Self-Publishing a Novel – Read First Chapter.com

Book Formatting – Turning an eBook into a Paperback

BLOG TO VIDEO – HOW TO MAKE A PAPERBACK FROM AN EBOOK:

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

This post is about creating a Paperback manuscript (5.6 x 7.81") from an eBook in Microsoft Word.  Now, if you already know how to take Microsoft Word instructions and reinterpret them into Google docs, then I'm sure you will be able to learn how to use Google Docs to achieve the same ends.

FIRST IMPORTANT STEP:

Open the eBook and IMMEDIAELY SAVE as the Paperback Manuscript so you don't mar the finished eBook.  It's important to note that Word has an automatic save that happens in the back, so you need to save it immediately so you don't ruing your final ebook manuscript.

You will only need your eBook in Microsoft Word, and any chapter graphic you choose to use.  Now, if you already know how to take Microsoft Word instructions and reinterpret them into Google docs, then I'm sure you will be able to learn how to use Google Docs to achieve the same ends.

FIRST IMPORTANT STEP:

Open the eBook and IMMEDIAELY SAVE as the Paperback Manuscript so you don't mar the finished eBook.

FROM EBOOK TO PAPERBACK – THE OVERVIEW:

We will be adding or changing the following:

  • Margins
  • Page Breaks and Section Breaks
  • TOC will go from only hyperlinks to page numbers
  • We'll be altering some pictures
  • And lastly, I will end with setting up the sections for the Book Title, Page Numbering, and running the Table of Contents

❖❖❖❖ - Have your scene ending marks handy so you can copy and paste if needed.

NEXT – WE WILL SET THE MARGINS FOR THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT:

Fix the Margins:

Layout > Margins > Custom Margins
Margins:
0.75"
0.75"
0.13"
0.75"
0.5"
Gutter left grayed out
Portrait
Mirror Margins
Whole document

Paper:
Custom Size:
Width:  5.06"
Height: 7.81"
First page:  Default Tray
Other Pages:  Default Tray
Apply to:  Whole Document

Layout:
Section Start:  Odd Page
Headers & Footers
Checkmark by Different odd and even
Checkmark by Different first page
Header:  0.35"
Footer: 0.35"
Page:  Vertical Alignment:  Top
Whole Documents

 



 

NEXT – Let's talk for just a minute about the style gallery.

This video is targeting people who are creating a paperback from an ebook, but for anyone who is new and you don't have a finished eBook, I'll give you my quick lecture on using the style gallery.  There is a new message on the KDP upload dashboard indicating after 03/18/25, they will no longer allow uploads of manuscripts other than those created in Kindle Create and/or an ePub, so you should use the Style Gallery for ALL STYLE and then you can write in Microsoft Word and convert the document yourself into an ePub.

You can try your hand with Kindle Create but I was never able to work in that environment.  I'm sure they have ironed out a lot of the kinks by now, but I've already taught myself to make an ePub and knowing how to do it gives you the most control.

You can create an entire novel using about 10 to 12 styles.  Once you go through creating the styles in a document, save it as a template to use over and over again.

  • Book Title
  • Heading 1
  • Heading 2 (If you have sub-titles)
  • Page Title (for pages you don't want to show up in your TOC)
  • Normal
  • Normal-no-indent
  • Center Text
  • Scene Ending marks
  • Quoted Sections

NEXT STEP – MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL THE PAGES YOU NEED:

Below is a list of all of my pages, whether they need to be on an even page or odd page, and where I want the book title, roman numerals, or cardinal numbers to begin.

LET'S TALK ABOUT CHAPTER TITLES

Chapter title graphics can be very tricky with the 'easy flow' settings and all the different eReaders that use the Kindle App.  I've started using a simple Chapter underline and seem to have no problems with it.

But since the KDP upload is in pdf format, it's the equivalent of a photograph of each page of your book, so you can get a bit fancier.  I'm going to demonstrate how I've been able to get chapter header graphics to work for me.  It's probably not the only way, but it is the only way I was able to get them to work without any glitches.

