Initial Manuscript Formatting

I'm going to assume you have written your book using Microsoft word or an equivalent word processor. I would advise you to create a folder with the name of your book as it's title and in it save your book document in docx format as 'original.docx'. Then make a copy of this on a removable media or in the cloud. Better still - do both. Remember that if you subscribe to MS Office 365 then that includes 2 Tb of cloud storage which should be more than enough for your author requirements.

When I produce a book, I start with a template for a paper book. I find it easy to convert such a book to an ebook. It's much more difficult to convert an ebook to a paper book format. Ebooks are my main source of book income but it's worthwhile producing both formats.

Now make a copy of 'original.docx' and save this copy in the same folder as 'working01.docx'. This will be the copy you are going to work on. Each time you make a significant change, update the number at the end of 'workingXX.docx' Take the time to make a backup copy also.

I can't stress too much the value of keeping multiple backups of your work. A computer problem is the most likely cause but there are worse events such as a fire or flood. If you face such a disaster then you will quickly learn the value of keeping backup copies in the cloud or a removable media you can keep in your pocket. Sooner or later you will have a disaster which will destroy your most recent copy. When that happens, you can go back to your most recent backup copy rather than having to start again.

The front matter in detail

The half title page

If you open any printed book the first text you normally see is the half title. This is always on a right hand, 'odd' page. This consists of the title, often displayed as a single line of block capital text at the top of the page. On some books you might find a more fancy half title page but the modern trend is for simplicity. Some printed books omit the half title and simply leave the page blank.

Frontispiece

Using a frontispiece is considered a little old fashioned today. An exception might be where a map is included appropriate to the story. A frontispiece is always placed on the verso (back) of the half-title. It's a left hand, 'even' page. As an alternative an epigraph may be used here or a blank page is left. Some authors place a list of the other books they have written here. This page faces the book title.

Dedication

If you want to dedicate the book to someone who has influenced you then this dedication can be placed on the page facing the copyright page. A dedication is optional though. Dedication pages are usually middle aligned vertically or top aligned. You can also leave this page blank or place a contents page here.

Contents pages

Two rules:

1. Contents pages must be a multiple of two pages
2. The first contents page must be a right hand (odd) page

If your book is fiction contents pages are not normally included today especially if they would be simply
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter...

That's not always the case though especially if you are using descriptive text rather than just 'Chapter.'

In the past some books have used an epigraph style chapter contents description too which are reflected in the contents pages.

In such cases it's fine to add contents pages in a fictional book.

If rule 1 of contents pages leads to a blank page at the end of contents, then it;s OK to use this blank page for a dedication or epigraph.

List of figures/illustrations/tables

These are optional and not normally used in fiction

Forward/Preface

These are optional and not normally used in fiction. A forward is a short piece written by someone other than the author possibly explaining the context of the book. A preface is a short piece written by the author explaining the context of the book and how it came about.

Prologue

Avoid using a prologue in fiction unless it's the second or later book in a series. Starting with a prologue is often the kiss of death as far as literary agents or publishers are concerned. If you must have one, then don't title it 'Prologue' - make it 'Chapter 1.'

Your book content

The rules

• Keep things simple. Do NOT use a fancy font. Stick to a simple serif style font such as Times New Roman
• Chapter headings should be in 'Heading 1' style
• Do NOT use the Enter key to space your work vertically. Never use three or more consecutive 'Enter' presses. If you don't know how to do this in MS Word, here's how.
• Do NOT double space between sentences. That practice went out with typewriters.
• Do NOT use the 'Tab' key to indent each paragraph. Configure the 'Normal' style of your word processor to produce a 0.5 cm indent at the start of each paragraph. Note however the convention is to not indent the first paragraph after a heading or text separator. Your word processor styles can be set up to do this automatically.
• Avoid bold and underlined text. Use italics sparingly. I use italics inside speech marks for the remote side of telephone conversations and italics without speech marks for thoughts if the story is being narrated in first person omnipotent viewpoint.
• Do not mix points of view in your manuscript. Stick to either first person - where I relate the story as though I was a character in it OR third person - where you are an observer of the story OR third person omnipotent where you relate the story as an observer who knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.

We'll leave discussing detailed editing your book content until the section on editing your book.

The back matter

This is a vital section of your book which serves a number of functions.

• Makes it clear the story has ended
• Thanks the reader for staying with the book
• Allows the author to request a review
• May point the reader at other books the author has written
• Points the reader at the author's website/blog/social media page
• May ask the reader to sign up to the author's mailing list in exchange for bonus material

Bibliography

Very rare in fiction although Michael Crichton did produce one in his excellent fictional book 'State of Fear'
A bibliography is a list of sources the author has used when researching a book.

Index

Again rare in a work of fiction but common in none fiction books. MS Word is quite good at producing an index but the process is tedious.

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