How to Format a Book: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

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You have finished your draft. Now you need it to look like a real book. Knowing how to format a book properly is what turns a plain document into a file that a printer, a reader, or a platform like Amazon KDP will accept without trouble. The short answer: set your trim size and margins first, choose a readable font, apply paragraph styles instead of manual spacing, add chapter breaks and page numbers, then export to PDF for print or EPUB for eBooks. This guide walks through each step in Word and Google Docs, explains the difference between manuscript and book formatting, and covers what UK self-publishers need to know.

If you would rather hand this job to experts, professional book publishers can format your interior for you. Otherwise, follow the steps below.

What Is the Difference Between Manuscript Formatting and Book Formatting?

These two terms cause a lot of confusion, so start here.

Manuscript formatting is for submitting to agents and publishers. It is plain and standard: double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman, one-inch margins, left-aligned text, and a header with your name and title. Its job is to be easy to read and easy to mark up.

Book formatting is for the finished product that readers buy. It uses a smaller trim size, tighter line spacing, justified text, professional chapter openings, and front and back matter.

Feature	Manuscript Format	Book Format
Purpose	Submission to agents/publishers	Printing and sale to readers
Page size	A4 or US Letter	Trim size, such as 5 x 8 in or 6 x 9 in
Line spacing	Double	Roughly 1.15 to 1.3
Alignment	Left	Usually justified
Font	Times New Roman 12 pt	Serif book font, 10 to 12 pt
Chapter start	Page break, simple heading	Styled heading with space above

If you plan to submit to publishers first, our guide on how to publish a book in the UK explains when each format applies.

Step 1: Choose Your Trim Size Before You Format

Trim size is the final page size of your printed book. Choose it first, because everything else depends on it.

Common trim sizes for self-published books:

• 5 x 8 inches: popular for novels and memoirs
• 5.5 x 8.5 inches: common for fiction and narrative nonfiction
• 6 x 9 inches: common for nonfiction, workbooks, and longer books
• A5 (148 x 210 mm): a common UK format
• A format paperback (110 x 178 mm): the classic UK mass-market size

Check the trim sizes offered by your printer. Amazon KDP Print and IngramSpark both publish lists of supported sizes, and not every size is available in every format. Pick one they support.

How to Format a Book in Word: Page Setup and Margins

Here is how to format a book in Word, including Word for Mac.

1. Open your document and go to Layout > Size > More Paper Sizes. Enter your trim size width and height.
2. Go to Layout > Margins > Custom Margins.
3. Set Multiple pages to Mirror margins. This creates inside and outside margins for a bound book.
4. Set your margins using the table below.

Page Count	Inside (Gutter) Margin	Outside, Top, Bottom Margins
Under 150 pages	At least 0.375 in (9.5 mm)	At least 0.25 in (6.4 mm), 0.5 in or more is safer
151 to 400 pages	At least 0.5 in (12.7 mm)	As above
401 to 600 pages	At least 0.625 in (15.9 mm)	As above

These minimums come from KDP Print guidance, so verify the current figures on the KDP help pages before you finalize. Many authors use larger margins, around 0.75 inch, for a more comfortable look.

The inside margin matters most. A bound book curves into the spine, so text too close to the gutter becomes hard to read.

What Font and Font Size Should I Use When Formatting a Book?

Use a serif font for body text. Serif fonts are easier to read in long passages of print.

Good choices include Garamond, Georgia, Palatino, Book Antiqua, and Times New Roman. For body text, 10.5 to 12 points works for most trim sizes. Fiction in a small trim size often looks best at 11 points.

Keep these rules in mind:

• Use one font for body text and, if you like, one other for chapter titles.
• Do not use decorative fonts for body text.
• Check that your font license allows commercial print use. Fonts built into Word generally work for this, but confirm the terms.
• For ebooks, readers choose their own font, so your font choice matters mainly for the print edition.

What Is the Best Line Spacing for a Book?

For a printed book, use line spacing of about 1.15 to 1.3. Double spacing is for manuscripts only and would make a book look bloated and cost more to print.

Do not add extra blank lines by pressing Enter. Instead, set spacing through paragraph settings:

1. Select all body text.
2. Right-click and choose Paragraph.
3. Set line spacing to Multiple and enter 1.2.
4. Set spacing before and after to 0 pt.

How to Format Paragraphs and Dialogue in a Book

Good paragraph formatting is a quiet mark of professionalism.

• Indents. Use a first-line indent of about 0.2 to 0.3 inches. Never use the Tab key or spaces to indent. Set it in the Paragraph dialogue box under Special > First line.
• First paragraph of a chapter. Many publishers do not indent the first paragraph after a chapter heading or scene break. This is a style choice, but applying it consistently looks polished.
• Alignment. Justified text is standard for print books. Turn on hyphenation to avoid large gaps between words.

