How to Format a Book for Ebook and Print: A Step-by-Step Guide

Formatting is where a manuscript becomes a book. It isn't glamorous, but readers notice it immediately: cramped margins, headers on chapter openings, a broken table of contents, text running into the spine. The good news is that the steps are the same for almost every book, and the right tool does most of the heavy lifting. This guide walks through the process in order, for both ebook and print.

Step 1: finish the text first

Format the final text, not a draft. Every change after formatting risks shifting page breaks, and in print, changing the page count means a new spine width and a new cover. Finish editing and proofreading, then lock the manuscript. If you're using a tool that combines writing and formatting, such as LiberScript, you can keep working in one place, but still treat formatting as the last pass.

Step 2: clean up the manuscript

• Remove manual spacing. No tabs or spaces for indents, no blank lines between paragraphs, no repeated returns to push text to a new page.
• Use real page breaks (or chapter styles) to start each chapter.
• Standardise scene breaks: one consistent marker, such as a centred ornament or three asterisks.
• Fix quotation marks and dashes so they're consistent throughout.
• Replace odd fonts and colours left over from drafting with plain text.

Step 3: apply styles

Styles are the foundation of good formatting. Every chapter heading should use the same heading style, every body paragraph the same body style, every block quote the same quote style. Formatting tools build the ebook's table of contents and the print book's layout from these styles, so consistency here saves hours later. In Word, use the built-in Heading and Normal styles; dedicated tools apply styles for you when you import.

Step 4: add front and back matter

Keep ebook front matter short: many readers sample the opening pages, and a long run of front matter eats into the sample. Put the next-book link at the very start of the back matter, where a reader who just finished is most likely to act.

Step 5: choose a trim size (print)

The trim size is the page size of your printed book. Choose it before laying out the interior, because it decides the page count and margins. Common choices are 5 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5 and 6 x 9 inches for fiction and most non-fiction, and 7 x 10 or 8.5 x 11 inches for workbooks and illustrated books. BooksOasis supports all five. See book trim sizes for how to choose.

Step 6: set margins and the gutter (print)

Margins keep text away from the trimmed edges and the spine. The inside margin, or gutter, needs to grow with the page count, because thicker books curve more at the spine. BooksOasis recommends at least 0.5 inch on every side, and an inside margin of:

If images or colour run to the edge of the page, add 0.125 inch of bleed on every side. Text-only interiors don't need bleed. See book print margins for more.

Step 7: headers, footers and page numbers (print)

Running heads usually show the author's name on left-hand pages and the book title (or chapter title) on right-hand pages. Leave them off chapter opening pages, blank pages and front matter. Page numbers typically start with the first page of the main text; front matter may use roman numerals or none at all. Chapters in traditionally designed books often start on a right-hand page, which can add blank pages; decide whether that matters for your book and your page count.

Step 8: typography that reads well

• Body font: a readable serif for fiction and most non-fiction, around 10 to 12 points in print.
• Line spacing: comfortable, often about 1.2 to 1.4 times the font size in print.
• Indents: indent paragraphs, except the first after a heading or scene break.
• Justification: justified text with hyphenation looks neat in print; avoid large gaps between words.
• Widows and orphans: avoid single lines stranded at the top or bottom of a page.

Step 9: create the EPUB (ebook)

Ebooks reflow to fit each screen and reader's chosen font size, so they need clean structure rather than fixed layout. Export an EPUB from your formatting tool, then check it:

1. Open it in at least two reading apps, and on a phone as well as a tablet.
2. Check the table of contents links work.
3. Check images are sharp but not huge, and fit the screen.
4. Look for stray blank pages, odd spacing and headings stranded at the bottom of a screen.

Step 10: export the print PDF

Export the interior as a PDF exactly at your trim size (or trim size plus bleed), with all fonts embedded and images at print resolution. Check it at actual size, page by page: margins, headers, page numbers, chapter openings and the last page. Count the pages: this number decides your spine width, and it's the figure your printer uses for the cover.

Step 11: build the cover to fit

A print cover is one full-wrap file, back, spine and front, sized for your exact page count and paper. Build it after the interior is final, from your printer's template. On BooksOasis, once the interior is uploaded, each print format shows the exact cover size in inches and pixels at 300 dpi, the spine width, and a downloadable template marked with the trim, spine, safe area and barcode area. See book spine width.

Step 12: proof before you publish

Read the whole book once more in its final form. For print, order a proof copy if you can: problems that hide on a screen, such as tight gutters or faint text, jump out on paper. For ebooks, read the opening chapters on a phone, where most sampling happens.

Keep a short checklist beside you as you proof: chapter openings, page numbers, running heads, scene breaks, images, the table of contents, the copyright page and the back matter links. Ticking each item off for both files catches the small errors that are easy to miss when you've read the book many times already.

Non-fiction extras: images, tables and notes

Non-fiction brings extra elements that need care. Images should be high resolution for print (around 300 dpi at the size they'll appear) but reasonably small in the ebook, where huge files slow downloads. Tables that fit a printed page can overflow a phone screen, so keep ebook tables simple, or use an image for complex ones with the key points repeated in the text. Footnotes in print usually become endnotes or pop-up notes in ebooks; check that every note links correctly in both directions.

If your book is heavy with images, tables or complex layout, test those pages first in any tool you consider. Some books are best laid out by a professional designer, and that's worth knowing before you spend days wrestling with a tool.

Keeping a series consistent

If you write a series, format the first book with care and save its settings as a template: fonts, sizes, chapter heading style, scene break ornament, margins and trim size. Use the same template for every book, so the series looks like a set on the shelf and reads the same on screen. Keep the back matter structure consistent too, with the next book in the series always listed first. Most dedicated tools let you save and reuse styles, which makes each new book much faster than the first.

Choosing a formatting tool

You can do all of this in Word, but dedicated tools make it faster and safer. LiberScript runs in the browser and combines writing, critique and formatting; Atticus is a one-time purchase that runs on any device; Vellum is a polished Mac-only app; Kindle Create and Reedsy Studio are free. See the best book formatting tools for a full comparison.

Common formatting mistakes

In short

Finish the text, clean it up, apply styles, add front and back matter, choose a trim size, set margins that grow with your page count, then export an EPUB and a print PDF and check both on real devices and paper. Build the cover last, from your printer's template. Do it in that order, and your book will look as good as its words deserve.

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