This blog post is all about the interior formatting of your book and how you can ensure your book looks professional. We will be considering a number of points, starting with what exactly interior formatting is and why it is such a key part of your book. We will then look at how you can deal with this yourself or hire a professional formatter to take care of it for you.
What is Interior Formatting?
Let’s start with the basics – what do we mean by interior formatting? Essentially, the interior formatting is how a book looks inside. This covers a whole range of things, with some of the more obvious ones being how headings are set out and the arrangement of any illustrations, diagrams or photos.
However, interior formatting also refers to a lot of other elements, such as the font (as well as the size of this), how the page numbers are written and where on the page they will appear, as well as the size of the margins. Everything that you see when you open a book is planned to look as good as possible and suit the genre it is in.
Why is Interior Formatting Important?
Simply put, interior formatting is important because it makes your book look the part and ensures it is accessible to readers. There are several ways it does this, for example, setting out headings neatly and consistently means that it is easy for readers to find the part they need. Of course, this is helped by having a clear table of contents but making headings and sub-headings distinctive is essential. It also breaks up the text as they are reading it, improving comprehension.
Naturally, any images and diagrams need to be arranged so that they are close to the piece of text they link to, but don’t break up the text in an untidy way. Likewise, page numbers will be positioned to be visible but not intrusive. Some introductions may have their own run of page numbers, usually in Roman numerals. This is especially the case in non-fiction, such as textbooks.
Another important element of formatting is the margin of the pages. Margins mean that the text can easily be read and are needed on both sides. The ones on the inside of the book are to prevent the text from being lost in the fold caused by the spine, whereas the ones on the outside are to give readers space to hold the book without covering part of the text with their fingers!
Ebooks don’t quite have these requirements, but they may still have margins so there is space to hold the reader and the pages look neat. On the other hand, children’s books often have extra-large margins.
Finally, you will need to consider what font to use and in what size. The main requirement here is readability, so the text should be a reasonable size, usually 11 or 12 point. However, there are some exceptions, so check what is normal for your genre. The typeface you use should be clear, so nothing fancy! Plain and simple is the way to go here.
You may decide to use a different typeface to highlight certain parts, which is great in print but may not work well in an ebook, as you risk it not being compatible with some devices. Your book may not display properly, making it look unprofessional, or even not open at all.
How Do You Get Your Book Formatted?
There are two ways to go for book formatting – you can either do it yourself or hire a professional formatter. Using a professional might give better results, as they will be wise to all the tricks of the trade that will make your book shine. However, hiring someone is more expensive than DIY, so it is up to you to weigh up your options.
If you will be formatting it yourself, there are a few things to bear in mind. Firstly, remember all of the above about why interior formatting is important and apply this to your book. You will also need to have decent word processing software, including the ability to export to PDF. Decide what size your book will be and work around this, not the default A4.
If you are having an ebook version, you will need to pay particular attention to the formatting to make sure nothing is lost in the conversion. Make sure all of the text is correctly labelled as body (such as the main paragraphs), headings, and character (such as italics). This will stop your ebook from being merged into one and losing emphasis. In addition, remove any unnecessary spacing, such as double returns, as these will be lost in the conversion anyway.
If you do choose to hire a professional, make sure you know exactly what you will be getting for your money. Will they do revisions if necessary? What sort of guarantee do they offer? What software are they using to ensure your ebook looks professional? You should be able to find the industry standards for your country. You can also ask to see examples of their work, which should give you a good idea of what sort of standard they work to.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you with deciding how to deal with your book’s interior formatting. Come back in two weeks for another self-publishing blog post about finding an agent for your manuscript. Good luck with your book!
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