So, you’ve finished writing your manuscript. It has been masterfully edited, and now it’s time to make the outside and inside of your book just as amazing as your story.
But where do you start? Do you have to pay someone to do it for you? Can’t you do it yourself? The simple answer is “Yes, you can do it yourself”, but perhaps a better question is “Should you?”
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Takeaways in this article:
- Book or manuscript formatting is the process of arranging text and design elements, such as fonts, spacing, headers, and page layouts, to create a professional, reader-friendly file for publication.
- It is a non-negotiable part of the production process, and you can either DIY it, use software, hire a freelancer, or work with a company that offers formatting services.
- As an indie author, organizing and paying for formatting is your responsibility.
As an author, you have options for book formatting. And, if you’re self-publishing, the decision about how to format your book or novel is completely up to you. It’s worth noting that the cost of book production is your responsibility too (we know you know this already!). So you probably want to find the book formatting solution that offers a blend of professional results, fast turnarounds, and fair pricing.
Before we get into the specifics of picking that “not-too-much, not-too-little” formatting service for your book, here’s a refresher on what should be done already:
- You’ve written your book
- All professional editing rounds are done and the book is revised
- A launch date has been set
- A book cover designer is working on your front and back cover
Got it? Good!
Tip: If you don’t have these done, you can click on each step above for our own step-by-step instructions.
At this point, your book is in production. This is the part that takes your story and turns it into a marketable, sellable book. And the formatting should be a fairly quick part of this process. You can either decide to do it yourself (from scratch), use a book formatting outline (like the one we shared here!), hire a company that will handle all the details for you, or work with a freelancer.
If you’re taking the do-it-yourself route, we’ve already covered how to format your own book and some of the best book formatting software in the industry.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about book formatting services and companies!
What is book or manuscript formatting?
Manuscript formatting simply means turning the author’s rough draft into a finalized book. It deals with the layout and appearance of the book and happens after all professional editing is done. For most books, the purpose of formatting is to make reading easier.
You might hear the terms book or manuscript formatting used interchangeably with typesetting. The original meaning of typesetting comes from old-fashioned printing presses. It was literally to “set type,” which was a process of moving individual metal letters around—even earlier versions were made of wood—to form lines of text that were later coated with ink and transferred to paper.
Now you know formatting = typesetting!
Today’s book formatting services include more than just fixing spacing, though. Printers and online platforms have specific requirements for book printing and file sizes, and readers have expectations for accessibility and how a book should “look.” An experienced formatter can make sure that your manuscript meets all these standards.
Here are some of the things a professional book or manuscript formatter will do:
- Clean up the extra spaces between words and sentences
- Fix inconsistent styling, sizes, and fonts on all text
- Check for word, paragraph, or page breaks that are awkward to read
- Make sure all headers are formatted the same
- Standardize trims and margins based on your publishing platform (e.g., 6”x9” for KDP)
- Design custom section and chapter openers like drop caps, stylized titles, or special spacing
- Add the correct page numbers, headers, and footers
- Create a clickable Table of Contents for ebooks
- Format the front and back matter (your title page, copyright info, acknowledgments, and author bio)
- Insert and align any optional images, charts, or graphics with high resolution
- Prepare your final book files for all platforms (e.g., PDF for print, EPUB for ebook)
- Embed fonts and meet file specs required by Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, and more
- Test the layout on multiple different platforms and devices (Kindle, iPad, laptop, phone)
- Deliver professional, publish-ready files with proper metadata, margins, and bleed settings
As you can see, this is a long list. But you don’t need to remember or ask for these – they should be included in the cost of the book formatting service.
What are book formatting services?
Book formatting services typically refer to a one-off service that completes everything we mentioned above. But it can also be included in a bigger book production package or self-publishing program. We do the latter here at selfpublishing.com. All of the nonfiction and fiction authors that work with us get full book production services done for them, and can purchase one-off book formatting and design services at a discounted rate for additional books.
