I'm not gonna lie. Atticus is much better. It does all of the work formatting the books. To format a 100k+ fantasy would take longer than writing it in Word. I recommend Atticus instead.
@@Kindlepreneur Atticus looks great. Except, at least for me personally, I don't want to venture into a writing hobby having to invest $150 first. I already have Word, and if I didn't, what was beautifully taught in this video can be easily applied to Google Docs. Thanks for the video!
Thank you for sharing, 🙏 you're a good teacher! 👏 As someone just starting on this journey, I need to learn as much as possible until I can raise the funds to hire professionals. Your video has been one of the easiest videos, on formatting, to follow. I have been so frustrated with word, so I'm watching all I can on using it.
Dave, thank you SO much. I'm new to the KDP world, and you just gave my manuscript a total "glow-up"! It looks SO much better. You're amazing, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Hey Dave, this is perfect timing. I still write in Word, but I upload everything to Atticus for my formatting, so getting stuff right before I do is pretty important. I bought Atticus last year when it first came out, and published one book, and so much has changed while I'm writing my other ones. Thank you for the videos and thank you, and Jenna and everyone at Atticus. You guys rock.
My Word version is 15.36 aka "old" and I'm having a helluva time applying what you've taught regarding setting up margins, etc. As time is money here, and I have another book waiting to come out after this one, I think Atticus might be a smart decision. I've been at this almost all day and my left & right brain hemispheres are sizzling on overwhelm. Writing is not just a hobby for me. Then of course there's the marketing aspect, etc. So I don't want to spend a fortune of time/energy trying to figure out margins "the hard way on an old version of Word" if I can zip through it on Atticus. I really like your style of teaching, I actually can understand what you're saying!!! Thank you!
I think a tutorial on how to launch a book effectively would be ideal. Many know how to write and publish a book, but they haven't a clue about what to do next.
This and the previous video are excellent introductions for using Word to format a POD book. I use Word to format my own and my client's books, but I'm an advanced user, so I have other tips and tricks I use. For anyone wanting to use Word to format their book, I would highly recommend learning more about how to use styles, and to create a full style for each type of book you want to format (things like never hitting "enter" between lines, but setting line heights for each paragraph). It's a process that takes some time to master and set up, but it is worth it. That said, it might be too much for those who want to get their book formatted and don't want to add the learning curve for how to use Word. I'm considering Atticus myself because I do like what I'm seeing from the examples. I have to admit that I'm pretty picky, so I'll keep looking to see if it would include the little nuances I would want. Overall, though, great job
This is the most comprehensive but easy video I have found on this subject. I've already used all this stuff. There is no way you can remember it all. I usuually fill out an index card with the high points. This is a most excellent video for that.
Thank you for making these tutorial videos, Dave. Even if we aren't using Word, the concepts carry over nicely. Needs more sci-fi references, though. I'm still all warm inside from the Logan's Run reference in a previous video.
I trying to format my first book on word while watching this in a split screen! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your efficient instruction! Thank you so much. I was going to buy atticus, but this is a low content book for starters.
This is a great quick tutorial! I use MS Word for my books and I learned a few shortcuts from you. A couple things you might want to add - make sure you center justify your header and add spacing before every chapter title so it's not at the top of the page.
Thanks Dave. Very helpful. Since many of us have books available in both electronic and pirnt versions, I suggest you discuss the difference in formatting that might require.
This is a great video, clear and concise with loads of information. I tried Atticus and I must admit I got confused. But I think I'll give it another try now. I see there's quite a bit I need to do to make my books look truly professional. Thank you for the video.
Hi Dave and oldest daughter, great info regarding book formatting. I'd also suggest a short discussion about templates from KDP. They can be a bit tricky to setup for full formatting as suggested, especially the title and author name in the header and where to start them...
Nice intro to formatting with Word. Styles are definitely one of the most useful things in Word that so many people don't seem to know how to use. It's such a shame Amazon didn't keep up with the Kindle Create plugin for Word. It has the formatting options of Kindle Create and more, but with the versatility of being able to edit the document with additional styles, as well as not ending up with a Kindle only format document. I still have it and use it all the time, even if it does have a couple of bugs.
Yeah, I think Amazon isn't updating Kindle Create as a whole and just letting it fall further behind as they make changes to their own formatting requirements. But the good news is that I'm working directly with their Head of Kindle software and my organization and theirs are working on something that will help authors. :)
Very nice video 🌎 Thanks. Me learning and figuring out how to publish...I need to overcome Formatting first... Greetings from Colombia. The Venezuelan immigrant writer 🇻🇪
Awesome video. Like someone else said in the comments I would also recommend including bookmarks in the video. It helps to go back and find quickly a particular segment. Congrats on your oldest daughter graduating from college. 😊 Pierce
I can't wait to use Atticus myself for the beautiful formatting and for the ebook format and export! I use Word now; this video was great, and its tips significantly improve the formatting quality!
Hi, Dave. Very clearly explained, as usual. I have a Mac, so I now format using Pages. (I used to just let Reedsy do it all but I prefer to be able to tweak it myself) Most of the information here can be applied to Pages and I actually think it's easier to use.
Thanks for asking my opinion, Dave. I have learned a lot from all your videos. This one tells me things about formatting a manuscript that I could never figure out on my own. I spent many frustrating hours with MSWord on my first book before deciding to hire a professional, who described MSWord as "too brittle" to be used. I think you might want to advise subscribers that certain book review services will not accept books that aren't professionally formatted, and that if they can afford it, to spend the money on a good professional service like those recommended by the Alliance of Independent Authors.
