Tag: Writer’s Bane

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How to Use Your Manuscript to Guide the Book Formatter

It can’t be said enough times of how important it is as a writer and author, to be aware of how you are using your craft. Every space, placement, and the overall format you give your manuscript can impact how the editor, formatter, and reader interact and perceive the content on the page. As with anything else, consistency is key and being aware of what you can do to strengthen your formatting to carry through to the book formatter for optimal results in the overall print design. Here’s some great tips that can be huge game changers in your writing, editing, and publishing. Let’s take a look at what matters the most when formatting your manuscript to hand to editors and formatters alike.

Margins and Page Size

Stick with standard 8.5 x 11 or Letter sized pages. Don’t try to shrink the page size or mimic the print size of the book. Instead, focus on standardizing this so it’s easier to see any key changes in the overall content. On that same note, normal margins or 1 inch margins on all sides are just uniform for preparing a document. Leave book trim or size and the math for proper margins to the book formatter so that the print house has to correct parameters.

Line Spacing and Font Choices

Double spacing a manuscript is pretty well known whether it’s a class essay to a manuscript for a literary agent. The reason for this is that they can print and have space to leave marks and corrective notes. Same goes for most editors where this is also standard. As for the formatter, they will be basing line spacing on the font choice since these all have different natural spacing.

Fonts should be standard or common choices such as New Times Roman or Times, Arial, Garamond, Helvetica, and similar. Courier, Comic Sans, Papyrus, and other fonts should be avoided in case there are special letterings or accented characters that could be lost completely when importing into other programs for book formatting. These are also common fonts for eBook readers and are a great way to make sure the content you are writing is completely compatible for ebook devices and formats. 

Double Return versus Line Break

Be sure to either make a paragraph style that adds a space after or utilize a double return between flashbacks and similar slight content changes. As for a line break or scene change within a chapter, pick a means of communicating this by adding a line with asterisks (***) or hashtags (#). This should be consistent so that a simple find and replace can be done to identify where line break artwork or ornaments will go in the book design. 

Never hold SHIFT+ENTER since this creates a manual line break, not a hard return. These can cause weird spacing and awkward forced breaks in the middle of content, sentences, and more. Most designers may clean them out as they see them, while others simply assume they are intended to be there. 

Don’t force things to land on the next page unless it’s intended to do so like a new chapter start. You can even set the heading style or chapter header style to page break before or start on the next page. These make life easier as you start to write and prep your manuscript for editors and formatters. If you do need a manual page break, you can use the insert break options or use CTRL+NUMPAD ENTER to create one. Never use multiple hard returns to force content to the next page as it can cause confusion when the content is placed within the book trim and layout. 

Styles and Headers

Many word processors now have means of labeling paragraph styles, styles, or heading styles to content. Use them! These not only add vital programming, but makes it much easier for your formatter to understand the hierarchy of the content without guessing or making an attempt to read the content. Be mindful of how you are labeling chapters and subheads with these styles to make sure they will be designed with the same intent in the print version. 

You can also use styles or make custom styles to identify quotes, pull quotes, letters, references, and similar aspects. Be sure to make the formatter aware to expect these extra components. Using one or more character styles should help make these stand out via formatting choices such as italics, bold, or underline. Combine these with paragraph justification for further visual impact such as indent left, indent right, space before, space after, and center alignment.

Using style and heading systems can help you see your sections in navigation panes as you write and make it easier to jump to sections you want to work on or edit. It also utilizes and opens up doors for automation for ebook creation or even utilizing the Create a Table of Contents options so you can make sure you have assigned and layered your styles in the intended way. Most formatters will utilize TOC systems in their programs in the same manner, but with a wider range of styling and formatting options.

Tabs versus Indents

If you are utilizing styles for even the Normal or Body text, setting these paragraph styles to have a First Line Indent of 0.25 inches is pretty standard for a manuscript with no space after or before the paragraph. You can make a “no indent” variety which is often applied to the first paragraph of a chapter start, after a line break, after a subheading, or similar divided space designed to show a jump in content or major change.