SIMPLE CHAPTER HEADINGS & CHAPTER GRAPHICS:

In the Video below, I go over creating simple Chapter Headings followed by how to add chapter graphics.  For a simple heading, you will modify the Heading 1 style by bolding the font, adding spaces above and/or below the chapter header.  It's very easy.

For the chapter graphics, you will need to create a one-cell, two-row table.  You will want to remove the borders, center the spacing and align it to the bottom.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to watch the video about this.  I have time stamps below the video so you can find the exact section to watch.

The second half of the video I pick up with adding the section breaks between chapters, setting up the Book Title in the headers, and adding the page numbering.   It's best to watch the video and follow along as I demonstrate.

HOW TO EMBED THE FONTS:

Click on File => Then Options => Then Saving => and scroll down until you see three boxes having to do with embedding fonts.  Check the top box but leave the other two boxes unchecked.  This is how the KDP help pages instruct us to do it.  However, be aware that when you upload, you may still get a warning that you didn't embed the fonts correctly but 'they have done it for you'.  But when I preview the finished manuscript in the KDP previewer and purchase an author copy, the books look perfect.

LEAVE THE PICTURES ALONE:

One other setting that is worth correcting is on the Advanced tab.  It is the setting that tells Microsoft Word not to compress your pictures.  You want your graphics and/or maps to remain as they are in the document.  So be sure to check this setting on.

LET'S CREATE THE TOC NOW

Once you have all of your Chapter Title Pages formatted with Heading 1's, most of the TOC work has been done. 

There are two important settings that control the TOC:  One is  Paragraph formatting (how much space will be between each line) and the Tabs formatting (which will tell Word how far away to put the page numbers from the Chapter Names).  All the other programming has been done with the odd and even page breaks.

Once you set up the font size and style, the paragraph spacing, and the tab formatting, then you can run the table of contents.  The tab settings for a 5.6 x 7.81 paperback is 3.25".

NEXT – NOTE DOWN THE REAL NUMBER OF PAGES: 

Determine how many pages the book will have BUT make sure you have the real number of pages.  The real number of pages is what you will use in the Paperback Cover Template Calculator.

NEXT – You will need the page number to run a Paperback Book Cover Template, so note the proper number of pages.  If you need to go to the KDP cover template calculator, it's here:  https://kdp.amazon.com/cover-calculator

SAVE YOUR DOCUMENT AS A DOCX AND AS A PDF.  

Once you have converted this to a Paperback, it is easy peasy to save another copy and change the margines to 6" x 9" for the Hardcover.

 



 

★★ What this video will cover  ★★

All Changes needed to turn an eBook manuscript into a 5.6 x 7.81 paperback

★ Margins, Page Breaks, Section Breaks ★
★ Book Header Titles, Page Numbers ★
★ How to add a two page map ★
★ How to add Chapter Header Graphics ★
★ Setup and Demonstration of Table of Contents ★
★ Time Stamps below ★

Time Stamps Below:

00:01 – What I will cover in the video
03:00 – Style Gallery and ePubs
06:00 – Adding a Map image and sizing it
11:00 – Page Breaks
20:00 – Adding Book Title to the Header
22:00 – Adding Page Numbers
29:00 – Simple Chapter Heading
32:00 – Adding Chapter Heading Graphics
39:30 – Embedding fonts/turning off compression of pictures
41:00 – Run as PDF to check for right page skips
42:00 – Set up and running of the Table of Contents
47:00 – Final alignment of two-page map
48:00 – What I'm planning next for a video



Converting a Word Docx to an ePub for KDP

IS THIS CONVERSION NECESSARY?

If you only sell on Amazon and don't give your books away, you may not need to convert your docx at all.  You can successfully upload a Word docx document and the converter behind the scenes at Amazon KDP will convert it usually without a problem.

HOWEVER, I would caution you that you should do all of your styling using the style gallery.  I have a few videos on my YouTube Channel that will show you how to format and how important using the style gallery is.

That being said, if you use the style gallery, don't give your books away and only sell on Amazon, you are good to go with only a Word document.