This is a detailed video, and you explain it well. If all a person is doing is writing one book and wants to spend their time involved with it, you're giving them a great video. But for doing the actual formatting, forget Word. Atticus gits 'er done.
Thank you for such an informative video. I'll have to replay the part about adding book title and auhor's name. And for some reason, some of my pages leave bigger spaces at the bottom. So much to do, so much to learn. I'm definitely going to check on Atticus. But I wonder whether it's functional for nonfiction. I don't need the artwork. and stylish fonts.
Hi Dave, good stuff. Maybe include fact that Word file should be virgin, so strip out all formatting before starting? Also, how to set up a TOC s/b a tutorial all in itself (if you haven't already done one already). Best, Loretta
I'm using Atticus as well, although if I weren't, this video would be a tremendous help. One thing I didn't see addressed (apologies if I missed it), after formatting, I assume you would save as a PDF for uploading into KDP. Otherwise, this is a great overview of Word formatting in general, no matter what you're working on -- book, research paper, etc.
I use Pages in Mac and I find it works very well. Maybe some tutorials for Mac Pages as there are some complications in the structure that beg for instruction by a guru, such as formatted numbering of pages, changing numbering type from roman to arabic, etc. I do download templates from Amazon for each book and work in Pages. Also, Pages sizing are in mm and not inches, which is always a conumdrum. They do not have a standard 6"x9" template, which I use often for many of my titles being prepared. Thanks for everything you do. You are a good and honest man and I respect your views enormously. Born tutor.
Hello Dave. Thank you for the wonderful products that you have created. Could you please do a video on what should be the added to the front matter and back matter of print books. I have been doing e-books for several years now but I am yet to make the jump to print books. Thank You.
I’m nearly a minute in and, judging by the bullet points and my own experience, I now know you’re formatting a paperback. A beginner wouldn’t know that there are differences between formatting for pb and ebook (SO much easier!! 😂) so perhaps mention in the intro that you’re doing a paperback.
Hello, great video. Is there line spacing requirements for paperback and ebook on KDP. Spend some time researching no definite answer like margins or page size.
Looks good. I have always used Word but did purchase Atticus a while back (though I haven't been writing recently). I will probably try it to redo some of my past books and also for new ones. I'm not a fan of the extra space you have between all of the paragraphs, especially if you're going to indent, too. The whole idea of the extra space is to show it's a new paragraph. Personally, it makes it easier for me to put a book down when the paragraphs are spaced like that. Anyway, enjoyed the video and always appreciate your guidance.
I too noticed the extra line after the paragraphs. The rule of thumb I was taught is to leave a line when there is no indenting on the paragraph (block formatting), and remove the line when the paragraphs are indented.
Like most everyone else, I thought the video was great--very helpful and clear, as usual. Also, like most everyone else, I'm happier to just use Atticus now. My one critique on the video is that the sound quality of Dave's voice is not on a par with the sound effects. I had to crank my volume way up to hear Dave well, but then the effects were super loud. I am continually grateful for all you guys do to help indie authors sparkle!
I did not realize that. Thank you ! I'll make sure we have the sound better - because you're right...the sound effects are way 'louder' than my voice. Thanks!
I think your teaching points are great. I believe this video targets the more unseasoned Word user who has not created a book in Word or at a minimum doesn't know all of the tricks of the trade. Assuming that, my one constructive comment is that I believe it is fast paced for that audience. I would have to keep pausing and backing up to catch digest all of the great info. Perhaps you can provide an outline with the steps to be used as a reference. I think that would be a helpful teaching tool. You make great information videos for us. They are always well done and engaging. We appreciate you, Dave!
Very useful video as usual, Dave, thank you. Lots of detailed instructions about setup, like the alternative to the tab button for tabbing, and fixing widows and orphans manually. Your windows setup was sufficiently different from mine that I found it a bit difficult. I can only find paper choices in cms! It seemed a bit odd to navigate to paper sizes via margin sizes. Is it possible to do paper sizes first? Lovely explanation of why inner margins are larger than outer ones. One thing that might be helpful is to have time stamps along the way so people can go directly to something they want to check on a re-watch. I can see why people are using Atticus!
You totally can...although placement will depend on version. As for time stamps - absolutely. I'm going to get those chapters added to the video asap. Great suggestion.
Great video Dave that was well presented. I use MS Word 2007 and as I am on a budget I am unable to buy the latest MS Word. However saying this there are free versions of MS Word that I am considering. It is because my laptop is now dying away and I will need to purchase a new one; I will definitely consider buying a Chromebook instead of a Windows one.
good video. is step one determining what size paper to use? I normally write in normal sized paper but for my kindle book i want 6x9 format. do i start with 6x9 pages, convert to pdf and upload the pdf?
Excellent, all the info you need. A little too fast-paced for me, could slow down just a little. Overall yet another highly informative and useful tutorial. Nice one!
I'll just echo that you should note this particular tutorial for for pbk only, not for ebook. But, I use Atticus now. I write in Word and then upload to Atticus. Can you do an Atticus tutorial about making changes to the manuscript once it's all formatted? I am finding that a bit difficult.
