At the December, 2012 meeting of the MAP Group, Gloria Lyons, shown in the photo at right, offered the following tips for proper book formating, taken from her book, Self-Publishing On a Budget: a Do-It-All-Yourself Guide.
Before doing your book layout, you will first need to choose a book trim size (the actual dimensions of your book). Examples: 5.5” X 8.5”, 6” X 9”, or 8.25” X 8.25”. Not all book printers offer the same trim sizes so make sure before choosing your book size that your printer offers that particular size.
In your word processing program (i.e. Microsoft Word), set the page size to the same dimensions as your book trim size. As you write your text on your computer, having the page size set to the actual size of your book will give you a better feel for how the finished layout will look, complete with the total number of pages.
Set your margins (top, bottom, and both sides) to .75” (3/4”) or follow the guidelines from your book printer. Use single spacing for the text lines. Add a space between paragraphs for easier reading, if desired. Justify the right margin, so it is lined up evenly the same as the left margin, for a neater appearance.
Insert page numbers into the body text, either centered at the top (header) or bottom (footer) area, or placed in the outside corners at the top or bottom.
Choose a font style for the body text that is easy to read, such as Times New Roman (the font you are reading, which is a “serif font”). Non-serif fonts, like Arial (the font style used in this post) are recommended for titles and subtitles. Use a 12-point font size for the body text for easier reading. Use a 14-point font size for large-print books.
Try to avoid using more than three different font styles in your body text and keep all the headings consistent. Chapter headings should all use the same font style and point size throughout your book, as well as all sub-headings.
Always start each chapter on a right facing page. If a chapter ends on a right facing page, either expand or condense the text to end on a left facing page if possible. Try to avoid leaving blank pages in your book.
Add the front matter (i.e. title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents, etc.) and back matter if needed (i.e. index, bibliography, glossary, author page, ordering information, etc.) to your book. These pages are not numbered or are numbered using Roman numerals.
Visit her Self-Publishing blog for more detailed information about publishing your book: http://selfpublishingonabudget.blogspot.com.
For questions about book layouts, or if you would like to receive a PDF file of the book: Self-Publishing on a Budget: A Do-It-Yourself Guide (FREE to all MAP Group members), contact Gloria Lyons: gloria@gloriahanderlyons.com