EBOOK GIVEAWAYS - THAT'S ANOTHER STORY:

Bookfunnel-and-siteorigin-logosIf you, however, are self-publishing and are planning to do your own marketing, giving away your book, especially when you are just breaking in as an author is crucial.  Once you decide to give away your books, you will need a PDF document and an ePub document.

convertio-iconAs I'm sure you already know, you can create a PDF inside Word, so that's not a problem.  However, you will need a conversion program to create the ePub.  I use the program called Convertio.co.  This is a paid plan, and it comes to $9.00 a month at the time of this blog.  If you only have one book, you can sign up for one month and then stop the service -- but check to make sure that's an option before you do that.

Otherwise, you can take a trip over to Fiverr.com and search convert DOCX to ePub and see who comes up.  One word of caution:  I tried this and Fiverr is now defaulting to a slightly higher price on almost all services, so look for the drop down that lets you put in your budget.  I was able to find someone who was willing to do it for $10.00.

However, if Convertio.co allows you to quit after one month, you may be able to use it a few times.  I offer this suggestion because I remember when I was brand new, I had to do things multiple times -- I'm not even sure why.  So be aware that you may want to do more than one per month.

Another example is that I am presently preparing an ARC copy of the document and will need to add several pages for the final manuscript when it's back from the Final Edit.  So, I will need two conversions at least on this one book.  So be aware of this type of thing.



TO SIGIL OR NOT TO SIGIL:

Sigil is a program for making or polishing up ePubs after conversion.  I always had to get rid of a lot of crazy codes in the ePub so that's why I used Sigil throughout the years.

However, what I noticed with this last time I used it, and this is because I have disciplined myself to use only the Style Gallery in Word and not use individual changes, I had very little clean up in Sigil.  I could have even skipped the Sigil step all together.

If you are intimidated by computer code -- and it can be a little tricky -- then you may want to clean up your formatting in Word by using only the Style Gallery.

I have a video below where I go into a little detail as to why you have to be so careful with sigil and computer code.  I wish I had known about the importance of the style gallery when I first started, but at least I know now and I'm passing on the knowledge to you!

WHERE TO GET THE TOOLS:

Here is a link to go to Convertio.co   This is a service you use online.  There is no download or anything.  You simply upload the Docx file and then download the epub.

Here is a link to go to Sigil to download it.   This is an actual free program that will download and put an icon on your desktop.  When you want to open it, you will double-click the icon and it will open a blank document.  Then you will click on File > Open and bring in your converted epub.

IT HELPS TO SEE IT IN REAL LIFE:

Below is a short video I made going through the process starting from pulling the document into Convertio and then taking it through the rest of the process to checking it on KDP.  I hope this helps you if you are struggling in any way or if you are new and just need information.

https://youtu.be/QVi1XSiQSRs



Book Branding – Inside & Out

LEARN HOW TO COBBLE TOGETHER YOUR OWN STYLE TO BRAND YOUR BOOKS.

Below are two videos about branding the inside of your books, as well as creating an ebook template that contains this styling -- which is part 1.

The second video talks about how to research and cobble together your own custom branding for your book covers.  Whether your write stand-alone books or book series, your books will look more professional with consistent branding.

Even if you self-publish, you will be working towards your own recognition as a professional and serious author.  I hope you enjoy the videos.  If you have any questions or other tips, be sure to post them under the videos.  I do read the comments.





KDP Formatting | Book Branding – Branding a Series

HOW TO BRAND YOUR BOOKS:

LET'S START WITH BRANDING BOOK COVERS:

Whether your book or books are stand-alone books or a series, it is important to take a little time and decide on how you want to brand your books.  After a while, your readers will get used to your brand where they will be able to spot a new book with just one glance.

Branding your books also makes the books appear more professional.  This process that I will cover in this blog post is easier than you think.  It takes about an hour or so of research.

There is a video below where I go into a bit more detail about how to surf around Amazon.com and pick and choose elements to add to your own signature brand.

Below is one example of how Author Lori Roberts Herbst brands her books with the same dog and cat, similar colors, on the front of the book.

branding-books-with-animals

Below is an example of how the fonts alone and a "sweet couple" on the cover can create a signature look.  This would be an easy one for anyone who is self-publishing and on a tight budget.

branding-couple-author-name

And here is one last example for the blog post.  Author BJ Bourg uses not only the same author and title font, but also each book begins with "But not . . ."  Great example of marrying a series together.