Hi Dave, Great job ... and very generous of you, like always. You do a great job of building confidence and explaining WHY. But since you asked, I did find a few minor glitches. 1. Even though PAGE BREAK is a simple concept, it feels rushed, thrown in at the end of that segment. 2. When you are discussing margins, you arrived at .375 as the best inside margin, and yet the video shows .38 3. When you're discussing line spacing, you illustrate using EXACTLY and 15. But the 15 doesn't mean much. I suggest you add the word POINT, as in 15 POINT. 4. There is an abrupt break in the video between CHAPTER HEADING and SETTING PAGE NUMBERS. 5. Seems to me the headers--BOOK TITLE and AUTHOR NAME--should be centered. Like I said, all minor. You're the best--so kind and generous.
Your video is excellent. You are very clear in your delivery and your visuals are outstanding. My only concern is that you said nothing about gutters that I recall. While I understand what gutters are in formatting, I do not understand how you determine the size you assign to the gutter. Please tell me how I choose a number that can work for me in terms of gutter or do I just leave it blank? Please. Sup with a great videos.
Maybe a video on children’s book covers (different requirements for kdp and ingramspark, difference between sofcover and hardcover, etc) A video on choosing pricing would be helpful (only instruction I’ve really found online is price comparable to competitors- which is a good starting point but I’d love to learn more) I’d love a vid with advice On softcovers on both ingramspark and kdp. Ingram takes 30% min and 55% max, kdp does 40%, can you just have softcover on both platforms and use their free isbns associates with each platform? It would be epic to have some instruction on Spanish versions of books- is it profitable, how does uploading differ, can it be linked to the English version, can kdp rocket search Spanish market in addition to English and German, etc. Just throwing out some ideas :)
This is helpful. For page set up the word gutter appears and that is the inner margin. Creating styles makes formatting easier in Word. I would encourage or suggest you showing how to create normal paragraph styles first, then chapter styles. Styles is key to formatting in word. Discuss more on type of book being formatted and the parts of the book, how to separate front matter from the body or chapters especially for non-fiction books. Also show how you can change the headers to have each chapter title. This is missing. Yes, Atticus is easier but it does not handle non-fiction books well that have special formatting needs and different fonts, images, graphs etc. for some types of non-fiction books.
I publish a quarterly (genealogy) journal that requires footnotes and index. I know how to create footnotes but now that I am using Mac, can you recommend a video that shows how to do section breaks so that there is not continuous footnote numbering from one article to the next? Also an indexing video would be great.
Dave, great summary. Technically hits all the point (loved the hint about managing widows and orphans. My only cautionary comments are the delivery is machinegun fast, and I had to keep zipping back a few seconds when something wasn't clear. The other thing is your voice is very quiet, so when there's a sound effect, or-worse-youtube throws another ad in, they kind of bellow. Otherwise, a great tutorial
Great, easy to follow video. As someone who has formatted in Word before, I am now a VERY happy Atticus user. I really like the clear text on screen to highlight content. It does often fall behind the closed captions (which I usually use). Perhaps keep in mind that the bottom of the screen should be treated as clear space.
@@Kindlepreneur it's just the text that needs to move. Having the bottom section of your t-shirt or the Word screen obscured isn't an issue. No offense to your t-shirt, of course :)
@@susiedinneen147 Well, the text for CC is always in the same spot on RUclips (they are the ones that put it there). SO I can't adjust where the closed captioning shows. But if I move the camera a bit, that will create a clearer spot for the CC words. As for timing, I'll see if I can better time up YT's CC system. They do have an editing system. Thanks!
Thank you. This was very helpful. If you can add how to enter pictures or drawings. I have a family tree in one of my stories and would like to know the best method to do it.
When I uploaded with kindle create. The preview looked fine but when I published it and ordered it much of my ebook has large chunks of text randomly highlighted. What happened and better yet how can I fix it. Thanks. Love your work
Great work. I recommend adding bookmark features to the video, so if someone wants to come back, go back to the beginning of a feature explanation, or is only stuck on a certain aspect, they can simply click the bookmark and jump to that section.
I am asking you this because I find you to be an expert on formatting for manuscripts. Is there ever a way that one can make corrections and modifications to one’s manuscript while it’s in PDF form on the KDP website and being viewed there as an upload? That would make things so easy. Just a question…
It was a little too fast for me, but I've always hired my formatting out since I prefer writing over the tedious task of formatting. But maybe it wouldn't be so tedious if I took the time to learn. I've been tempted to purchase Atticus and would love to hear if it's easier to learn than formatting with Word.
I can absolutely say it's easier to learn than formatting with Word. As for the speed, I will definitely keep that in mind in the next tutorial. Thank you!
You did a great job explaining the process, but there was so much information, I got a little lost. Granted, I get others to format my books because I don't have the patience for all the ins and outs involved. I also want to make sure it's done right. Thanks for all your videos, they are very informative and have helped me in the past.
I like to use word for the printing format so I don't have to juggle files. if I need to fix something in word, its already formatted to print. very useful tut. thanks!
This is awesome. I've been using story rocket for years, and am just now subscribing...sorry. THank you for this. I am sending you an email about sponsorship etc. Hope to hear from you.
Very, very helpful - thank you! Kind of glossed by the margin discussion on the importance of gutter settings. It makes setting the inside margin so much "safer" and eliminates the trial-and-error approach since the value is number-dependent and predefined. No? I find it so easy to use KDPs page-number-related gutter setting to give my books a very nice result no matter the number of pages. Just sayin' . 🙂 Thanks again.