How to format dialogue in a book. Follow these conventions:

• Start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes.
• In UK publishing, single quotation marks are common for speech (‘Hello,’ she said). US publishing uses double quotation marks. Choose one style and use it throughout.
• Keep the speaker’s action in the same paragraph as their speech.

Example (UK style):

‘Are you coming?’ she asked.

He shook his head. ‘Not tonight.’

How to Format Chapters, Headings, and Page Numbers

Chapter headings

Use Word’s built-in Heading 1 style for chapter titles, rather than bolding and enlarging text by hand. Styles let you update every chapter at once and allow the automatic table of contents to work. Start each chapter on a new page, ideally a right-hand (odd-numbered) page in print. Add space above the chapter title so it sits about a third of the way down the page.

Page numbers

1. Go to Insert > Page Number.
2. Choose bottom or top of page.
3. Use Different First Page so chapter opening pages have no number.
4. Do not number the title page, copyright page, or dedication.

Section breaks

Use Section Breaks (Next Page) to separate front matter, main text, and back matter. This lets you restart page numbering at 1 on the first page of Chapter 1, and use roman numerals (i, ii, iii) for front matter if you wish.

Headers

Many books place the author name on left-hand pages and the book title on right-hand pages. Use Different Odd & Even Pages to set this up.

What Goes into Front Matter and Back Matter?

A complete book has more than chapters. Include these elements in order.

Front matter:

1. Half-title page
2. Title page
3. Copyright page (with ISBN, edition, and rights statement)
4. Dedication
5. Table of contents
6. Foreword, preface, or introduction (if any)

Back matter:

1. Acknowledgements
2. About the author
3. Also by the author
4. Notes, bibliography, or index (nonfiction)

Include the ISBN on your copyright page. If you need one, see our guide on how to get an ISBN number in the UK.

How to Format a Book in Google Docs

Google Docs can produce a workable book file, though it offers less control than Word.

1. Go to File > Page setup. Choose Custom under Paper size and enter your trim size. Google Docs now supports custom page sizes through the Pages setup options, and you can set margins there.
2. Set margins using the same gutter guidance as above. Google Docs does not offer mirror margins, so set a slightly larger inside margin manually or add a gutter if your version supports it.
3. Apply Heading 1 to chapter titles using the Format > Paragraph styles menu.
4. Set line spacing to 1.15 to 1.3 under Format > Line & paragraph spacing.
5. Insert page breaks with Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on Mac) before each chapter.
6. Add page numbers through Insert > Page numbers.
7. Export through File > Download > PDF for print, or EPUB for ebooks.

How to format a book for KDP in Google Docs: Follow the steps above, then upload the PDF to KDP Print. Use KDP’s online previewer to catch margin or bleed problems. For complex layouts, Word or dedicated software gives better results.

How to Convert a Word Doc into a Book Format

If you already have a finished Word document, convert it in this order:

1. Save a backup copy first.
2. Remove all manual formatting: extra spaces, tabs used as indents, and blank lines used as spacing. Use Find and Replace to catch double spaces.
3. Apply a single Normal style to the body text.
4. Apply Heading 1 to chapter titles.
5. Set page size and margins as described earlier.
6. Add section breaks, page numbers, and headers.
7. Insert a table of contents from References > Table of Contents.
8. Embed fonts and save as PDF, or use File > Save As > PDF with “Standard” optimisation.

How to Format a Book for Print and Ebook Publishing

Print and ebook files are different products and need different formatting.

Feature	Print (PDF)	Ebook (EPUB)
Layout	Fixed	Reflowable
Page numbers	Yes	No (readers use location markers)
Margins	Set by you	Set by the reading device
Fonts	Chosen by you	Chosen by the reader
Table of contents	Page numbers	Clickable links
Images	High resolution (300 dpi)	Compressed, with alt text

How to format a book for Kindle

Amazon accepts several file types for Kindle books, including EPUB, and Word (DOCX) files. KDP’s own guidance recommends EPUB for best results. Keep ebook formatting simple: use styles for headings, avoid tabs and manual page numbers, and add a linked table of contents.

How to format a book for publishing as a PDF

For print, export a PDF with fonts embedded and images at 300 dpi. Both KDP Print and IngramSpark accept PDF interiors. IngramSpark is stricter about technical specifications, so read its file creation guide before uploading.

Formatting Tools: Word, Google Docs, or Dedicated Software?

