This series is directed towards first-time self-publishing authors who may not have start-up funds set aside. I will ALWAYS recommend investing in your books. The education, advertising, and professional editing/covers are worth every cent, but I also realize that it isn’t always possible. So here’s how to start following your dream without having to spend a penny because the beauty of being self-published is the amount of control you have over your books before they become widely popular. Good luck! Story Time:Once upon a time, I was a naive first-time self-publisher who was SO very excited to send my little book baby out into the world. With shaking fingers, I pressed the “Save and Publish” button on CreateSpace and held back an ocean of nervousness as I grinned at my wonderful husband, who’d inspired me to make the jump. The wait afterwards tortured me until I couldn’t bear it any longer. When the first proof copy came in, I was bouncing off the walls… until I opened it up. My chapter headings were on the opposite page of where I wanted them, the indents were WAY too wide, and the chapter headings I’d poured over for HOURS were much too big. This isn’t even mentioning my eBook version, which was so messed up it was unreadable. I had no idea what to do. I was only an author, not a formatter or even a techy. Fixing this book I’d spent seven years writing seemed impossible. So much so that I gave up writing for a good four years, if not five. I still have yet to figure out CreateSpace’s physical formatting, but I know how to optimally format an eBook now. So let me help you prevent such a harrowing experience. Note: I use Google Docs for EVERYTHING, but the same principles should apply to Microsoft Word as well." Step 1: Get Rid of Page MarginsWhy? Your Reader will be able to set their preferred page margins in their device. Anything you set more than this is going to add to their own settings and become frustrating to work with. How? Go to “File”, then “Page Setup…”. Under “Margins” set all spaces to “0” and hit “Apply”. Your words should now reach the ends of each page. Step 2: Optimize Your FontWhy? Your Reader won’t take your book seriously if it’s in certain fonts. How? Your best bet is good old Times New Roman. It’s a solid Serif (font with edges) that conveys professionalism. 11pp is a good starting font size, though your Reader will be able to change that in their device, too. Step 3: Format Your Normal TextWhy? Because having both block paragraphs AND an indent looks amateurish. You’ll have to choose one or the other. How? If you want first-line indents, select all text, take the top part of that little arrow thing under Font Selection and move it ¼-½ inch to the right. Then remove your paragraph blocks by leaving everything highlighted clicking on “Format”, hovering over “Line Spacing”, and choosing “Single”. By default, you shouldn’t have a space before or after a paragraph. If you do, go back to “Format”, “Line Spacing”, and choose “Remove space before/after paragraph”. If you want block paragraphs, leave the arrow thing where it was, go to “Format”, “Line Spacing”, and choose “Add space before/after paragraph”, depending on taste. Step 4: Insert a Table of Contents Why? So your Reader can easily navigate your book. It’s rare, but I’ve lost my place before on a reading device. It was then that I thanked the heavens the author had installed a ToC. How? Okay, so this will get a little Techy. Bear with me. You know that option right next to your font selector that says “Normal Text”? Edit your first chapter heading to how you want all of them to look, highlight it, select “Normal Text”, go to “Heading 1”, hover over the arrow, and select “Update ‘Heading 1’ to match”. Then highlight each of your chapter headings and click “Heading 1”. This should not only automatically ensure your headings are all uniform, but this tells the program where your chapters are and what to put on your ToC. After you’ve done this, go to where you want your ToC, select “Insert” and “Table of Contents” (it’s there on the bottom in Google Docs). Poof! There it is! If you want sub-headings, all you have to do is select each one and apply “Heading 2” to them, the same way as the chapters. PRO TIP: Have an “About the Author” page, something promoting your website/Facebook page/whathaveyou, and a cover image at the very front of your book." You’re all set to go! These formats work with both Smashwords and KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), which we'll touch on later.
Stay tuned for How To Self-Publish Part 3: Cover Creation!
2 Comments
Osi Mac
7/6/2016 08:22:03 am
Thanks a lot! This is very helpful!!
Reply
R. B. Knight
7/6/2016 08:28:47 am
Thank you! I'm so glad you found it helpful!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorThe Merlin to your Author. Categories
All
|