Very helpful video. Thanks so much for this information. One suggestion: please work on your miking setup. Your volume is very low. I had to crank my MacBook's volume nearly to maximum to hear you, and then, of course, the next video that played boomed. A lapel mike would work, or even a boom mike would be great. Thanks again. Keep up the good work.
When it comes to this, there are actually a lot of rules of thumb. I'd say the best way is to look at what books in your genre or subject are doing, that you like, and do that. I know that's not an official thing, but I think emulating what works and what you like is a great approach.
Overall, the video is a very helpful and detailed review of using Word for formatting. I agree with other comments that Dave's audio could be louder, and the sound effects are too loud and jarring. I also much prefer Atticus for formatting.
Hello. I'm a new author and I was wondering if I've formatted a part of my book by pressing the TAP, do i have to deleted all of them in order to do the indentation correctly?
Hi. is it true that we have to get rid of bolded words? and words in italic? i saw this in another video. not sure how true it is but apparently it will mess with the formatting?
What can we do when the manus;creiptwas already formated in the progrm different from the AmazonKDP? How can we corredt it to fit into the Amazon KDP to ;get it properlu uploaded for publishing?
Excellent video as always from Dave Chesson. For this one, it might be helpful to clarify the scope up front: chapter books (high text, low image content). I write and illustrate children's picture books, so I've been looking for a better solution than Kindle Kids Book Creator for fixed-layout eBooks. It's very cumbersome to include hyperlinks with KBC, and it only outputs .mobi, not .epub. If Word or Atticus can generate .epub for fixed layout books like mine (full-page images with text overlays), maybe a companion video? PS Congratulations to Jaelynn Chesson--Go MountainHawks.
Great tips. A few comments: I never created a new style so I wonder how that would work with the automated table of contents feature; using the Amazon page template seems a lot easier than figuring the correct margins; does Amazon actually accept a Word doc as I thought it had to be a PDF.
![How to Write a Book in Microsoft Word [Tutorial]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aOS1CNs5ttc/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to Write a Book in Microsoft Word [Tutorial]](/img/tr.png)
I'm not gonna lie. Atticus is much better. It does all of the work formatting the books. To format a 100k+ fantasy would take longer than writing it in Word. I recommend Atticus instead.
One of the main reasons why it was made the way it was...that and also to make sure that it works on all computers (and not just Mac).
@@Kindlepreneur Atticus looks great. Except, at least for me personally, I don't want to venture into a writing hobby having to invest $150 first. I already have Word, and if I didn't, what was beautifully taught in this video can be easily applied to Google Docs. Thanks for the video!
@@droidfan If the process above helps to create exactly what you're looking for, then rock on!
Thank you for sharing, 🙏 you're a good teacher! 👏
As someone just starting on this journey, I need to learn as much as possible until I can raise the funds to hire professionals. Your video has been one of the easiest videos, on formatting, to follow.
I have been so frustrated with word, so I'm watching all I can on using it.
@@droidfan And does atticus have easy to follow videos? Does it have any videos at all?
Dave, thank you SO much. I'm new to the KDP world, and you just gave my manuscript a total "glow-up"! It looks SO much better. You're amazing, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
i really need help in this kdp....can you tutor me pls
Hey Dave, this is perfect timing. I still write in Word, but I upload everything to Atticus for my formatting, so getting stuff right before I do is pretty important. I bought Atticus last year when it first came out, and published one book, and so much has changed while I'm writing my other ones. Thank you for the videos and thank you, and Jenna and everyone at Atticus. You guys rock.
Oh, super cool and we'll keep adding to it :) Glad you're enjoying it.
Thank you for this video. This is my first book and this video was the most helpful one I've come across.
thank you so much, everything looks so much more professional and neat. 😁
My Word version is 15.36 aka "old" and I'm having a helluva time applying what you've taught regarding setting up margins, etc. As time is money here, and I have another book waiting to come out after this one, I think Atticus might be a smart decision. I've been at this almost all day and my left & right brain hemispheres are sizzling on overwhelm. Writing is not just a hobby for me. Then of course there's the marketing aspect, etc. So I don't want to spend a fortune of time/energy trying to figure out margins "the hard way on an old version of Word" if I can zip through it on Atticus. I really like your style of teaching, I actually can understand what you're saying!!! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing, you're a good teacher!
I think a tutorial on how to launch a book effectively would be ideal. Many know how to write and publish a book, but they haven't a clue about what to do next.
Great idea
This and the previous video are excellent introductions for using Word to format a POD book. I use Word to format my own and my client's books, but I'm an advanced user, so I have other tips and tricks I use. For anyone wanting to use Word to format their book, I would highly recommend learning more about how to use styles, and to create a full style for each type of book you want to format (things like never hitting "enter" between lines, but setting line heights for each paragraph). It's a process that takes some time to master and set up, but it is worth it. That said, it might be too much for those who want to get their book formatted and don't want to add the learning curve for how to use Word. I'm considering Atticus myself because I do like what I'm seeing from the examples. I have to admit that I'm pretty picky, so I'll keep looking to see if it would include the little nuances I would want. Overall, though, great job
That's excellent and I totally agree!
Yes, I also recommend the use of styles.
Thank you so much for this amazing video. You helped me a lot.
