Knowing how to format your book correctly is a key part of publishing a professional-looking book.

You’ve put in the work to write a solid draft. Now it’s time to get it ready for readers.

The question is: how do you make it look like a real book and not something pulled from a high school English binder?

You could hire a pro to do the job. That’s the easiest route, but also the most expensive. If you’d rather save money and you’re willing to put in a little time, you can absolutely handle it yourself.

This guide walks you through how to format your book the right way, whether you’re publishing an ebook, a print book, or both.

By the end, you’ll understand what actually matters, what you can safely ignore, and how to produce a book that looks polished and professional.

The Importance of Book Formatting

Before we get into the how-to, let’s cover why formatting matters.

Good formatting isn’t just about appearances. It affects everything from how easy your book is to read, to whether it even gets accepted by publishing platforms.

Here’s what solid formatting does for you:

• Improves readability. Clean layout and structure make your book easier to follow.
• Boosts credibility. A well-formatted book looks professional, which builds trust with readers and reviewers.
• Ensures consistency. Proper spacing, fonts, and layout help the book feel polished from start to finish.
• Meets technical standards. Formatting your book correctly prevents upload issues on platforms like KDP or IngramSpark.
• Adds to your author brand. A consistent look across your books can help readers recognize your work.

Bottom line? Formatting isn’t a throwaway step. Done right, it helps your book look and feel like the real deal.

Now let’s talk about how to make that happen.le.

Why You Should Trust Me

I’ve been writing and formatting books for over a decade now.

And to be honest, I used to find formatting a real pain. That’s actually what led me to create my own software (Atticus) to fix the problems I kept running into.

This isn’t a sales pitch. I just want you to know where I’m coming from.

I’ve spent years researching everything from margin specs to whether your quotation marks should be curly or straight (yes, that matters). I didn’t just format my own books—I built a tool to help others do it too.

So if you’re looking for a guide who’s been through it all, you’re in the right place. Let’s walk through everything I’ve learned.

To make your life easier, I created a table of all the major publishing platforms and the file formats they accept.

If looking at this table makes your head spin, don’t worry. The primary columns you need to pay attention to are EPUB and PDF.

I've got a whole article on this for you to check out. But the bottom line is this:

• If you’re creating an ebook, then an EPUB will be your go-to.
• For print, you’ll notice that every print-on-demand platform accepts one file format: PDF.

EPUB is the current industry standard for ebooks. Most retailers now expect modern EPUB files (commonly EPUB 3), and most formatting software automatically handles this for you. You don’t need to worry about versions. Just know that EPUB is the format you should be using going forward.

For more information about the different file types, read EPUB vs. MOBI vs. PDF: Which Book Format Should You Use?

Use the graph below to find the e-book and paperback formatting guidelines for each of the major publishing marketplaces.

Amazon	e-Book Guidelines	Paperback Guidelines
IngramSpark	e-Book Guidelines	Paperback Guidelines
Barnes & Noble Press	e-Book Guidelines	Paperback Guidelines
Apple Books	e-Book and Multi-Touch Guidelines
Google Play	e-Book Guidelines
Kobo	e-Book Guidelines
Smashwords	e-Book Guidelines
Lulu	e-Book Guidelines	Paperback Guidelines

What program should you use to format a book? Try these:

For most authors, I recommend Atticus as the go-to software for formatting. It does everything that a program like Vellum does, plus it's cheaper and available on Windows and virtually all other platforms.

I've got a whole article on the different formatting software and their best uses. Check that out here.

Additionally, here are some additional tips on how to format using each individual software:

• Atticus
• Microsoft Word
• Scrivener
• Vellum

Front Matter

The front matter consists of the very first pages, like a title page and table of contents.

Some books have just a few pages, while others have substantial front matter that requires a separate numbering system (usually roman numerals).

You’ll have to decide how much front matter to include. It will depend on the type of book you wrote and your personal preference. Nonfiction often has more than fiction, and most books have a minimum of a title page and a copyright page.

Front matter can include any (or all) of the following:

• Half-title (optional)
• List of your other books (optional)
• Title page
• Dedication page
• Praise or accolades (optional)
• Table of contents
• Maps or illustrations
• Epigraph
• Foreword
• Preface
• Prologue

Back Matter

The back matter makes up the final pages, such as the acknowledgments and an about the author page. Once again, you have some flexibility on what to include. The type of book you wrote will also factor into how much back matter you need. At a minimum, you should have an “Acknowledgments” page and an “About the Author” page.