Tabs can be a great way to make a chart in your content without having to insert a spreadsheet. Many folks have been taught to use the tab key to add their first line indent. It is highly recommended to utilize the paragraph style settings for this since this is becoming more of a tool for spreadsheet programming and can cause some weird results when multiple tabs have been used. If you need something aligned to the left, then use the paragraph alignment menu to do so. There should be a ruler and tab system to customize those settings for each tab dropped. Most of the new word processors, if fully updated, now convert a single tab to paragraph style. In short, it’s one less keystroke and thing to worry about as you work on your manuscript.

Track Changes and Comments

Track changes are a great tool for you and your editor, but if left in place when a manuscript is sent to a formatter it can cause weird import issues that include content going missing in places, words broken apart, and stopping the placement or import system short of completing its task. Even more so, it inserts hidden programming in the XML coding that can bug out ebooks unbeknownst to author and designer in most cases.

Avoid this by clearing all comments out and accepting all track changes. There should be none left open or active, and all deleted before sending the file to the formatter or designer. If you wish to provide a copy with comments that identify formatting remarks, it should be sent as a guide copy or remind the formatter they were left as indication for them (and they should be able to delete them out). Granted, these apply mainly to Word and Google documents in particular.

On occasion with Word documents, “Content Panel” of altered content shows up. Whether this is caused by opening the document in third party applications or converting from one program to another, I can’t say, but these can bug out importing the content for a formatter. In Word, identify one such section, select all (so it highlights the whole document for other instances), and use the left click to open the Content Panel options and Delete!

Check Your Hidden Characters

Not sure about the returns, the tabs, or the accidental line breaks? No problem. Most programs have a Paragraph Icon that toggles between show or hide “Hidden Characters” that looks like a backwards P. Sometimes these are also labeled non-printing characters and these options are commonly found in the view section of programs. If you have tabs or manual line breaks, they are often shown as arrow type symbols unlike the common dot for a space or backwards P for a hard return. 

File Formats to Use

Lastly, most design programs utilize Word Documents (DOC, DOCX) for the sheer reason that much like eBooks, these files are written in XML and are easily convertible. Most programs, including Google Docs and Apple Pages have the option to EXPORT or SAVE AS – Filetype dropdown, to select this option. If you are unsure of the default save format front eh program you are writing in or don’t have this option, there is a solution! SAVE AS RTF RICH TEXT FORMAT. This is an older text file that is tried-and-true to what it does. The underbelly programming stripes XML coding to the basics and should maintain your character and paragraph styles just fine. In fact, it’s not uncommon for designers who have import failures on submitted files to convert them to RTF and import them with no issue afterwards.

Discover More

If you haven’t discovered Writer’s Bane: Formatting 101, you’ve been missing out on a lot of answers to questions and even a stronger understanding of how impactful formatting is on a book. This includes what goes inside your book, how to prepare a manuscript for a typeset, and how to design the interior of your book. 

Like the advice and information you see here? 
Check out the Formatting 101 textbook here at: https://4horsemenpublications.com/product/writers-bane-formatting-101/ . This book holds a variety of answers for those seeking to become typesetters, looking to self-publish their book, or simply want to learn how to communicate and prepare their manuscripts to get the most out of their designers. The Writer’s Bane is a curse and passion, both a want and need to tell a story. In this volume, you will learn the importance of preparing a book for layout as well as laying it out in a way that appeals to your readers of any genre including picture books, chapter books, fiction, memoirs, textbooks, workbooks, and everything in-between.

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5 Reasons You Should Pay Attention to Book Formatting

It’s strange to think about the fact that book formatting and layout still shows signs of those early printing press books in the 1400-1500s. Over the centuries, academia has evolved that format to create standards that began to take hold as public consumption increased in the 1800s. Regardless, your book’s format has to fall in line in a lot of ways for several reasons which include guiding and navigation of content, pacing of a story, placement on bookshelves, limit print issues, and reader immersion. If you haven’t discovered Writer’s Bane: Formatting 101, you’ve been missing out on a lot of answers to questions and even a stronger understanding of how impactful formatting is on a book. This includes what goes inside your book, how to prepare a manuscript for a typeset, and how to design the interior of your book. 