This is the most comprehensive but easy video I have found on this subject. I've already used all this stuff. There is no way you can remember it all. I usuually fill out an index card with the high points. This is a most excellent video for that.
Great and timely video Dave.
Feel like it's been a crash course on book formatting but great video overall.
Awesome and glad it came when it did then.
Thank you for sharing this information it was helpful!
Thank you for this video. I have always wondered how to change the header so this was very helpful and will probably save me money on book formatting.
You're welcome!
Thank you for making these tutorial videos, Dave. Even if we aren't using Word, the concepts carry over nicely. Needs more sci-fi references, though. I'm still all warm inside from the Logan's Run reference in a previous video.
Glad you like it. I'm going to be doing more tutorial styled videos. As for Logans, haha..I'll see what I can do
Very helpful! Good timing as well because my next book is coming out in September! Thanks! Great, useful, video and excellent content.
Glad it was helpful!
I trying to format my first book on word while watching this in a split screen! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your efficient instruction! Thank you so much. I was going to buy atticus, but this is a low content book for starters.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this, Dave, another excellent tutorial that will help so many of us who use Word!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you Dave for your great video's. Formatting is over my paygrade but the video was in-depth.
Thank you - yeah, this can really be dense topic.
This is a great quick tutorial! I use MS Word for my books and I learned a few shortcuts from you. A couple things you might want to add - make sure you center justify your header and add spacing before every chapter title so it's not at the top of the page.
Ah, great point!
Thanks Dave. Very helpful. Since many of us have books available in both electronic and pirnt versions, I suggest you discuss the difference in formatting that might require.
Great point!
Hi, I thought this video was awesome. It was a little fast for me but I'm sure I can pause it when I'm ready to format my book. Well done!
yeah, i'm going to try to slow down a bit next time. Thanks!
Nice one ...thanks a million !!
This is a great video, clear and concise with loads of information. I tried Atticus and I must admit I got confused. But I think I'll give it another try now. I see there's quite a bit I need to do to make my books look truly professional. Thank you for the video.
Glad you enjoyed the video, and best of luck with Atticus. I really think you'll enjoy it :)
I love this video! It's very informative and helpful.
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Dave and oldest daughter, great info regarding book formatting. I'd also suggest a short discussion about templates from KDP. They can be a bit tricky to setup for full formatting as suggested, especially the title and author name in the header and where to start them...
Great point - I also created a free online Word Template generator that I probably should have mentioned too - kindlepreneur.com/formatting-templates/
Thanks for all that you do Dave.
Awe shucks...glad to help :)
Excellent!
Nice intro to formatting with Word. Styles are definitely one of the most useful things in Word that so many people don't seem to know how to use.
It's such a shame Amazon didn't keep up with the Kindle Create plugin for Word. It has the formatting options of Kindle Create and more, but with the versatility of being able to edit the document with additional styles, as well as not ending up with a Kindle only format document. I still have it and use it all the time, even if it does have a couple of bugs.
Yeah, I think Amazon isn't updating Kindle Create as a whole and just letting it fall further behind as they make changes to their own formatting requirements. But the good news is that I'm working directly with their Head of Kindle software and my organization and theirs are working on something that will help authors. :)
Very nice video 🌎 Thanks. Me learning and figuring out how to publish...I need to overcome Formatting first... Greetings from Colombia. The Venezuelan immigrant writer 🇻🇪
Awesome video. Like someone else said in the comments I would also recommend including bookmarks in the video. It helps to go back and find quickly a particular segment.
Congrats on your oldest daughter graduating from college. 😊
Pierce
Yes, that's a GREAT idea. I'm going to add those.
I can't wait to use Atticus myself for the beautiful formatting and for the ebook format and export! I use Word now; this video was great, and its tips significantly improve the formatting quality!
Wonderful and enjoy! Thanks.
Hi, Dave. Very clearly explained, as usual.
I have a Mac, so I now format using Pages. (I used to just let Reedsy do it all but I prefer to be able to tweak it myself) Most of the information here can be applied to Pages and I actually think it's easier to use.
I should probably make one with Pages.
Thanks for asking my opinion, Dave. I have learned a lot from all your videos. This one tells me things about formatting a manuscript that I could never figure out on my own. I spent many frustrating hours with MSWord on my first book before deciding to hire a professional, who described MSWord as "too brittle" to be used.
I think you might want to advise subscribers that certain book review services will not accept books that aren't professionally formatted, and that if they can afford it, to spend the money on a good professional service like those recommended by the Alliance of Independent Authors.
Those are really good points - I think I jumped right into the topic of 'how to' and probably should have given more context.
This is a detailed video, and you explain it well. If all a person is doing is writing one book and wants to spend their time involved with it, you're giving them a great video. But for doing the actual formatting, forget Word. Atticus gits 'er done.
Thanks Burton - and I totally agree
Thank you for such an informative video. I'll have to replay the part about adding book title and auhor's name. And for some reason, some of my pages leave bigger spaces at the bottom. So much to do, so much to learn. I'm definitely going to check on Atticus. But I wonder whether it's functional for nonfiction. I don't need the artwork. and stylish fonts.
so grateful for this video!
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Dave, good stuff. Maybe include fact that Word file should be virgin, so strip out all formatting before starting? Also, how to set up a TOC s/b a tutorial all in itself (if you haven't already done one already). Best, Loretta
Yeah, each of those particular pages will get their own Tutorial. Like how to format a copyright page, ToC, etc.