Here are some things you’ll find in the back matter:

• Acknowledgments
• About the author
• Afterword
• Appendix
• Note from the author (optional)
• Discussion questions (optional)
• Glossary (optional)
• Indexes
• Copyright permissions
• Bibliography
• Sneak peaks
• Other books by the author

Formatting ebooks is a relatively simple process with the right software. There are many aspects of formatting that you don't have to worry about with ebooks, such as fonts (since ereaders have their own fonts), trim sizes, margins, etc.

That said, there are a few things to keep in mind when formatting for ebook. Here are a few:

• Page Breaks: Ensure that page breaks are strategically placed to enhance readability, such as between chapters or distinct sections within your ebook. This will help to create the Table of Contents later.
• Chapter Heading Fonts: These are a chance to use unique and stylish fonts to set the tone for your scenes. They should be distinctive and easily recognizable, helping readers navigate through the book with ease. The same font should be used for all chapter headings to ensure consistency.
• In-text formatting: Careful formatting within the text for things like headings, bulleted lists, etc. improves readability and helps to clearly convey information, particularly in non-fiction works.
• Indented or Spaced Paragraphs: Decide on a consistent style for your paragraphs – either use indentation for the first line, or space between paragraphs – and stick with it throughout the book.
• Curly Quotes vs Straight Quotes: While curly quotes (“smart quotes”) are often seen as more professional, ensure you choose one style and use it consistently.
• Adding Links: Consider adding hyperlinks in your text, either to external sources or internal references within your book, to create an interactive reading experience. Links are not possible in print books, and so it's something ebooks can really take advantage of.
• A Digital Table of Contents: This is an essential feature that allows readers to navigate easily to different sections of the ebook, especially in lengthy works or textbooks. Each line on the digital Table of Contents, instead of showing a page number, should link to the appropriate chapter.
• Basic accessibility considerations: Simple things like properly structured headings and descriptive text for images help ebook devices and screen readers interpret your book correctly. Most modern formatting tools handle this behind the scenes, but it’s another reason to avoid manual formatting shortcuts.
• Scene Break Ornaments: This is an essential feature that allows readers to navigate easily to different sections of the book, especially in lengthy works or textbooks. A good formatting program (like Atticus) will give you full control over the design of these breaks.
• Endnotes: If your ebook contains references or additional information, using endnotes can keep the main text uncluttered while providing readers the option to delve deeper into the subject matter. Note that only endnotes (and not footnotes) are possible in an ebook format. You can position them at the end of each chapter or all together at the end of the book.

That might sound like a lot, but it's also easy to do with a formatting tool like Atticus, which makes all of that possible with just a few clicks. That can be a HUGE time saver for some of these, especially aspects like the digital Table of Contents or setting up Endnotes.

One optional step if you’re publishing wide is to run your EPUB file through a validator before uploading. This can catch small structural issues that don’t always show up visually but can cause problems on certain platforms. It’s not required, but it can save time if a retailer flags your file later.

Open up your book formatting software, start a new document and let’s get going.

1. Set the margins and bleeds.

Margins: Margins are the blank areas around the edges of the page. For most books, a 1” margin works best. It gives you enough room to add page numbers and a header without the page getting crowded. It’s also essential to have enough white space on the page so that your reader’s eyes don’t get tired as quickly.

Bleeds: If you have any image or color that extends to the edge of the page, you need to add a bleed. It is a small border that stretches past the edge of your document.

When your book gets manufactured, the printer lays out several pages on one large sheet of paper and then trims them down to the finished size. Having a bleed prevents printing and trimming errors that result in unexpected white lines along the edge of your page.

Set your bleeds to 0.125”.

2. How to use headers, footers, and page numbers.

Next, you need to set up your headers, footers, and page numbers. Once again, there are numerous options, and it’s up to you to decide how you want to use them.
Headers go in the top margin of your book. Some things that can go here are:

• Page numbers
• Book title
• Author name
• Chapter title
• Point of view – If your book has multiple points of view, some authors like to include which character is currently narrating in the header.