Guiding and Navigation of Content

Imagine a world where books didn’t have an expected chronological order to the content presented. I mean, no chapter numbers, no headers, and no page numbers. PURE CHAOS! A book’s format has an expected order and rhyme and reason. If they didn’t, it would be impossible to grasp where the information can be found. Even in “Choose Your Own Path” novels they have clearly written instructions and rely on guiding a reader via the page numbers. Let’s also be mindful that, for example, page numbers should land in the same spot throughout a book, but if this was inconsistent, you would be lost especially in a textbook. 

Keeping these navigational devices in your book in place and consistent means a lot. There have been a few books where page numbers were non-existent, and with so much automation in even word processors, WHY? How am I supposed to know where I am and what page my bookmark fell out? CHAOS. And worse, this example had a Table of Contents with numbers. PURE CHAOS. Be mindful of using all the navigational tools not for you, but your readers.

Pacing of a Story

This starts at the manuscript level and can skew how a typesetter or book designer “translates” the final book format, but be sure to use double returns and marking line breaks (***, #, or some other consistent searchable indication) in the right way. 

For example, double returns often come into play when a flashback starts or ends, a change in point of view or head hop happens in the moment or scene with no jump in time, or in non-fiction change in thought or moving on to the next thought within the same subject matter for that section/chapter. 

As for the line break, this is often where an ornamental icon will be added into a book. These often signal a change or passing of time in fiction work, change in location or jumping to a character not in the current scene, or the start of a new subject matter in a more significant manner in non-fiction. 

Placing these consistently and using them for the age-old expected reasons can help how a reader and story paces visually and limit any confusion. Imagine if neither of these existed in the novel you’ve been reading? MAYHEM!

Placement on Bookshelves

If you fail to fall in line with CMS or similar styling (Chicago Manual Style, APA, MLA, ect.), there’s a good chance that your book will not be chosen for bookshelves in commercial stores, libraries, and schools. It’s not uncommon for schools to require books to be in APA for medical books and degrees while other textbooks on certain matters for researched content may want MLA. Overall, commercial or public consumption often falls under the CMS standards though they aren’t as strict as academic and textbooks can be. These tend to be far more artful and allow more creative means. That doesn’t mean go hog wild and go above-and-beyond to break the formatting until it’s no longer recognizable. We’ve spent centuries to develop these styles and for good reason. 

Limit Print Issues

Margins and layout are also defined under these styles. Not only does it help identify the anatomy of what’s on the page, but these often aid in keeping the content from printing off the page or deeping into the spine of the book. Headers and footers play dangerously close to the edge, but the core content never should come close to this. The information is far more vital if the page prints crooked, right? Often book designers will have to adjust the margins dependent on the printer and press they are sending the file too. For example, for a perfect binding or glue binding Print-on-Demand book we typically set the inner margin with no bleed. Meanwhile, for Smythe Sewn or sew-bound hardcovers we would have to add bleed/trim/margin for stitching and binding to take place. A lot of math gets involved in those final moments of a book’s design that can impact the final look, so be mindful that anything that is pushed to the edge or super close has a high potential of “being lost” or cut off completely. 

Reader Immersion

Lastly, the biggest factor in all of this is the impact your consistency in formatting has on the reader. If the styling and broken style rules are too many, the reader will be confused and most likely will stop reading or even abandon the book. Again, for CENTURIES, books have an order and cadence that readers for GENERATIONS have been taught to read. Breaking the normal expectation in certain umbrellas can have detrimental effects to how readers feel and perceive your book and its content. Bad reviews, low sales, and social media thrashing will be just a few of the impacts here. The way a book is formatted is designed to optimize COMMUNICATION and to alter that has dire consequences and breaks the connection with the readers. Immersion can be granted, but the moment the font changes without warning, or the content isn’t labeled as expected, the reader gets distracted or frustrated. Remember, you’re not formatting for you, but for the audience. Don’t cause chaos!

Discover More

Like the advice and information you see here? Check out the Formatting 101 textbook here at: https://4horsemenpublications.com/product/writers-bane-formatting-101/ . This book holds a variety of answers for those seeking to become typesetters, looking to self-publish their book, or simply want to learn how to communicate and prepare their manuscripts to get the most out of their designers. The Writer’s Bane is a curse and passion, both a want and need to tell a story. In this volume, you will learn the importance of preparing a book for layout as well as laying it out in a way that appeals to your readers of any genre including picture books, chapter books, fiction, memoirs, textbooks, workbooks, and everything in-between.