Branding-title-similarities

ADDITIONAL BRANDING IDEAS:

  1. DP-drawing-woman-and-computerShared background picture
  2. Shared background color
  3. Shared tonal color
  4. Fonts & Title Placing on Covers
  5. Motifs and/or graphic designs
  6. Glow behind cover figures

In the video below, I go over several examples showing you the different ways that authors brand their books.  You can pick and choose which elements you like and come up with your own unique look.

Go to Amazon.com, look up your genre, and then begin searching around.  In no time, you will come up with a way to create a signature look you really love.

be-consistent-title

IF YOU SELF PUBLISH YOU CAN REDESINE A COVER AT ANY TIME

If you have published a book or two -- or maybe three, and you're just learning about branding, you may choose to do a cover redesign.  Just be sure you have a little extra time on your hands because you will need to change up the books on all the websites including Amazon, Bookfunnel, etc.

You may also need to redo or create anew marketing pictures.  But a cover redesign is a good way to create a new buzz about a book that's losing attention.  A new cover can suddenly get you some 'new kid on the block attention'.

 



NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT BRANDING THE INSIDE OF THE BOOK:

CHOSING FONTS:

Different fonts connote different moods.  Look up romantic comedy books and notice that the fonts used are very whimsical or comical in some way.  They go with the theme of the book.  Vampire books have several fonts that are used over and over again as they have a very 'wicked or scary' look to them.

One hour of research online and you will find the best choice for a cover font.  Remember, you want to fit into your category and genre but make the font your own.

STYLIZING YOUR EBOOK MANUSCRIPT:

eBooks all need to be formatted for what Amazon is calling "easy flow".  The reason for this is because eBooks are read on eReaders, Amazon eReaders, Tablets and even online.  The Kindle app allows readers to change the fonts, choose a theme, change the size of the font, and even change the background of the page color.

iced-teaSo when you upload a book onto KDP, especially as a Word document, it is uploading one paragraph and one headline at a time.  Then when it delivers the books, it is like pouring the book onto an eReader like a glass of iced tea.  Most of the font choices will be ignored in this upload.  EVEN IF YOU EMBED THE FONTS!

DROP CAPS VS. FOUR WORDS CAPITALIZED:

Because of the easy flow, I've tested the drop caps several times using my phone and tablet and it didn't get it right from every size.  So I would caution anyone, especially newbies, from attempting to use even Drop Caps on the first paragraph.  If you have having the book professionally formatted, that's fine.  But if you are doing it yourself, an easier way to give the first paragraph a bit of personality is to capitalize the first three or four words.  It gives the same stylish flair to the first paragraph without the worry of what the easy flow will do to it.

UPLOAD AS AN EPUB FOR MORE CONTROL IN EBOOKS:

However, if you really want to have control over the chapter title font and use a fancy normal font, number one, you need to have the license for it.  If you choose a Microsoft font, you won't need any licensing.  But any other font that you get off the internet, you will need a license.  A good place to look where they have fonts you can use anywhere is dafont.com.

Secondly, you will need to convert the word document into an ePub so that the different fonts are added to the style sheet.  There is a program called Sigil that helps with this conversion.  If this sounds like Greek to you, it's because it has to do with computer coding.  I also have a video on my channel about using Sigil to create chapter headers.

I uploaded the sample above using Word and all the different fonts.  None of them worked even though I had embedded the fonts in the options section.  The Ebook converted them all into a default font.  However, when I converted the same manuscript sample into an ePub then the book did show the different fonts.

FORMATTING PAPERBACKS & HARDCOVERS:

Book-cover-yellow-mockupNow, you will upload pdf files for the paperback and hardcover manuscripts, so you can use whatever font you want.  You will need to embed the fonts in the document (which is done from the options section) but however your book looks in the pdf, it should be okay.

The only part that gives anyone trouble is in the odd page vs. even pages.  If you don't get that right, even the PDF will throw in empty pages.  So be sure to see my formatting video on that.