Footers go in the bottom margin of your book and usually only include the page number. With nonfiction, footers can also include footnotes.

Page numbers go in either the header or footer, but not both. They are only included in the body of the book, not in the front matter or back-matter.

Some authors use roman numerals in their foreword or introduction. This practice identifies lengthy font matter as separate from the main body text.

3. Choose the best font for your book.

Now that you have your file set up, you’re ready to choose a font for your book.

Resist the urge to use an unconventional font for the body text. Your goal is to create a comfortable reading experience, so choose a font that’s easy to read. It may not be exciting, but your reader will thank you.

Save the fun and fancy fonts for chapter headings and elements like handwritten notes.

Here are some fonts that are great for body text:

• Joanna MT
• Garamond
• Baskerville
• Cochin
• Arial
• Times New Roman
• Georgia
• Verdana
• Set your font size to 11 or 12

With children’s books, you can get away with larger font sizes. Large print books need a font size of at least 14.

Nonfiction books can have a font size of 10 or 11. Any smaller than that, and it will be too hard to read.

Tip: Be sure to examine the copyright on your fonts before you use them. Many fonts require that you buy a commercial license before you can use the font in a digital or physical product. You’ll also want to make sure your fonts are properly embedded in the final file so they display correctly across different printers and devices. Most professional formatting tools do this automatically, but it’s something to watch for if you’re exporting files manually.

4. Indents, spaces, and rags.

The next thing you need to do is style your pages to make them look professional. You can do this by formatting your indents and spaces while avoiding rags.

If you’re using a tool like Atticus, the settings are already in place, and you won’t need to do anything. But with some programs, you’ll need to set them yourself.

Indents: In fiction or narrative nonfiction, always indent the first line of a paragraph. The first paragraph of a chapter or after scene breaks are the only times you shouldn’t indent.

Pressing the tab key will usually result in an indent that's too large. You can fix this by setting your indent to 0.3” or 0.5”.

Line Spacing: Set your line spacing to 1.3.

You need enough space between lines so that your reader can keep their place. You can go a little smaller (1.2) for nonfiction and a little bigger (1.5) for children’s books.

Tip: While we’re talking about space on the page, it’s time to ditch the double space after a period. Just use one.

Rags: Rags happen when you use a left or right alignment, resulting in an uneven margin or “rag” on the side of the page. Instead, use the justify alignment for the body text. It will add hyphens to some of your long words and make them fit nicely within the margins.

5. Watch out for widows and orphans.

Widows and orphans are words that become detached from their paragraph or page. Where possible, try to avoid these. By making very slight adjustments to your margins, line height, or letter-spacing, you can keep your paragraphs looking clean and professional.

Tip: This only applies to printed books. You can’t reliably control widows and orphans in ebooks because every reader’s device settings will affect how the text reflows.

Check out my dedicated article to widows and orphans here.

6. Use Page Breaks Correctly

Rather than hit enter multiple times between chapters, you'll want to use a page break instead. This will cut the chapter off so that the next chapter will always start on the next page.

Software like Atticus and Vellum will do this for you automatically. If you are using Word, you can click “Insert > Break > Page Break” to get the appropriate effect.

7. Use Footnotes and Endnotes If Needed

In print book formatting, the use of endnotes and footnotes is essential for providing auxiliary information without distracting from the main text. Both serve as annotation tools, with footnotes appearing at the bottom of the page where the reference occurs, and endnotes listed at the end of a chapter or the book itself. They are particularly crucial in academic, scientific, or research-oriented texts where referencing external sources or providing additional clarification is needed.

When formatted well, footnotes and endnotes can increase a book's credibility and make it a more valuable resource for readers.

However, formatting these notes can be challenging, especially for indie authors or small-scale publishers looking for cost-effective solutions.

So far, Atticus is the only low-cost formatting program that can handle the formatting of footnotes, making it a preferred choice for many self-publishers. It simplifies the process, saving time and ensuring a professional appearance in the final print book.

One final note: If you used AI tools at any point during the writing or formatting process, make sure you’re aware of your publishing platform’s current disclosure requirements. These policies can change, and it’s always best to be accurate during upload.

A smaller trim size can result in a higher page count, so you’ll need to consider that when you’re setting up your book. If you wrote a long book and want to lower your page count, choose a larger trim size (and vice versa).

