:
Okay, so it takes a few minutes but you will save time and money on editing if you adopt this heading style.
(If you can't see your horizontal ruler, click this icon on the right-hand side):
To create a pleasing space before writing the opening of the chapter, hit the enter/return key 2 or 3 times, which looks cool on Kindle et al (to save space I haven't done this in the examples).
Once we have written our first paragraph we need to create a paragraph indent using the top slider on the ruler (there are slower methods and ways to adjust the settings afterwards). So when we hit the enter/return key at the end of the paragraph we then left-click and slide the top ruler slider to .5cm (recommended for Kindle and most popular by far) or 1cm if you prefer:
To create a scene break, we hit the enter/return key twice and move the slider back to the left (above the bottom slider) before typing:
Of course when we begin a new paragraph after this we must repeat the indent steps by moving the top slider back to .5cm (or 1cm if we're using that) before typing; but this doesn't have to be done very often because whenever you hit the enter/return key an automatic indent will appear - and because there are very few scene breaks in a typical book, this system is fast, clean and most importantly Kindle/publisher-friendly.
At the end of the chapter, click the 'Insert' tab and select 'Page break' - no need to add a bunch of return strokes before you do this - just insert your page break after the period (full-stop) that ends your chapter.
You can also insert a page break by pressing the Ctrl and Enter keys together (on your keyboard).
Bad Habits:
One of the most tedious things to fix are stray spaces before the text begins in a new paragraph, and also the popular habit of ending a paragraph with a period (full-stop) and then pressing the space-bar before hitting the enter/return key - thus creating a hanging space - DON'T DO IT - time is better spent improving the creative aspect of your story rather than having to spend valuable time putting this easily avoidable error right. On no account use your spacebar to form indents - these will have to be put right manually before publishing. Go Here to learn a few quick tricks to fix these invisible errors.
Any questions or remarks; post them in the comments field and I will try to clarify anything confusing - but invest a little time getting to grips with this if you want to self-publish, self-edit or get value for money from your editor. A clean format is also appreciated by agents, as it's the mark of a professional - typos can be forgiven, but poor formatting is poor groundwork...
