Click the circled p sign to view all the formatting marks in word. Depending on your ebook, some steps may be unnecessary e. Do you want to convert your word document to an epub or mobi file. And if calibre can convert word, then it can convert almost any document into an ebook. Reopen your filtered html document in word, then click the button in the menu bar to show the formatting marks. How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in 6. This book is a goldmine for anyone trying to learn how to format their own books. Using microsoft word styles to format a book for kindle before you start typing your ebook you should set up your word document using microsoft word styles. A quick guide to formatting your microsoft word manuscript. In this stepbystep video guide, we walk you through formatting a paperback manuscript in microsoft word. Good formatting in your word document will make your ebook look and read much better for your potential ebook readers. To create chapter headings, insert a section break at the beginning each chapter. How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in. Using words inbuilt quick styles tool is a great way to save time and maintain consistent styles across your document visit the microsoft help pages for more information on using quick styles.
This is a very basic tutorial on formatting a word document to load to kdp for an ebook. Its filled with stepbystep instructions, pictures, and a hyperdetailed process for. In order to turn your book into a functional ebook, your manuscript document. Build your book format a paperback manuscript word for. Fulfilling some requests on technical questions involving ebooks, microsoft word, and the format of writing in general. How to make an ebook kindle and epub conversion diy book. On the message tab, in the basic text group, click clear all formatting. How to format your book for kindle using microsoft word in 6 easy. The most important formatting element is to make sure you use heading 2 for your chapter titles. The reason for this is that what you see as the first, left page in your word document is actually located on the right and not left side of the book. Aug 07, 2017 if youre patient and willing to format your word document carefully, you can use the automated conversion processes of amazon kindle, smashwords, draft2digital, or similar ebook retailer and distribution services. Go through your document looking for any unusual formatting. Free ebook template preformatted word document what mommy. What file size, aspect ratio and file type you will need for your book cover images.
On the home tab, in the font group, click clear all formatting in outlook. On the home tab, in the basic text group, click clear all formatting. Formatting a print book for kdp can be learned quite quickly, and you can do everything in microsoft word, or indesign if you want to make it extra professional. Prepare word doc for ebook conversion ebookpartnership. In word, click the clear all formatting button to remove all formatting. If you plan to make multiple ebooks, design a basic layout and save it as a word template so that you can use it for each new book. Creating an ebook means converting your document into one or more of the several ebook formats. Getting rid of the junk code requires a solid knowledge in xhtml programming and bundling in epub and mobi formats. Styles in microsoft word is the easiest way to perfectly format an ebook the stepbystep procedure for using word styles to format an ebook file. Now that you have your word document that was created from a pdf here is what you need to do in addition to the standard formatting that you would otherwise do for word document before converting it to an ebook. Complete ebook creator guide direct formatting can be used for bolding or italicizing certain words in a paragraph.
It takes only a few minutes to generate well formatted, good looking ebook and print files. How to format a manuscript for ebook conversion publishdrive. How to use microsoft word to format an ebook youtube. Top tips for ebook formatting in word learn to view your document correctly. But before you start converting word doc to epub or mobi, make sure your word document is correctly formatted using word styles. How to format your word or pages doc for your ebook. If you converted to mobi the first time, then hit the convert books button again and select epub to convert to that format. Beautiful formatting draft2digital easy selfpublishing. Styles are word s way to standardize the treatment and appearance of words, characters, and blocks of text. Word may reduce the size of your image when you insert it. Mar 23, 2017 five simple principles for formatting microsoft word documents. Amazons word doc conversion process will create a lovely basic ebook, as long as you format your word doc correctly and do not have a bunch of extra code to.
You can upload and convert your ebook manuscript file from several supported formats. Please follow these steps to learn how to format a manuscript for ebook conversion. You can create with a table of contents and chapter breaks for easy ereader navigation and readability. How to convert a microsoft word document into an ebook using the calibre conversion tool.
