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| Formatting may be easier with a little help! |
Hi all,
When I first started the self-publishing process nine months
ago, I certainly had a lot to learn. How did I learn it? Through reading other
writer's blogs, reading all the information on sites like Smashwords, Amazon
and B&N and by trial and error. I hope I can help you have a smoother
transition into self-publishing by giving you a few tips on formatting your
eBooks. If you haven't already done so, take a look at the first two articles
in this series – Preparing Your Manuscript and Choosing a PublishingPlatform. Okay, here we go…
Your manuscript is ready and you've chosen the platforms
where you wish to publish your book – now what? Now you have to delve into the
world of formatting your eBook so you can upload it to the sites you have
chosen. For many indie authors, this can be the most confusing part of
self-publishing, especially if you are not comfortable with computers. But
formatting your eBook isn't really as difficult or confusing as you may think.
And the best part – if you really don't want to do it yourself, there are many
services out there who will format your eBook for a minimal cost for all three
platforms.
I personally enjoyed learning how to format my eBooks. I'm
not saying it was especially easy at first, but as soon as I understood what I
was doing, I didn’t mind it. In this post I am not going to tell you step by
step how to format your eBooks – there are guides for that – but I'll guide you
in the right direction on where to find the information and how to use it.
The Best Formatting
Guide
Finding a formatting guide that walks you through the
process is priceless and there is one out there for FREE that will save you
hours of time and frustration. Smashwords
lets you download their Style Guide for FREE and you can use this not only to
format for Smashwords, but as a basic formatting guide for Amazon and B&N
as well. Just join Smashwords for Free and then go here to download their style guide either in PDF for your computer or Mobi for your
Kindle or whatever format you wish. I downloaded it in PDF on my computer so I
would have it at my fingertips every time I format a new book.
Of course, there will be a few variations when you create
your Amazon Kindle file and B&N Nook file. For example: For Amazon, you
will want to use Page Breaks at the end of each chapter so your chapters don't
run into each other. For B&N, Page Breaks don't work – you have to use
Section Breaks instead so your new chapter will start on a new page. But you
can find these tips out on the individual pages for Amazon and B&N.
Formatting for Amazon
and Barnes & Noble
Amazon/KDP has
their Simplified Formatting Guide.
For all three platforms, you can start with your Word document
and begin formatting for each platform. First – make a copy before formatting –
then start. I'd advise you to use the information from the Smashwords guide
that applies to your type of book to format and then make whatever other
changes Amazon or B&N require. Always keep a separate file for each format;
otherwise you will confuse them when you are uploading your files.
Honestly, if you follow the directions step-by-step, you can
do this yourself. It just takes time.
Checking your
Formatting
When uploading to Amazon and B&N, they allow you to
preview how your book looks before you hit PUBLISH. This is important. You want
to make sure your formatting looks good before publishing it. If you own a
Kindle or Nook, that is even better. You can upload your file (by connecting
your Kindle or Nook to your computer) onto your reader and go through the book
to make sure it looks good. I never publish a book without doing this first.
Uploading your eBook
All platforms allow you to upload your formatted Word document
– simple as that. I do it a little differently, because I like having the mobi
or epub file available to share with reviewers without having to pay a
bookseller for it. You can upload Mobipocket Creator
to create mobi files or you can upload Calibre to
create epub, mobi or any of the files
you wish.
But I still can't
seem to do it myself…
That's fine too. For many people, it isn't worth their time
learning how to do formatting when there are services available that will do it
for you for a good price. Tugboat Design will
format your novel for all three platforms for only $65. That's a bargain. They
also format for CreateSpace and can also create your book cover too.
Formatting for CreateSpace is simple and complicated all at
once. I use the Word doc that I formatted for Kindle to upload to CreateSpace –
BUT – once you upload the file to the size book you have chosen, you then have
to work on that file to create page numbers and headings (if desired). I
haven't figured out how to do page numbers so I hand the file over to Tugboat
Design to finish it for me – she can place in page numbers and headings without
a problem.
Deanna
Great info, Deanna - thanks! I've successfully formatted and uploaded for Kindle myself. I needed help from my BIL for CreateSpace, however. And it seems like we had to convert our Word doc to print-ready PDF before we could upload to CreateSpace. So you just uploaded your you Word doc and then it was modified after that?
ReplyDeleteYes, you're right - it has to be switched to PDF for upload. So many processes with all of these sites I sometimes forget until I work with them again. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Deanna,
ReplyDeleteGreat site with some great tips! This post will come in handy when I format my new book for Kindle--the first one was a pain to do!
Thanks for following my blog. I am definately following yours!
Greg
Hi Greg - Thanks for visiting - glad to help!
ReplyDelete