I'm using Atticus as well, although if I weren't, this video would be a tremendous help. One thing I didn't see addressed (apologies if I missed it), after formatting, I assume you would save as a PDF for uploading into KDP. Otherwise, this is a great overview of Word formatting in general, no matter what you're working on -- book, research paper, etc.
Awesome - Atticus is a LOT easier than using word. As for PDF, I thought that was in there at the end...but I'll have to check.
The video is great! I would like to see more videos on formatting picture books. I create children's books and just purchased Atticus. Thank you.
That's a great idea and enjoy Atticus!
Dave, I think the video is excellent and I can't think of any suggestions to improve it.
Thanks for that!
Thank you!
Thank you much. So much
Great video, thank you.
You're welcome and thank you for checking it out.
Awesome video. Thank you
Thanks!
Awesome tutorial 💯I didn’t know I could do half of this 😅 very informative
Glad you liked it!!
I use Pages in Mac and I find it works very well. Maybe some tutorials for Mac Pages as there are some complications in the structure that beg for instruction by a guru, such as formatted numbering of pages, changing numbering type from roman to arabic, etc. I do download templates from Amazon for each book and work in Pages. Also, Pages sizing are in mm and not inches, which is always a conumdrum. They do not have a standard 6"x9" template, which I use often for many of my titles being prepared. Thanks for everything you do. You are a good and honest man and I respect your views enormously. Born tutor.
Awe, thanks Marie. Yeah, I might do a tutorial for Pages - someone else just suggested that.
Hello Dave. Thank you for the wonderful products that you have created.
Could you please do a video on what should be the added to the front matter and back matter of print books.
I have been doing e-books for several years now but I am yet to make the jump to print books.
Thank You.
Great suggestion!
Thank you Dave. Do you think we need a header? if not, should we reduce the margin size of the header and footer so they are not so large?
Excellent, I learned a lot from the tutorial, and it absolutely escalate my writing book.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video Guys, a little fast for this old brain. I don't use Word anymore but I know this will be great help to anyone that does..
Thanks Keith, and yea, I think I can slow it a bit down.
I’m nearly a minute in and, judging by the bullet points and my own experience, I now know you’re formatting a paperback. A beginner wouldn’t know that there are differences between formatting for pb and ebook (SO much easier!! 😂) so perhaps mention in the intro that you’re doing a paperback.
Want to double-down on the idea of specifically saying that this is for a paperback.
Good point
That is what I wanted to say. Also, that inside margins change a little depending on how many pages the book has.
E-books are fake; they literally aren't books.
Hello, great video. Is there line spacing requirements for paperback and ebook on KDP. Spend some time researching no definite answer like margins or page size.
Looks good. I have always used Word but did purchase Atticus a while back (though I haven't been writing recently). I will probably try it to redo some of my past books and also for new ones. I'm not a fan of the extra space you have between all of the paragraphs, especially if you're going to indent, too. The whole idea of the extra space is to show it's a new paragraph. Personally, it makes it easier for me to put a book down when the paragraphs are spaced like that. Anyway, enjoyed the video and always appreciate your guidance.
I too noticed the extra line after the paragraphs. The rule of thumb I was taught is to leave a line when there is no indenting on the paragraph (block formatting), and remove the line when the paragraphs are indented.
Good points
Like most everyone else, I thought the video was great--very helpful and clear, as usual. Also, like most everyone else, I'm happier to just use Atticus now. My one critique on the video is that the sound quality of Dave's voice is not on a par with the sound effects. I had to crank my volume way up to hear Dave well, but then the effects were super loud. I am continually grateful for all you guys do to help indie authors sparkle!
Yes the volume was low
I did not realize that. Thank you ! I'll make sure we have the sound better - because you're right...the sound effects are way 'louder' than my voice. Thanks!
@@Kindlepreneur Happy to be helpful! Thank you for your constant efforts on our behalf.
Enjoyed it a lot ...can't think of anything to even tweak
Awesome - and glad you liked it.
This is very helpful. I love Word but It's all I've ever used, so I'm biased towards it.
Haha....fully understandable.
I think your teaching points are great. I believe this video targets the more unseasoned Word user who has not created a book in Word or at a minimum doesn't know all of the tricks of the trade. Assuming that, my one constructive comment is that I believe it is fast paced for that audience. I would have to keep pausing and backing up to catch digest all of the great info. Perhaps you can provide an outline with the steps to be used as a reference. I think that would be a helpful teaching tool.
You make great information videos for us. They are always well done and engaging. We appreciate you, Dave!
Yeah, someone else suggested I add RUclips bookmarks to the video so people can jump around. I think that might be a huge help.
Perfect.
Very useful video as usual, Dave, thank you. Lots of detailed instructions about setup, like the alternative to the tab button for tabbing, and fixing widows and orphans manually. Your windows setup was sufficiently different from mine that I found it a bit difficult. I can only find paper choices in cms!
It seemed a bit odd to navigate to paper sizes via margin sizes. Is it possible to do paper sizes first?
Lovely explanation of why inner margins are larger than outer ones. One thing that might be helpful is to have time stamps along the way so people can go directly to something they want to check on a re-watch. I can see why people are using Atticus!
You totally can...although placement will depend on version. As for time stamps - absolutely. I'm going to get those chapters added to the video asap. Great suggestion.