A FEW LAST TIPS ON BRANDING:

  1. First line - Initial caps vs. drop caps (See above)
  2. Indents & line spacings - be consistent - give the reader some breathing room.
  3. Chapter headings and subheadings - If you want anything fancy, you will need to convert to an ePub.
  4. Scene endings - Be consistent, always use the same markings.
  5. ~ Meanwhile ~ Chapter indicators - Be consistent
  6. Chapter title spacings - Be consistent
  7. Offer 10% of next book in the current book.
  8. Include a link to join your newsletter
  9. Include a link to leave a review

CONCLUSION:

It's really that easy to brand your books.  It just requires a little bit of forethought and an hour or two of research.   Below is a video where I cover the research a little more in depth.

BRANDING COVERS:

https://youtu.be/4tyRNjT5F7o

BRANDING THE MANUSCRIPT:



Book Formatting – 6″ x 9″ Manuscripts

In the video below, I did an instructional about how to start out with a blank Microsoft Word document and build an eBook template and then after saving that template, to make a few changes and turn it into a template for the Paperback and Hardcover books.

What makes this possible is choosing the 6" x 9" print size for the paperback and hardcover.  At the present time, KDP only allows you to print a hardcover in the 6" x 9" size.  So if you choose to create your paperback in the same size, then you can use this same template to make all three books.

EASY FLOW EBOOKS:

iced-teaWhat makes it possible to use a 6" x 9" ebook template for the eBook is the easy flow settings that are needed so that eBooks can fit on any size eReader, tablet, or phone.

When you upload an eBook, you are really uploading a series of Chapter Headers and paragraphs.  It is converted behind the scenes into the computerized language of ePub, and then delivered like a pitcher pouring a glass of tea.  It is delivered one paragraph at a time.  Then the reader can adjust the text size and color, the background color and even the font style.  So as long as your paragraphs and headings are set up correctly, you won't have any trouble.

PAPERBACKS & HARDBACKS:

If you choose the same size, the manuscripts are the same.  The cover dimensions will be off and you will need a different sized book cover for each, but the manuscript will work for both.

SHOULD YOU MAKE THEM ALL THE SAME?

thinking women with question mark on white background

The paperback size should be guided by the genre you publish in.  If the books are around about the 6" x 9" size, then you're good to go, but if they are smaller, like 5.06 x 7.81 -- which is the size I use -- then you will have to make thee different templates.

But once you watch this video below, you will be a pro at making templates for whatever size you need.

HERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE PAPERBACK & HARDCOVER MARGINS:

Below are the settings for the Paperback & Hardcover.

6x9-margin-settings

CHANGES FOR THE eBOOK:

Gutter: change from 0.13" to 0
Change mirror margins to normal margina
Change Section Start to "New Page" (or next page)
Change headers and footers from 0.35" to 0.5"

REMINDERS FOR ALL MANUSCRIPTS:

Be sure to remember to embed fonts into your documents.  Go to File > Options > Save > Scroll down until you see this section about Embedding the fonts.  Only check the first box.  This information is from KDP.

Embedding-fonts-example



Below is the video where I go over all of the settings starting from a blank Word document:
Below that is a sign up form to get a formatting sheet for the 5.06 x 7.81 and creating an ebook using the 8.5" x 11" Word default size.

What Eleven Extra Pages Are Needed in a Published book?

This book is for beginners who are publishing their first or second novel and they are still a little skittish about what else goes into a book.  I’ll lay it out so you can easily follow the list and be confident that you’re not forgetting anything.  These page suggestions are taken from the publishing industry.  These are the pages that appear in a book published by a publishing house.

Often the pages before a book starts are referred to as “front matter”.  Pages 1 to 6 would be considered Front Matter.  The rest of the pages after the book is inserted are considered Back Matters.

PAGE 1:  A Title page with only the name of the Book.  The font is usually big enough for the title to stand alone.  It is usually centered on the page horizontally and vertically.

Page 2:  Either a blank page or a Books by Page.  If you have other books that are published, you can list them on this page.  The title should be something like “Other Books by AUTHOR NAME”.

Page 3:  A second Title Page, but this one will have the name of the book, and below it the name of the author.  Again, this is in larger font and it is centered vertically and horizontally on the page.

