Formatting with Word without Screaming or Acts of Violence!

I’ve been on vacation this month in my beautiful home state, and I’m afraid this post is way overdue. While enjoying my leisure time I had a message on Facebook from a reader and another in-person comment about these posts, so at least I know there are a few of you reading my suggestions. That inspired me to make an attempt at passing on what I have learned about formatting with Microsoft Word. I’m not pretending to be an expert; in fact, it may be possible to find some of these suggestions on other sites, but here goes.

If you have written a book and decide to go the traditional route of looking for an agent to represent you there are numerous sites that will outline the steps of that process. Basically, you write a query letter that contains a “hook” that will grab the reader’s attention and sell your manuscript. Usually agents want to see the first fifty pages, more or less, of your book. Some want a synopsis and the first chapter. Just remember to do a little research before you select an agent and submit your work. A reputable agent will never ask for money upfront.

That being said, let’s assume you have tried the traditional route and have gotten nowhere with submissions. Believe me, I know how you feel. It’s a long, frustrating process. But, don’t dwell on that! If you really believe in your book you will probably decide to self-publish. Just remember, the publishing business is about making money and most self-publishing companies want to help you design and format your book for a sizable fee. Do they make it easy for you to do it yourself? No! Is it possible to learn how to do it yourself? Of course! If I can figure out how to do it, you can do it. Just be aware that some companies will not help you at all. They want a print ready file and will not give you advice on the phone or tell you what you are doing wrong. I won’t mention any names here, but this is the way I learned…trial and error. My small publishing company (Cahabapress.com) now uses Amazon Create Space. I’ve been happy with them, and they’re fairly easy to work with. No, they didn’t pay me to say that!

Let’s get started. Once you have chosen the company that will print and distribute your book, you will be given the option of choosing a size. I recommend either 5.5 x 8.5 or 6 x 9 for novels. Ease of reading and market considerations are important in choosing the size. Now you’re ready to get started. Open a new Word document and go to Page Layout at the top of the screen—fourth from the left. Go to the Margins icon. You will need to set up a custom margin for your book since you will need to allow for a gutter. What is a gutter? That’s the space allowed for the binding of the book. A certain amount of space will be lost when the pages are secured. In the past, pages were often stitched together, but now pages are glued together with a strong adhesive. You will be told when you set-up your book specifications about the amount to allow for a gutter. It depends on the number of pages in your book. Next you will set your margins on the top, bottom, right-side and left-side of the pages. Open any book you have handy. Look at the gutter in the middle of the book. Notice that you can read the type easily without bending the spine back too much. With the book open, look at the left side; the edge of the page on the outside is the left margin. The right side is the right margin. I know this sounds simple, but it can be confusing, especially since we are used to thinking about a single page of type. Your margins should be set at .50 inches, at least.

Now you’re ready to insert a header and footer. Go to Insert at the top of the screen—third from the left and click.  A little more than half-way across the screen you will see Header, Footer, and Page Number. Click on Header. Look at the bottom of the pop-up screen. Click on Edit Header. Your page will then show a header and you will see Header and Footer Tools at the top of the screen. Directly below that will be the word “Design.” Check different first page, different odd and even page, and show document text. It is up to you to decide if you want a blank header at the beginning of each chapter. If you want a Running Header (a header on every page) uncheck the different first page under Design. Now you will set-up the odd and even page header. Again, this is a matter of choice. I’ve seen books without a header, but most will place the author’s name on the even numbered pages and the title on the odd number pages. Whew! Did you follow all that? I hope so.

Now, go back to Insert at the top of the screen. Click Page Number. A screen will pop-up, and you can choose how to number your pages. I recommend using the second choice which centers the numbers at the bottom of each page. Simply click on your choice and the numbers will appear on your pages. Now you can start typing or go through these steps to format an existing Word document.  Sometimes this can be tricky with an existing document. If all else fails and you are not able to format the document to the new specifications, you can always copy the text and paste it into the newly formatted Word document.

Next time, I will talk about creating a title page, etc. and creating chapter breaks.  Good luck with your manuscript!

Put the Pen to the Paper

I’m discussing the writing process today instead of formatting as I promised. It is a holiday weekend after all, and formatting is a rather extensive and boring subject. I promise I’ll get to it next week and try to use bullets to make it simpler for you to find what you need.

Several people have questioned me about how to get started writing. I always think back to my graduate school days when I took a course that required us to write on demand. The professor would come into class and give us a topic, or not, and then we were required to write for fifteen minutes. His advice was to put the pen (or pencil) to the paper. If we didn’t know what to write, he said to write our name, address, telephone number, whatever came to mind. Hit the panic button, right? But before we knew it, most of us were writing like crazy. At the end of the writing session, we had to share what we had written with the class. It was a daunting experience, but in the long run it built up our confidence as writers. However, I still remember my heart pounding the first few times I had to read!

