Instead, click into the Paragraph settings and change the indentation to First Line, then 0.2” or 0.3.” You can try a few different indentation sizes and see which one looks better. When writing a book in Word that you intend to export as an ebook, you need to refrain from using the Tab key and implementing hard indentations for every paragraph because this results in an indentation that is much too large for a book. Update your Microsoft Word paragraph settings and marginsĪfter the font is set and you’re ready, change the indentation in the Paragraph settings. The back matter could include an Author Biography, Acknowledgments, a Note from the Author, and sometimes a CTA (call-to-action).įor your font, start with a black, 12-point standard font like Times New Roman.The front matter consists of things like a Title Page, Copyright Page, and Dedication Page.For example, most books have front matter and back matter. Before your start formatting your Microsoft Word fileīefore you begin, make sure you include all the different parts of a book. Side note: It’s possible you’ve also heard of MOBI files. These used to be the preferred ebook file format for Amazon. However, in 2021, Amazon announced that they would stop accepting MOBI files and prefer EPUB. (This method will not work well if your work is highly illustrated or has many different styles, charts, etc.) Although it won’t have all the bells and whistles you’d get with professional book formatting software (e.g., Vellum or InDesign), it is cost-effective and used by many novelists.

I’m grateful to Dave Chesson at Kindlepreneur for sharing the following information on how to prep your Microsoft Word file to convert cleanly into an ebook file. They want to make it easy for you to get published, so they’ll convert your Word document into an ebook file instantly, as soon as you upload it.īut the results may look subpar if you don’t prepare your document first. If you’re patient and willing to format your Word document carefully, you can use the automated conversion processes of Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, Draft2Digital, or similar ebook retailer and distribution services. So your book is sitting in Microsoft Word, and you’d like to get that material converted into an ebook format you can sell through ebook retailers such as Amazon. Note from Jane: This post has been updated to reflect changes in tools available on the market.

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