Since the idea behind ebooks and word documents is so different, it is not surprising that they only look similar on the surface. Format in microsoft word and convert to ebook in calibre udemy. Open kindle create and click new project from file. Using word to prepare a kindle book isnt nearly as difficult as many will tell you, but its also not as simple and straightforward as others claim. If the whole paragraph needs to be formatted uniquely, you should apply stylebased formatting to the entire paragraph as discussed below. Formatting print books with word alliance of independent. Styles are words way to standardize the treatment and appearance of words, characters, and blocks of text.
If you make any changes in the book later on, youll have to manually update the table of contents though. Understand the fundamental differences between formatting for an ebook and formatting for hard copy. Jan 11, 2018 this is a very basic tutorial on formatting a word document to load to kdp for an ebook. You can also show the formatting marks by heading to toolsoptionsview, then checking the all box under formatting marks. On the home tab, in the font group, click clear all formatting.
On the bookmark window, type toc in the bookmark name field see below. The information is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are similar in most versions. The software is excellent, the features are as follows. Even more advanced the right way another way to make ebooks more professional, but more timeconsuming is to copy all the text from your word document and use an online service like to make it cleaner.
Its not that hard to format your word document for a kindle ebook if you know how. Jun 26, 2016 creating an ebook means converting your document into one or more of the several ebook formats. How do i remove hard returns from my word document. Weve since rewritten it from scratch and improved the software, which works by providing a simple system to tear apart your microsoft word document, remove all of the unnecessary fluff, and then completely rebuild from scratch a. Simple ebook formatting using ms word molly greene. Its similar to printed book interior design and formatting, but focuses solely on your book in the digital space. Preparing your microsoft word document for ebook publication. And yet, if you adopt the five simple formatting principles below, you will be using the reflowable content method for epub ebook. If you convert your book into these three formats you will be golden. For an ebook, though, youll want to indent your paragraphs and remove the space between them. How to format a manuscript for ebook conversion publishdrive blog. Jun 28, 2016 now that you have your word document that was created from a pdf here is what you need to do in addition to the standard formatting that you would otherwise do for word document before converting it to an ebook. Self publishing your kindle book with microsoft word, or tips on formatting your document so your ebook wont look terrible.
Apr 17, 2012 to start your ebook, create a new word document. After you format your manuscript in word, add finishing. As you prepare your ebook, consider whether your content should have a fixed or reflowable format. To do this, click on the table of contents in your word document so that you select the table, go to the references tab, and choose update table in the bar this will open a dialog box with additional options page numbers only if you only edited, added, and removed parts of the. Although your word doc formatting looks correct when you use the tab button to indent and the space bar to create multiple extra spaces, etc. On the home tab, in the font group, click clear all formatting in powerpoint. We will turn your word document into a beautiful, professionallooking ebook and spare you the frustration of dealing with style guides and preformatting. All of these background elements can alter the look of your ebook once it. Importing a document with unnecessary hard returns into our design software will cause formatting issues, such as creating a paragraph where one wasnt intended, and will affect the overall look of your manuscript.
For the stylesheet to work properly and your books formatting to be consistent, you will have to format using general styles instead of using local formatting. A simple method for formatting microsoft word documents. It does involve jumping a few hurdles, though, and those hurdles are the reason that so many selfpublished authors dont have print versions of their books. May 02, 2016 preparing your microsoft word document for ebook publication theres an ongoing debate on the kindle direct publishing forum regarding formatting and uploading ebooks in microsoft word. What youre saving is actually a directory authors name with a set. The stepbystep guide to formatting your print book for kdp. If you do use quick styles we recommend that you send us the final manuscript in pdf format to ensure the styles are maintained. There are many reasons why good formatting habits in word are important, but easy conversion to ebook is usually not one of the reasons cited. As a former microsoft trainer turned selfpublished author, he is able to speak from considerable relevant.
Free ebook template preformatted word document what. Click the insert tab, then click the bookmark button. The smashwords ebookpublishing service transforms words doc files into the epub, mobi, and other ebook formats, but only if you shun text boxes, tables, and other common formatting elements in. How to use microsoft word to create an ebook pcworld. If youre patient and willing to format your word document carefully, you can use the automated conversion processes of amazon kindle, smashwords, draft2digital, or similar ebook retailer and distribution services.