Page 4:  Copyright page.  I am not a lawyer so I can’t give you any information that is legally correct.  However, I can tell you that I cobbled together different verbiage that I found in other author books.  I made it long enough to cover my bases, but not too long.  Below is the verbiage that I used.



COPYRIGHT:
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2024 by AUTHOR NAME
Forward copyright © 2024 by AUTHOR NAME
Preview of this book copyright © 2024 by AUTHOR NAME
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use the material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at AUTHOR’S EMAIL.
Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Then you can put the name of your publishing company, if you have one, otherwise, leave the rest of the page blank.

Page 5:  Table of Contents.  eBooks require links for chapter beginnings and Paperback and Hardcover require page numbers.

Page 6:  (If applicable) Any maps that you may be including in your book.

Page 7:  Next comes your book.

Page 8:  Note to Readers.

Dear Reader:

Thanks for giving your time  to read this story.  I hope you enjoyed it.

As a new fiction author, reviews are very helpful to me. If you enjoyed this novel, I’d be so grateful if you would leave a review on Amazon.com. Here is a direct link:  (Add link to the review for this book).

[In order to create a review link, you will need the ASIN number of your book.  Then swap out your ASIN Number or ISBN number for the X’s in the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=XXXXXXXX]

I love to hear any feedback about the book and enjoy interacting with my readers, so please feel free to email me at AUTHOR EMAIL

Thanks again!
AUTHOR NAME OR SIGNATURE

Page 9:  What’s Next on your Reading List?

Verbiage:  Below is a chapter or two of my next book (or the next book in a series) for you to sample.  I hope you enjoy it.

Then insert up to 9% of the next book.  I keep it under 10% in case you are in Kindle Select.  They allow up to 10%, but I like to keep it on the lower side.

Page 10:  About the Author:  Add a biography of yourself.  Be sure to add a contact email as well as a little personal information.

Page 11:  Acknowledgements:  This page can go here or in the beginning of the book.  You can put it in lieu of “Other Books By Page.”  If you do use the Acknowledgements in the beginning of the book, then you can add the Other Books By Page here at Page 11.



 

 

 

Microsoft Fonts for Books and Book Covers

Which font should you use when self-publishing?  The more choices we have, the harder it gets to choose.

I always chose Times New Roman as that was the font default in journalism, for books and newspapers for my entire life.  However, since Microsoft added hundreds of fonts, I now see any number of fonts show up.

Below are the most common fonts in my opinion:

As you can see from the picture above,  even fonts of the same size are heavier and lighter than each other and even the numbers are larger and smaller.  My favorites are Times New Roman and Trebuchet MS.

BOOK COVER FONTS – Pretty Fonts:

When it comes to Book Cover fonts, that’s another story.  You want something that is attention capturing.  I have gone through all of the fonts in Microsoft Word and below I have created a large list of the ones that would be appropriate for book covers.

Often you may want to also have fonts that are heavy and bold.  I again went through all the fonts and made a table with those fonts too.  I also added some old fashioned and vampire-like fonts.

I remember being new and overwhelmed while planning my first book cover.  There were too many choices and I was trying to find the best fonts to “fit in” with other authors.  In the beginning, this was very important to me.

I hope this helps.



You can print out this page or you can screen shot and save on your computer.  But if you want to download copies of these lists in one download, click below:

MYSTERY NOVEL BRAINSTORMING WORKSHEET

This worksheet is geared for those who want to write a mystery or crime novel.  Even those wanting to write literary fiction, you will need some level of mystery or suspense to keep readers hooked into your story.  Literary fiction is about character studies and life studies than technical mysteries, but every book needs at least some level of suspense or surprise every so often to keep a reader’s interest.  Even in a slice-of-life novel or a family saga, there needs to be something that is mysterious about the plotline.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS WORKSHEET:

cop examining ballistic reportWhen I first decided to write a novel, it took me one full year (I’m not kidding!) to even come up with a crime.  Today, using these methods I’m about to reveal, it only takes me two to three days to think up three or four mystery scenarios.

My wish is that this worksheet will help those beginners who don’t know where to start and are still trying to think of a good crime.