Tool	Best For	Notes
Microsoft Word	Most self-publishers	Flexible and familiar; use styles carefully
Google Docs	Simple text-only books	Free, but limited control
Atticus	Print and ebook from one file	Works across platforms; paid
Vellum	Polished layouts on Mac	Mac only; paid
Adobe InDesign	Complex or illustrated books	Professional standard; steeper learning curve

Common Book Formatting Mistakes to Avoid

• Using the Tab key or spaces to indent. This breaks in ebooks and looks uneven in print.
• Pressing Enter to create space. Use paragraph spacing and page breaks instead.
• Using several fonts. Stick to one or two.
• Forgetting the gutter margin. Text can disappear into the spine.
• Starting chapters mid-page without a plan. Be consistent.
• Skipping a proof copy. Always order a printed proof before approving your book. Screens hide problems that paper reveals.
• Ignoring widows and orphans. A single line stranded at the top or bottom of a page looks careless. Turn on widow/orphan control in the Paragraph settings.

A Quick Book Formatting Checklist

• Trim size chosen and set.
• Mirror margins with correct gutter.
• Serif body font, 10.5 to 12 pt.
• Line spacing 1.15 to 1.3, justified text.
• Chapter titles in Heading 1, each starting on a new page.
• Page numbers correct, none on blank or title pages.
• Front and back matter complete, ISBN on copyright page.
• Table of contents generated automatically.
• PDF exported with embedded fonts.
• Printed proof checked before publishing.

Key Takeaways

• Manuscript format is for submission. Book format is for the finished, printed product.
• Choose your trim size first, then set mirror margins with a proper gutter.
• Use styles for headings and paragraph settings for spacing. Never use tabs or extra Enter presses.
• Print needs a fixed-layout PDF. Ebooks need a reflowable EPUB.
• Word handles most books well. Google Docs works for simple text. Dedicated tools help with polish.
• Always order a proof copy before you publish.

Need Help Formatting Your Book?

Formatting takes patience, and small errors show up on the page. Margins drift, chapter openings look uneven, and a file that looks fine on screen can fail a printer’s checks. At NY Book Publishers, we offer some of the best book formatting services for UK authors. Our team handles interior layout, typography, page numbering, front and back matter, and clean file preparation for print and ebook. We make sure your files meet the technical requirements of KDP and IngramSpark the first time. And formatting is only the start. As a full self-book publishing company, we also offer editing, proofreading, cover design, ISBN guidance, distribution setup, and book marketing. Visit NY Book Publishers to see how we can take your book from manuscript to bookshelf.

Closing

Learning how to format a book is a skill every self-publisher can pick up. Set your trim size, build clean styles, check your margins, and export the right file for each format. Do those things well, and your book will look as professional as anything on a bookshop shelf. Take your time, order a proof, and fix problems before readers ever see them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you format a book for publishing?

Choose a trim size, set mirror margins with a gutter, use a readable serif font, apply paragraph and heading styles, add front and back matter, and number pages correctly. Then export a PDF for print and an EPUB for ebooks. Always check a printed proof before approving.

What is the standard book formatting for authors?

Standard book formatting includes a trim size such as 5 x 8 or 6 x 9 inches, a serif font at 10.5 to 12 points, line spacing of about 1.15 to 1.3, justified text, first-line indents, chapter headings starting on new pages, and consistent front and back matter.

How do I format a book in Microsoft Word?

Set a custom page size under Layout, use mirror margins, apply Normal and Heading 1 styles, set line spacing and first-line indents through the Paragraph dialogue, insert section breaks, add page numbers, and generate a table of contents. Save as PDF for print.

What font and font size should I use when formatting a book?

Use a serif font such as Garamond, Georgia, or Palatino at 10.5 to 12 points for body text. Use no more than two fonts in the whole book, and make sure your font licence permits commercial print use.

What is the best line spacing for a book manuscript?

For a submission manuscript, use double spacing. For a finished, printed book, use about 1.15 to 1.3 line spacing. Double spacing in a printed book wastes pages and looks unprofessional.

How do you format a book for print and ebook publishing?

Create a fixed-layout PDF with embedded fonts and correct margins for print. Create a reflowable EPUB for ebooks, using styles for headings, a linked table of contents, and no manual page numbers or tab indents.

What is the difference between manuscript formatting and book formatting?

Manuscript formatting is a plain, double-spaced layout for agents and publishers. Book formatting is the designed interior of the finished product, with a trim size, tighter spacing, justified text, and professional chapter openings and page numbers.

How do I format chapters and page numbers in a book?

Apply Heading 1 to each chapter title and start each chapter on a new page. Use section breaks to separate front matter, main text, and back matter, then restart page numbering at 1 on the first page of Chapter 1. Leave chapter opening pages unnumbered if you prefer.

Sources

• Amazon KDP Help: Print book margins, trim sizes, and file requirements (kdp.amazon.com)
• IngramSpark: File creation guide (ingramspark.com)
• Microsoft Support: Page setup, styles, and section breaks in Word (support.microsoft.com)
• Google Docs Help: Page setup and formatting (support.google.com)