The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Technology How-To's

7 Manuscript Formatting Programs

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Formatting programs for book publishing

Writers ask lots of questions, and the writing community pays it forward quite well.

I see many questions on a regular basis. One is “what program do you use to format your manuscript?” These writers aren’t talking about how to format their manuscript for presenting to agents, editors, or publishers, but programs to format the manuscript for actual book publishing.

Amazon accepts several file formats for ebooks. Here’s a list. Now that they accept epub files, writers don’t have to fret over converting their files to mobi. That makes things a lot easier!

[Read more…] about 7 Manuscript Formatting Programs

The Ins and Outs of Book Layout

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Book layout options in MS Word

Have you finished writing your book but are now wondering how to do the book layout?

With self- and indie-publishing many more people are entering the world of book publishing. And many writers may find writing their book the easiest part of getting their book to the virtual bookshelf.

Today, I’d like to take a look at book layout. It’s not complicated, but can seem that way if you don’t know the process involved. Three parts compose the physical design of your book: the book cover, the book interior, the digital conversion.

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Formatting an eBook

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Unshakable eBook displayed on cell phone.Formatting an eBook isn’t hard. What you have to remember is the conversion process involved.

An eBook is read on a device such as a Kindle Fire, a Nook, an iPad, and more. Many of the devices have proprietary coding—Kindle is one, and it comes with a .mobi extension to the file.

Here is an excellent article that explains the varied eBook formats.

An eBook is a reflowable file. The text is fluid—not constrained to a specific page size like a print book is. This reflowable aspect to eBooks means you don’t create page headers or page numbers for your book. But it also comes with some definite requirements. [Read more…] about Formatting an eBook

How to Format a Book – Part 2

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How to format a book, 8-page signatures awaiting assemblyLast week in part 1 of “How to Format a Book” I covered trim size, margins, and fonts and their sizes. This week, we’ll look at page headings, chapter beginning elements, and page count.

Whether you’re doing the layout or you’ve hired a designer, the elements discussed last week are essentials you must determine before you begin. If you don’t, then you’ll be spending time making adjustments.

Now let’s look at the importance of page headings, chapter headings, and page count. [Read more…] about How to Format a Book – Part 2

How to Format a Book – Part 1

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How to format a book, 8-page signatures awaiting assembly
Pallets of 8-page signatures awaiting assembly into a final coloring book.

How to format a book seems to give indie writers more difficulty than writing the book itself.

In my world as an editor and book designer, the word format means several things. When a writer contacts me asking for book formatting, I always have to clarify exactly what they want.

I covered formatting the text of your book in the following posts:

How to Format Numbers, Dates, and Times in Your Manuscript

Should I Use Italics or Quotation Marks? A Style Guide to Formatting Titles

Before formatting your book for publication, there are several things you must consider and decide first. [Read more…] about How to Format a Book – Part 1

Formatting Your Manuscript for Publisher Submission

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Lately, I’ve gotten a lot of manuscripts to edit with incorrect formatting.

Using the standard format for your manuscript for submission to a publisher or freelance editor is important. Do it incorrectly and you immediately tell that publisher you’re an amateur.

Yes, we all start at the beginning, but there’s no need to let the publisher know you’re new at this. You can submit like a pro the first time! [Read more…] about Formatting Your Manuscript for Publisher Submission

How to Format Small Caps in MS Word and Scrivener

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You’re quoting the Bible in your book and many of the verses use LORD in small caps. But you don’t know how to get those little capitals so you type LORD in your manuscript.

Or maybe you missed the fact completely that Lord was in all caps. I see that often in the nonfiction manuscripts I edit.

If you fail to use all caps, you are misquoting the verse. Lord and LORD represent different Hebrew words.

If you’ve made this mistake, don’t worry. Creating them is simple, both in MS Word and in Scrivener (but not on the web!). [Read more…] about How to Format Small Caps in MS Word and Scrivener

Two Ways for Tracking Important Elements of Your Story

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You’re writing your story in multiple point of view. How do you keep track of how many scenes you have in each POV?

Your story has a specific time frame. How do you track your scenes to ensure you follow that timeline?

Maybe your story takes place in 5 different cities. How can you ensure you’re in the right place?

Today, I’m going to look at 2 ways for tracking important elements of your story and how you can see them at a glance. [Read more…] about Two Ways for Tracking Important Elements of Your Story