This chart can help you decide which trim size is best for your project.

Trim size	This size works for:
4.25 x 6.87”	Mass market paperbacks (like the ones you see in the grocery store or airport)
5 x 8” or 5.25 x 8”	Trade paperbacks (like you see in bookstores)
6 x 9” or 6.25 x 9.5”	Hardcover books and paperback graphic novels
8 x 8 or 8 x 10	Children’s picture books
8 x 10 or 8.5 x 11	Coffee table books, picture books, activity books, cookbooks, crafts books, and coloring books

Most companies will offer more trim sizes than the ones listed here. If you’re not sure what size is best for your project, grab a ruler and head to your bookshelf. Measure some books that are similar to yours, and pick a comparable book template.

And check out my comprehensive article on trim sizes.

If you're using a program like Atticus, you'll have access to a wide variety of trim sizes at the touch of a button, with sizes for both Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and IngramSpark.

At a minimum, you should include the following on your chapter pages:

• The chapter number.
• Chapter title (if applicable).
• The subtitle or Epigraph (if applicable).

It might be tempting to add a bunch of embellishments to your chapter pages. But don’t go overboard. When it comes to design, less is more. Try to balance something ornate with something simple.

Here are some guidelines for designing chapter pages:

1. Start your body text about halfway down the page.
2. Center the chapter heading in the top half of the page.
3. Don’t indent the first paragraph.
4. You can use a drop cap or make the first line all caps, but it’s not required.
5. Omit headers and footers.
6. Page numbers are optional.
7. Use the same font for your chapter headings that you used on the cover unless it’s too difficult to read. If that’s the case, find one that’s easy to read but different from the body text.
8. For children’s and young adult novels, you can get more creative with chapter pages. Add illustrations, a frame around the chapter heading, or a design element in the background.
9. For adult novels and nonfiction books, keep it simple. A small embellishment or a drop cap will add some flair, but don’t go crazy with the design elements.

Tip: Except for children’s and young adult novels, you should balance something ornate with something simple. If you use a fancy font for your chapter heading, skip the drop cap. If you have an illustration, keep the rest of the page simple.

Here are some examples of well-designed chapter pages.

Keep in mind that these are just two examples of chapter pages. You have a lot of options when it comes to designing these pages, so feel free to experiment. Just remember to keep them simple. You want them to add to your story, not distract from it.

That said, you can have more extensive chapter themes with background images and different fonts to set the tone of the book. See this chapter theme as a great example of what's possible with a program like Atticus:

Remember, the cost of hiring a graphic designer will vary significantly depending on a variety of factors, including:

• Manuscript length
• Book genre
• Type of file formats
• Turnaround time
• Designer’s level of experience

With that in mind, this table will give you a quick snapshot of what to expect in terms of the price range, turnaround time, and file formats. I’ll go over each one in more depth later.

Note: Amazon no longer accepts MOBI uploads. Kindle uses EPUB uploads, which are converted internally to Kindle formats.

When hiring a graphic designer, make sure that he/she understands industry standards and can meet your personal design preferences and timeline. If you can, include your turnaround time requirements in the contract. I've compiled a list of even more formatting services below. Please keep in mind, I have not used any of them personally.

If you want more information to help you choose between formatting the book yourself or hiring it out, then check out this post.

Then I've got a whole article on how to hire the best formatting service. Check it out here!

Back Matter: Everything that comes after the main content, like the about the author page, acknowledgments, or discussion questions.

Bleed: When images or designs extend past the edge of the printed page.

Font: The style or design of your text.

Footer: Content placed in the bottom margin, such as page numbers.

Front Matter: The pages before the main content, including the title page, copyright, and dedication.

Header: Content in the top margin, like the book title or author name.

Line Spacing: The vertical space between lines of text.

Margin: The blank space around the edge of each page.

Orphan: A single word or short line that gets pushed to the top of a new page.

Rag: An uneven or jagged text edge, often on the right side in left-aligned text.

Trim Size: The final, printed dimensions of your book.

Verso: The left-hand page in an open book. The copyright page often goes here.

Widow: A single word or short line left dangling at the end of a paragraph or page.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Editorial note: This guide reflects current ebook and print formatting standards used by major self-publishing platforms. Formatting requirements can evolve, so always review platform-specific guidelines before publishing.