THE LISTS | CHOOSE FROM COLUMN A AND COLUMN B:

Below I have lists of crimes and also mystery genres.  This list is meant to jog your memory and get your creative juices flowing.  All of the crimes can be swapped into any genre.  The list at the bottom is of multiple genres, but this is not an exhaustive list by any means.  Just look at the categories on Amazon to get a feel for how many book genres there are today.

 



START THE WORKSHEET BY CHOOSING A CRIME OR MYSTERY:

mystery-novel-brainstorming-worksheet-pg1 Let’s talk about how to use this work sheet.  Choose a crime or mystery from the list below and make up a potential perpetrator.  Don’t waste time on what he or she looks like.  Then start asking the following questions:

  • Why would this person want to commit this crime?
  • What could be going on in his/her life that would make him/her feel they needed to commit this crime?
  • How would he want to cover his tracks?
  • What specific knowledge would a character need to pull off a crime or swindle like this? In other words, is he/she an accountant and that makes it easier to commit a financial crime?
  • Then ask: Who would need to help him or give him/her cover? Add necessary characters and think about a connection.  Is it a family connection?  Is it a romantic connection?

THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS TO ASK:

Once you have a perpetrator and the cast of necessary characters, then it’s time to answer the following questions:

  • What could go wrong in the commission of this crime that would create tension or mystery? (He drops a glove or a drop of blood.)
  • How will these clues ultimately lead to his/her exposure? (How will this clue be found?)
  • How can this end in a way that would let justice prevail? (How and who will find the clue?)
  • How will the culprit ultimately be caught? (Is he cornered by an accuser? Is he arrested?  Does he confess?)
  • What is one clue that can be minimized in the beginning of the story but will turn out to be the one who catches the bad guy?

NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS:

  • List the things that could go right for the perpetrator -- like a second, more-likely suspect pops up and suddenly all eyes are not on the real culprit anymore?
  • Could there be other likely suspects that would also have motivation to commit the crime?
  • As the story grows, add whatever crucial characters are needed (witnesses, husbands, wives, bosses, helpers, etc.) who you will need to make the crime and solving of the story happen.
  • If you get this far, it means that you have a viable storyline.

THE SKELETON OF THE CRIME:

skeleton of a crimeBefore you exert too much energy fleshing out any character or story details, be sure to check to make sure you can design a three-prong storyline out of this budding storyline.  One prong will be a red herring storyline, someone who may look guilty, but is exonerated in the middle or end of the story.  The second prong is a second suspect or a wrong suspect who will look guilty for a large segment of the storyline.  And the final prong will be for the real culprit.  In order to have a story that works, you will need a believable crime that can meld these three prongs into one suspenseful story.

As you use this worksheet and these techniques, a crime skeleton will emerge.  Some attempts at this will go flat in the early stages for any number of reasons.  But some storylines will begin to almost shape themselves.I always make four believable storylines and then choose the best one.  Then I know I have the best of my ability at that time in my life.  Once you know you have a storyline and a lineup of stick figures and character roles that can technically pull off the mystery, so to speak, then you can begin to build real characters and an actual story.



THE CHARACTERS BUILD THEMSELVES:

Once you know what will be needed for the three-pronged storyline and what traits the lead characters will need to play out their parts, the characters will start building themselves into two-dimensional characters.  You can take the characters up to deeper, three-dimensional characters as you flesh out your main story and subplots.

LIST OF MYSTERIES, CRIMES & GENRES

I hope this is helpful.  Once you know you have a workable storyline, then it’s time to take a look at my Ultimate Character Development Worksheet.  This will help you bring the stick figures to three-dimensional with a full character arc.

Sign Up Below to Download the Brainstorming Form

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Writers Tip – How to Do Advance Reader Copies

Is there anything worse than staring at an empty page and not knowing where to begin?  I don't think so.

When I was new, I liked the idea of offering an Advanced Reader Copy of my book.  It sounded so easy.  It is easy -- but, there is a lot of planning involved and you need the right verbiage to ask for a favor without putting your readers off 🙂

PLANNING IS THE KEY:

When I was new, I was so anxious to release my eBooks.  Now that I've been doing this for a few years, I realize that the planning behind a book is crucially important.  So my tip to newbies is to wait until you have the book back from the editor and the proofreaders.  Only then are you ready to release as an ARC Copy.

