Understanding Book Formatting: What Every Author Should Know

Because great content deserves a polished presentation.

When you finally finish writing your book, it’s tempting to jump straight to printing or uploading to Amazon. But there’s one crucial step that can make all the difference between a polished, professional book and one that looks homemade: Book formatting.

At Morpheus Publishing, we guide our authors through every part of the publishing process, including the all-important formatting stage. Here’s what every author should know before turning their manuscript into a published book.

1. What Is Book Formatting?

Book formatting is the process of preparing your manuscript so that it looks and reads beautifully on the page or on screen. 

That includes: 

✅ Choosing the right trim size 

✅ Formatting chapter headings, subheadings, and page numbers 

✅ Designing margins, line spacing, and paragraph indents 

✅ Ensuring consistency in style, fonts, and layout throughout

Proper formatting turns your text into a readable, professional book that readers can enjoy without distractions.

2. Why Good Formatting Matters

Your readers might never consciously notice perfect formatting, but they’ll definitely notice if it’s off. 

Bad formatting can cause: 

❌ Poor readability 

❌ Weird breaks or spacing 

❌ Distracting hyphenation 

❌ A clunky reading experience

A professionally formatted book feels seamless, so readers can focus on your story, not on fixing visual glitches.

3. Print vs. Digital Formatting

Each format—print and eBook—has its own requirements:

For Print: 

🖨 Trim size (e.g. 5” x 8” or 6” x 9”) 

🖨 Margins for binding 

🖨 Page numbering and headers 

🖨 Special front and back matter

For eBooks: 

📱 Reflowable text that adjusts to any device 

📱 Clickable table of contents 

📱 Resizable fonts and images 

📱 No fixed page numbers

Professional typesetting software is often needed to ensure both versions look their best.

4. Common Formatting Issues to Avoid

Here are some pitfalls we help our authors steer clear of: 

❌ Inconsistent chapter styles or fonts 

❌ Orphan and widow lines (single lines left at the top or bottom of a page) 

❌ Misaligned images or captions 

❌ Missing table of contents links in eBooks 

❌ Too much or too little white space

We catch these before readers do.

5. Design That Enhances Your Message

Formatting isn’t just technical—it’s also creative.

Your font choices, chapter design, and layout all contribute to the look and feel of your book. 

A memoir might suit a clean, elegant style. 

A self-help book could use bold headings and call-out boxes. 

A children’s book might need fun layouts with large, colourful text.

Your formatting should reflect your genre, your story, and your readers’ expectations.

Final Thoughts: Formatting Is a Crucial Step

Your words deserve to look as good as they read. Professional book formatting enhances credibility, improves the reading experience, and gives you the best chance of reaching—and retaining—your audience.

At Morpheus Publishing, we offer hands-on support with design and formatting so that your book looks its absolute best, inside and out.

Need help with formatting your book? Contact us today and let’s make sure your story shines on every page.

🌐 www.morpheuspublishing.com.au