All of these background elements can alter the look of your ebook once it is published. The book formatting rocket is our very own formatting software, which in its first version was developed back in 2012, and was very unique of its kind for the time. It creates a serviceable ebook, but not a beautiful one. See our separate guides for formatting a paperback in microsoft word for mac and pages for mac. If you prefer to leave the images in word, or if you intend to upload a word document to kdp, here are a few things that you may wish to know. However if your ebook does not contain these formatting issues, here are 6 easy steps to turn your microsoft word document into a kindle book. The best way to format an ebook is to prepare your word document for ebook publishing by using word styles. You can use styles to format an ebook or update its formatting to work on a. Jul, 2019 hit ok and calibre will immediately begin converting. How to use the book formatting rocket apex authors. Word wants your picture to fit in the margins shown on the screen, so if. Preparing your microsoft word document for ebook publication theres an ongoing debate on the kindle direct publishing forum regarding formatting and uploading ebooks in microsoft word. Using word styles is the easiest way to prepare your word file before you publish your ebook. Nov 01, 2017 the problem with this is that ms words gutter option wont work when it comes to book formatting.
When hitting the enter key in word, you are forcing the line to break to the next line. Some companies use ebook formatting software, which can miss things. How to format ebooks quickly and easily in microsoft word, enabling indie authors to produce their own books without additional software or. Please note, that this will remove all formatting, including italics and bold. Self publishing your kindle book with microsoft word, or tips on formatting your document so your ebook wont look terrible kindle publishing 1 at. You can do this the debate continues, but im back to tell you yes, you can format and upload your ebook manuscript in microsoft word. The information we give is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are similar in most versions. Step by step instructions for formatting an ebook in microsoft word.
Microsoft word has lots of features that make creating ebooks easy. Jul 20, 2017 top tips for ebook formatting in word. Here i show you how to manage paragraph and heading styles to generate a. Many writers are using calibre for their initial conversion to epub from microsoft word a notorious creator of extraneous bits of code. Kindle ebook formatting example kindle formatting example. Choose the type of book youre making and click choose file. This stepbystep guide shows you how to turn a manuscript written in microsoft word into a file ready to be uploaded to. I customized this word document easytoread fonts, pretty page numbers, and standard chapter headings so my future ebooks will be a breeze to create. How to format ebooks in word selfpublishing advice. We will turn your word document into a beautiful, professionallooking ebook and spare you the frustration of dealing with style guides and pre formatting. On the message tab, in the basic text group, click clear all formatting onenote. They want to make it easy for you to get published, so theyll convert your word document into an ebook epub file instantly. It will make sure that your document will be clean of background code that can affect fonts, paragraph styles and line spacing in your ebook. My last post led us through the process of getting rid of all the junk, hidden code, and other weirdness.
Yes, youve guessed it this time, hes explaining how to use word to format print books. Five simple principles for formatting microsoft word documents. For the best results, we recommend a microsoft word docdocx or a kpf file created with kindle create. Let me stress that you should read every word in the document to ensure it is correct. Styles are simply preformatted settings for your chapter titles, subheadings, second level sub headings, bullet lists, numbered lists and quotes. For help formatting a quality ebook, see this stepbystep guide. You need to see the formatting marks, so turn them on, as well as the navigation pane and the ruler, by clicking the backtofront p sign the paragraph symbol used by proofreaders. Then youll want to hit the big save to disk button.
How to quickly create an epub file from word jane friedman. How to format a book for kindle using microsoft word. The main thing is to get things right in the word document, rather than messing around with things to much in sigil. Word to epub converter can convert a word file docx or doc directly into a epub format ebook.
496 1296 368 444 74 1380 474 312 551 1434 741 907 152 946 1207 777 45 585 1395 888 589 1345 1212 1562 1073 50 529 827 1479 642 214 1322 118 460 1102 759 1423 357