Writer’s Bane: Formatting 101
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Anatomy of a Book’s Page: the Guts!

Writer’s Bane: Formatting 101 starts with helping authors and designers to identify every part of a book and which ones matter the most for the genre and type of book they aim to create. It’s vital that everyone knows the proper terms and verbiage when trying to communicate with your formatter in hopes that they make the changes you want precisely and with little confusion. I can’t express how often clients are using the wrong terms and I’ve changed the item they said, not the one they envisioned. Let’s break down my top three!

Chapter Header versus Headline

This may feel like a small matter, but for a typesetter it means a lot behind the scenes for both how we design a chapter page as well as how we program an ebook and even the Table of Contents. Chapter Header is often just a number, “chapter #”, “week #”, or some other short and simple implication of a new chapter and its identification. Under the hood, these are the h1 programming tier.

As far as adding a chapter headline, or subtitle, that’s referred to as a headline. It’s often presented in a different font or more elegant font to make an effort to emphasize the theme or topic for the chapter more pronounced. You don’t need a headline or to title your chapters. Chapter headlines are more often seen in nonfiction and certain genres. Under the hood, these are the h2 programming tier.

Margins versus Line Spacing versus Paragraph Spacing

There are no words for the amount of miscommunication I have seen in my career and peers when it comes to corrections or changes involving adjusting the spacing. It’s important that when communicating with a formatter to be clear which of these three you are implying and be aware of the limitations or design faux pas we help you avoid.

Margins refer to the space between the page’s trim edge or actual finished edge and where the textual content lands. If you are creating a book that is Print-on-Demand or traditional print fiction style, this should be 0.5 inch margin. Many designers also will have a larger inner, or inside the spine, margin of 0.65-0.8 inches depending on the total page count and binding type of your book. Traditionally, the margin for a body page on the top and bottom are set for 0.75 inches to allow enough space before the 0.5 inch minimum for page numbers, header, and footer. In short, there may be very little a designer can change in regards to these design aspects if you wish for textual content to be closer to the page’s edge.

Line Spacing refers to the spacing between the lines of text adjacent to each other from the top and/or bottom of it. This is often called leading as well, and it’s common to have a leading of 11-14 points when designing a book. Never should your book be double spaced. This is reserved solely for the purpose of editors and giving them space to leave editorial marks and notes accordingly. Double space is often used for academic papers for this reason as well. As for published and professional books, they should never be double spaced unless you are creating an editing exercise.

Paragraph spacing refers to the space above, between, and below a specific paragraph. It’s more common to have no paragraph spacing in body text with a first line indent of 0.25-0.5 inches. If you want no first line indent, it is recommended to add at least a 0.0625 inch space after the paragraph style. This may make content harder to identify though. Paragraph spacing is a vital part of a reader seeing when time or scenes change, special content broken out, or simply in a textbook which chunk belongs to which area. These should be used purposefully and placed accordingly. I highly recommend trusting your editor or designer. OR check out the Chicago Manual Style for aid.

Quote versus Pull Quotes

A quote or citation should always have paragraph spacing above and below it as well as left and right indentation to help it stand out. Some go as far as italicizing these, though that should be dependent on the intent of the author and/or editor. These are always within the flow of the content and don’t disrupt the overall flow of text.

A pull quote takes something from the content nearby and creates a graphical image of text. These quotes are often seen in magazines, textbooks, and nonfiction more than anywhere else. They create excitement or point out a vital statement that shouldn’t be glossed over. They act the same as placing an image or object and the text should flow around these pull quotes. Again, these are taken from something in the content and therefore is often a repeat of what is found on the page or spread.

Discover More

Like the advice and information you see here? Check out the Formatting 101 textbook here! This tome holds a variety of answers for those seeking to become typesetters, looking to self-publish their book, or simply want to learn how to communicate and prepare their manuscripts to get the most out of their designers. The Writer’s Bane is a curse and passion, both a want and need to tell a story. In this volume, you will learn the importance for prepping a book for layout as well as laying it out in a way that appeals to your readers of any genre including picture books, chapter books, fiction, memoirs, textbooks, workbooks, and everything in-between.

Writer’s Bane: Formatting 101