Great video Dave that was well presented. I use MS Word 2007 and as I am on a budget I am unable to buy the latest MS Word. However saying this there are free versions of MS Word that I am considering. It is because my laptop is now dying away and I will need to purchase a new one; I will definitely consider buying a Chromebook instead of a Windows one.
Thanks - as for the newer versions, I fully understand that. I was a bit reluctant to upgrade.
Anyone get the Abro bryggeri ad where the old men play Beethoven's 5th on beer bottles. Finally an ad I didn't skip. Great vid Kinklepreneur also.
good video. is step one determining what size paper to use? I normally write in normal sized paper but for my kindle book i want 6x9 format. do i start with 6x9 pages, convert to pdf and upload the pdf?
Excellent, all the info you need. A little too fast-paced for me, could slow down just a little. Overall yet another highly informative and useful tutorial. Nice one!
Ah super - and I'll definitely work to slow it down.
I'll just echo that you should note this particular tutorial for for pbk only, not for ebook. But, I use Atticus now. I write in Word and then upload to Atticus. Can you do an Atticus tutorial about making changes to the manuscript once it's all formatted? I am finding that a bit difficult.
Very true. As for Atticus, absolutely - I've got a couple coming soon.
Hi Dave, Great job ... and very generous of you, like always. You do a great job of building confidence and explaining WHY. But since you asked, I did find a few minor glitches.
1. Even though PAGE BREAK is a simple concept, it feels rushed, thrown in at the end of that segment.
2. When you are discussing margins, you arrived at .375 as the best inside margin, and yet the video shows .38
3. When you're discussing line spacing, you illustrate using EXACTLY and 15. But the 15 doesn't mean much. I suggest you add the word POINT, as in 15 POINT.
4. There is an abrupt break in the video between CHAPTER HEADING and SETTING PAGE NUMBERS.
5. Seems to me the headers--BOOK TITLE and AUTHOR NAME--should be centered.
Like I said, all minor. You're the best--so kind and generous.
Ah, those are all great points. I'll have to check some of those out. Thank you.
Your video is excellent. You are very clear in your delivery and your visuals are outstanding. My only concern is that you said nothing about gutters that I recall. While I understand what gutters are in formatting, I do not understand how you determine the size you assign to the gutter. Please tell me how I choose a number that can work for me in terms of gutter or do I just leave it blank? Please. Sup with a great videos.
Maybe a video on children’s book covers (different requirements for kdp and ingramspark, difference between sofcover and hardcover, etc)
A video on choosing pricing would be helpful (only instruction I’ve really found online is price comparable to competitors- which is a good starting point but I’d love to learn more)
I’d love a vid with advice On softcovers on both ingramspark and kdp. Ingram takes 30% min and 55% max, kdp does 40%, can you just have softcover on both platforms and use their free isbns associates with each platform?
It would be epic to have some instruction on Spanish versions of books- is it profitable, how does uploading differ, can it be linked to the English version, can kdp rocket search Spanish market in addition to English and German, etc.
Just throwing out some ideas :)
Awesome - marked those down!
This is helpful. For page set up the word gutter appears and that is the inner margin. Creating styles makes formatting easier in Word. I would encourage or suggest you showing how to create normal paragraph styles first, then chapter styles. Styles is key to formatting in word.
Discuss more on type of book being formatted and the parts of the book, how to separate front matter from the body or chapters especially for non-fiction books.
Also show how you can change the headers to have each chapter title. This is missing. Yes, Atticus is easier but it does not handle non-fiction books well that have special formatting needs and different fonts, images, graphs etc. for some types of non-fiction books.
yeah, I think I'm going to make more specific videos based on type or genre - which can allow me to get into chapter theme design better.
I publish a quarterly (genealogy) journal that requires footnotes and index. I know how to create footnotes but now that I am using Mac, can you recommend a video that shows how to do section breaks so that there is not continuous footnote numbering from one article to the next? Also an indexing video would be great.
Dave, great summary. Technically hits all the point (loved the hint about managing widows and orphans. My only cautionary comments are the delivery is machinegun fast, and I had to keep zipping back a few seconds when something wasn't clear. The other thing is your voice is very quiet, so when there's a sound effect, or-worse-youtube throws another ad in, they kind of bellow. Otherwise, a great tutorial
Ah, great point. And also with the voice. It's too low compared to the sound effects. I'll work on that.
Nice Information.
My two books published on Amazon:
1. Frugality: Being Mindful of Your Expenses
2. Nanu's stories for Amaaya
Happy Reading!
Video is great! - you might mention the non-Mac CTL key is the Mac CMD key for the shortcuts.
Good call!
Great, easy to follow video. As someone who has formatted in Word before, I am now a VERY happy Atticus user.
I really like the clear text on screen to highlight content. It does often fall behind the closed captions (which I usually use). Perhaps keep in mind that the bottom of the screen should be treated as clear space.
Ah, great point - I'll try to work something with the camera and editing so that space is left open. Thanks!
@@Kindlepreneur it's just the text that needs to move. Having the bottom section of your t-shirt or the Word screen obscured isn't an issue. No offense to your t-shirt, of course :)
@@susiedinneen147 Well, the text for CC is always in the same spot on RUclips (they are the ones that put it there). SO I can't adjust where the closed captioning shows. But if I move the camera a bit, that will create a clearer spot for the CC words. As for timing, I'll see if I can better time up YT's CC system. They do have an editing system. Thanks!
