Do you want your self-published book to look professional and be a massive success in the market? The last thing you need is a low-quality book that would hinder the reading experience and also make you look like an amateur author.
Formatting a book might look like a tedious task for authors, but it is a crucial step that would determine the success of your book. It is essential to pay attention to the process and avoid common book formatting mistakes to create a professional book.
1. Changing Paragraphs Styles
Paragraphs are essential to organize ideas and thoughts. It also signals the reader they are ready for the next idea or topic. Paragraphs are intended to break the flow of content to encourage the reader to continue reading without disrupting the natural flow.
There are two options to keep a consistent paragraph style to intend the paragraph’s first line or separate paragraphs with space. You need to choose one option to have a consistent style.
2. Varying Chapter Lengths
Chapter length is crucial since it creates expectations for your readers. The length of the chapter influences the flow of your story and also elicits emotional responses. When the chapters have a uniform length, it makes the reading experience more enjoyable.
A three or four-page chapter followed by a thirty-page chapter makes the reading experience tedious. Unless there is a creative decision, it is better to make your chapters uniform in length throughout your book. The length of the chapters needn’t be exact, but it is better to be within a few pages. If you have longer chapters, you can consider adding a few ornaments or designs to break sections.
3. Bad Font Choices
Your book needs to have legible fonts to ensure that the reading becomes comfortable for the reader without any hindrance. Hence, choosing fonts for your book is crucial since it becomes one of the deciding factors that determine your book’s success.
You can retain fancy typeset fonts for the chapter titles, sections, and headings.
4. Narrow Margins
In a print book, margins serve different purposes. It allows readers to hold a book comfortably. They provide space for running heads, page numbers, and other design elements. Remember, every page has four margins: three outside (top, bottom, & side) and one inside (called the gutter).
Your margins need to be appropriate for your book, and it depends on your chosen trim size for publication.
5. Lack of Running Heads
Running heads, also known as page headers, is a line at the top of each page of a book that provides vital information to the reader. The information includes the chapter title or the author.
Running heads make your book look professional and of better quality, boosting the reader experience. So, the best choice is to have running heads that are useful to your reader based on their needs and the type of book you are self-publishing.
It might be a challenging endeavor to self-publish your book. Still, you shouldn’t allow your book formatting mistakes to hinder your book’s success.
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