These days when I’m working on a project I try to write at least 500 words a day. Early morning is best for me. I get up and make coffee, let the two dogs out for their morning run, and get settled at my computer. I’ll do a quick email check and let the dogs back in. With one or both dogs on the rug at my feet, I begin by rereading what I wrote the day before. I’ll make corrections and maybe embellish it a little; once I’ve read the previous day’s work I’m in the mood. I write until I’m out of ideas or hit a snag. Usually I make it to 500 words more or less. Then I stop. Of course, I’m still thinking about my story during the day and sometimes late into the night. I might go back in the afternoon and add more to the story. But I wait until the next day to review. It’s tempting to go back and start editing and adding to what I have written, but I leave it. My advice is to start each day with a review of what you wrote the day before. You’ll find yourself back in the groove. It works for me.

As I mentioned, this is a holiday weekend. In remembrance of all who have served our country:

In Fanders Fields

John McCrae

May, 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Go For It

More power to you if you decide to go the traditional route and seek an agent to represent your work. If this is your first choice make sure you find a reputable person to represent your efforts. Legitimate publishers and agents never charge a reading fee, nor do they ask for money upfront to represent you. Check out http://aaronline.org/ for a list of ethical agents. Now get busy writing a query letter, synopsis of your manuscript, and author biography. There are numerous sites on the internet that will give you valuable information on this topic. Just remember, many literary agencies are operating with a reduced staff and have a huge number of submissions. In other words, it can take a long time to receive a response. In the meantime, you might want to consider becoming an Indie author. The time you spent on writing your author bio and synopsis will come in handy when you begin your self- publishing journey.

How do you get started? Hopefully, I can make the process a bit easier by sharing a few things I’ve learned. I assume you have already shared your writing with friends or perhaps you belong to a writing group. Personally, I’m a rather solitary writer—many of us are—and the group thing is something that doesn’t work for me for a variety of reasons; but whatever your preferences, don’t miss this important first step. You will soon find out that your friends can give you valuable feed-back, and they will probably enjoy playing the part of literary critic. Ask them to give you an objective opinion—what they liked and what they didn’t like—and develop a thick skin. Listen to their suggestions and keep an open mind. Your real friends will tell you the truth, I have found. If something about the manuscript doesn’t work, they will tell you! Just try to ignore comments like: “You left out a comma in the second line on page 231.” Everyone wants to be a critic and your friends will probably be no different. But their job as friends is not to proofread, although that can be helpful. Instead, ask them how they feel about the characters and the plot, or if you’re writing non-fiction about the development of your topic. Once you have done this, take some time to brood about their comments. This is when that thick skin comes in. Remember, they’re your friends, right? Then reread your manuscript keeping their comments in mind. It works for me, and I haven’t lost a single friend.

Proofreading:  I will be very specific about this subject. YOU CANNOT PROOF YOUR OWN WORK! No matter how carefully you reread your manuscript, you read what you think you wrote. You miss typos and redundancies. I find mistakes in many of the books I read for pleasure, and they are written by established authors and published by big houses. Can you imagine how many people have proofed those books? So how do you avoid errors in your manuscript?  If you’re lucky you may have a qualified friend who can proof your work. If not, bite the bullet and pay someone. Spell and grammar check in Microsoft Word will not catch every error. I can’t say this often enough.

After you have had an outside source proof your manuscript, put it away for a week or two. I know; you’re probably wondering if you will ever be finished with this book! But paying attention to details will save you a lot of effort later on. Revisions can be very costly and bad for the nerves. Relax and let your manuscript rest for a while. Then take another look.

Next week: Formatting your manuscript      

A Stitch in the Side

You know how you feel when you've run a mile after not exercising for a while? That's kind of the way it feels after you've finished a manuscript and finally struggle through the editing process.  Yes, there is a certain amount of pain. Pain that you've completed the process that you've been immersed in for so long and the idea that you have to think of what to do next. That's the crux of the matter. What do you do with that manuscript you're sure will be a success? Find an agent, write a query letter, synopsis, author bio. Send out a ton of emails and wait. What a let down. Who wants to do that? But don't think the self-publishing route is a cake walk. You still have to go through the steps if you want to give your book the exposure it deserves.

Everyone says the publishing world has changed drastically and many bemoan the fact that those "good old days" are gone for good. Technology has made it possible for just about anyone to publish a book, it seems. This can be a good and a bad thing. There are so many poorly written books out there, and some outstanding ones too. But back to our problem. How do you get your precious manuscript published and promote it? Of course, you can pay to have it edited, formatted, etc. if you don't have the skills; but that can run into big bucks. I would like to share some of my experiences with self-publishing in this blog, my successes and failures, in the hope that readers will benefit from what I have learned as an author and small press publisher. I'll also include reviews of my work and of authors on my site cahabapress.com.

I'll be posting a few thoughts every week. Keep writing!