@@Kindlepreneur sorry I should have been clearer. By text I meant the highlights and explanations in the video, nit the cc.
@@susiedinneen147 Ahhh...okay. Check!
Are there any specific requirements for title page and published info such as font or type size?
Thank you. This was very helpful. If you can add how to enter pictures or drawings. I have a family tree in one of my stories and would like to know the best method to do it.
That's a great idea!
When I uploaded with kindle create. The preview looked fine but when I published it and ordered it much of my ebook has large chunks of text randomly highlighted. What happened and better yet how can I fix it. Thanks. Love your work
Great work. I recommend adding bookmark features to the video, so if someone wants to come back, go back to the beginning of a feature explanation, or is only stuck on a certain aspect, they can simply click the bookmark and jump to that section.
Agreed - someone else suggested that too - working to get those added because you're right!
I am asking you this because I find you to be an expert on formatting for manuscripts. Is there ever a way that one can make corrections and modifications to one’s manuscript while it’s in PDF form on the KDP website and being viewed there as an upload?
That would make things so easy. Just a question…
It was a little too fast for me, but I've always hired my formatting out since I prefer writing over the tedious task of formatting. But maybe it wouldn't be so tedious if I took the time to learn. I've been tempted to purchase Atticus and would love to hear if it's easier to learn than formatting with Word.
I can absolutely say it's easier to learn than formatting with Word. As for the speed, I will definitely keep that in mind in the next tutorial. Thank you!
You did a great job explaining the process, but there was so much information, I got a little lost. Granted, I get others to format my books because I don't have the patience for all the ins and outs involved. I also want to make sure it's done right. Thanks for all your videos, they are very informative and have helped me in the past.
Yeah, there are a LOT of steps to using word for formatting - definitely not the easiest option .
is it ok to single space and use 12 and what font, what do publishers, agents want
For a 100 page or so NON FICTION book, would you recommend 5x8 or 6x9?
I like to use word for the printing format so I don't have to juggle files. if I need to fix something in word, its already formatted to print. very useful tut. thanks!
Absolutely!
What is the appropriate size for cookbooks?
I formatted my mother's first book last year and unfortunately learned all those lessons the hard way. Thanks for making this video.
Ah, sorry you ran into that - I wish I had gotten this out sooner.
This is awesome. I've been using story rocket for years, and am just now subscribing...sorry. THank you for this. I am sending you an email about sponsorship etc. Hope to hear from you.
Welcome aboard!
Very, very helpful - thank you! Kind of glossed by the margin discussion on the importance of gutter settings. It makes setting the inside margin so much "safer" and eliminates the trial-and-error approach since the value is number-dependent and predefined. No? I find it so easy to use KDPs page-number-related gutter setting to give my books a very nice result no matter the number of pages. Just sayin' . 🙂 Thanks again.
Very helpful video. Thanks so much for this information. One suggestion: please work on your miking setup. Your volume is very low. I had to crank my MacBook's volume nearly to maximum to hear you, and then, of course, the next video that played boomed. A lapel mike would work, or even a boom mike would be great. Thanks again. Keep up the good work.
Well done! One question? The extra line between paragraphs and dialog. What is the rule of thumb for that?
When it comes to this, there are actually a lot of rules of thumb. I'd say the best way is to look at what books in your genre or subject are doing, that you like, and do that. I know that's not an official thing, but I think emulating what works and what you like is a great approach.
Overall, the video is a very helpful and detailed review of using Word for formatting. I agree with other comments that Dave's audio could be louder, and the sound effects are too loud and jarring. I also much prefer Atticus for formatting.
Thanks - and I agree...we'll get that fixed :)
Hello. I'm a new author and I was wondering if I've formatted a part of my book by pressing the TAP, do i have to deleted all of them in order to do the indentation correctly?
What kind of camera do you use
Jammed packed with great info. Just a bit fast for this old gal. :)
Thanks and I'll slow it a bit down.
Hi. is it true that we have to get rid of bolded words? and words in italic? i saw this in another video. not sure how true it is but apparently it will mess with the formatting?
What can we do when the manus;creiptwas already formated in the progrm different from the AmazonKDP? How can we corredt it to fit into the Amazon KDP to ;get it properlu uploaded for publishing?
Excellent video as always from Dave Chesson. For this one, it might be helpful to clarify the scope up front: chapter books (high text, low image content). I write and illustrate children's picture books, so I've been looking for a better solution than Kindle Kids Book Creator for fixed-layout eBooks. It's very cumbersome to include hyperlinks with KBC, and it only outputs .mobi, not .epub. If Word or Atticus can generate .epub for fixed layout books like mine (full-page images with text overlays), maybe a companion video? PS Congratulations to Jaelynn Chesson--Go MountainHawks.
Great suggestion. And same about the companion video - I'll look into that. As for MountHawks, absolutely!
How to do a full bleed interior for paperback? Please make video on that
Sadly, using something like Word for this would be a major pain. But using something like Atticus.io for that is incredibly simple.
What about Google doc , will it work ?
Great tips. A few comments: I never created a new style so I wonder how that would work with the automated table of contents feature; using the Amazon page template seems a lot easier than figuring the correct margins; does Amazon actually accept a Word doc as I thought it had to be a PDF.
For paperbacks, it has to be PDF. For ebooks, you can submit a Word doc.
Thanks - as for your question, what Frank said