We do this because we want to help you with every single part of the book-writing and publishing journey.
Within a book formatting company, there are typically two types of ways they structure their manuscript formatting services:
- They have a team of formatters working under the company’s brand umbrella (this is how we do it!)
- They offer a database of freelance formatters who are independent contractors and may have been vetted prior
For this post, we’ll take a look at the first one—companies that offer book formatting as a company service and have a team behind the company brand.
From a book formatting perspective, all books are not created equal, and when it comes to interior book design, the type and genre of book matters.
If you have a simple book without a lot of images, good formatting software can work if you have the time to learn how to use it. Atticus offers user-friendly paid formatting software and so does Vellum and Scrivener. You also have sites like Reedsy, Draft2Digital, and Kindle Create that include a free formatting editor. Any of these choices can work if you want to give formatting a try.
On the other hand, complex books need an experienced formatter who’s more familiar with industry-standard tools like Adobe InDesign or Affinity Publisher. You can compare these tools to driving a car manually as opposed to an automatic. There are more tools and fewer limitations to what you can do.
Your book is considered complex if it meets any of the following criteria:
- Lots of pictures, graphics, charts, diagrams
- Special formatting needs (e.g. cookbook)
- You want to move away from a templated feel.
Another compelling reason to choose book formatting services includes moving away from a “templated” feel. Talented book designers can customize your book’s interior with details that will leave a positive impression.
What are the benefits of using book formatting services?
Book formatting companies that have a team of formatters to work with can take on a larger scope of work. This means that they work with more clients and often have a strong process in place. This could include better turnaround times compared to other options and can also mean that they’ve worked with many different types of books. This increases the likelihood that they’ll know how to work with yours.
What are the cons of using a paid service?
While this isn’t true for every company, working with a larger service can make the process feel more automated than personal. Where a freelancer may offer more one-on-one time to talk to you and walk you through the design process, a larger company may lean more toward automating parts of the process for convenience (e.g., Having a system set up on their website where everything from selecting your service to uploading your manuscript is automated.).
Which book formatting service should you hire?
Book formatting services are not created equal. Ultimately, the one you choose should be the one that’s a good fit for you. When deciding on which service to select, ask yourself the following questions:
- Does the website look updated and professional?
- Is the pricing clear?
- What is their turnaround time?
- Do they offer additional services that would be helpful?
- Do they have great reviews? Are the reviews recent?
- Read their About page and see if it resonates with you.
- Look for a team page to get an indication of the company’s size and who does what.
For reviews, try to follow the trail of the comment to the author’s book online to confirm the review. If they have a phone number or chatbot on their website, use it. Ask questions and see what their customer service is like. This could be a good indication of how you’ll be treated if you become a client.
Book formatting services to know (in alphabetical order)
Book Baby– They offer a host of publishing services. Book formatting services starts at $399
Ebook Launch – Since 2011, eBook Launch has been offering design services to the author
community. Fiction (print) starts at $229. You’ll need to request a quote for nonfiction.
Ghostwriting – The ghostwriting service company also offers book formatting services starting at $149.
MiblArt– With a strong focus on design, MiblArt has developed a reputation for quality work at reasonable prices. Ebook formatting starts at $64 and print book formatting at $120.
Pen2Publishing – Ebook formatting starts at $99. Print book formatting starts at $200
Scribendi – They offer a convenient quote calculator for ebook pricing. A 50K Ebook is $158 with a 72-hour turnaround.
Wordzworth – They offer a variety of services including formatting. Print book formatting starts at $400. Ebook formatting starts at $160.
Takeaway
While a great book cover can get someone to purchase your book, quality interior design provides an unobstructed view of your story. You don’t want an improperly formatted book to dampen your reader’s experience and keep them from buying more books in the future.
As discussed in this article, there are several ways to find a quality formatter for your book. Book formatting services offer a convenient, nearly hassle-free way to get your book properly formatted in a reasonable amount of time.