WHY THE DELAY?

The delay is for "reading time" and "pre-order time".  Both of these strategies will help you get reviews and drum up some buzz about your new book.  You don't want to miss out on posting about your book on social media with the following hashtags:  #comingsoon, #newrelease, #releasedate, #ARCreaders, #preorders, #freeebooks -- and more!

EIGHT WEEKS?

Explosion-8-weeksWhy eight weeks?  You need to gather readers for at least two to three weeks to send them the book.  They need at least two to three weeks to read the book.  That takes you to 6 weeks.  Now, if you are a beginner, I'm suggesting you plan your release eight weeks out.

If you will be using Bookfunnel or SiteOrigin to send out the book, you'll need time for people to find it as the authors all send around the newsletters about the promotion at a different time.

Now, if you have been writing and releasing books for awhile, you can probably get this all done within 6 weeks.  I'll leave it up to you to figure out how you want to do it.



UPLOAD YOUR BOOK TO AMAZON WITH A PRE-ORDER DATE.

Only set the eBook for pre-order.  I tried to set the paperback once, but that went live!  So only do the eBook.  Once you upload it, record your ASIN number.

Example-of-verbiage-bar

ADVANCE REVIEW COPY – VERBIAGE FOR AN INVITATION FOR ARC READERS:

Dear Readers:

I have finished BOOK TITLE.  This is Book 3 in BOOK SERIES NAME.

I'm sending this email to my newsletter subscribers to see if anyone is interested in getting a free copy of the book in exchange for agreeing to read the book before it is released.  The release date is RELEASE DATE.

Below is a description of the book to see if you would like to read it:

[Add in the description you plan to use at Amazon KDP.  Don’t let it be too long, maybe 4 medium paragraphs at the most]


ARC-ad-reading-cat

Above is an ad I used on Social Media and on my website when I was looking for ARC readers for Murder in the Car Wash.  I had over 25 people sign up.  For newbies, that's a lot.  Not for Steven King or Nora Roberts, but for new self-published authors?  It's a lot.


ADD CONTACT INFO:

In the ARC copy, I use a page called Note to Reader where I thank them for reading the book.  I add in a few words about liking to interact with my readers, and add my email in case any of them want to let me know what they thought about the book.

If anyone takes the time to email you and point out a typo or grammar mistake that got by the editor and proofreader, thank them.  I also add them to the Acknowledgement Page in the book!



THE RELEASE DATE HAS ARRIVED:

release-dateDuring the time you're waiting for your ARC readers to finish reading the book, find time to prepare your Paperback and Hardcover manuscripts.  This way, you can upload them on the day after your eBook release.

Why the day after?  I never trust things 100% -- a bit paranoid in today's world.  Maybe Amazon will have a website glitch, etc.  I want to make sure the book is released before I send the emails to my ARC readers or publish my Hardcovers or Paperbacks.

Example-of-verbiage-bar

WORDING FOR THE EMAIL INVITING READER TO DOWNLOAD AN ARC COPY:

Here is an example of wording to ask for a review:

Dear Advanced Copy Readers:

The day has finally arrived!  BOOK TITLE has launched on Amazon on RELEASE DATE.  I hope you all enjoyed the advanced copy of the book.  I would be so grateful if you would take the time to leave a review.  Here is a direct link: http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B0B3Y2WH9G.* (See below)

I'd like to take one final opportunity to thank you so much for participating in my launch team for this book.  A couple of you have gone the extra mile in sending an email pointing out a typo and grammatical error or two, which is invaluable.  The book was professionally proofread before the ARC release, but a few errors still got through the professionals, but my team found them!

I'm working on a new murder mystery series and also working on [new project if any].  I will surely contact you all when these books are ready to go in the hopes you will have the time to participate on another launch team!

DON'T FORGET TO PUT A LINK TO LEAVE A REVIEW IN YOUR FINAL MANUSCRIPT!

HOW TO CREATE A REVIEW LINK FROM AN ASIN NUMBER:

Below is the review link for my Car Wash book.  Each review link is created the same way.  Your link will be this link with your ASIN number.

Just copy this link starting from the http all the way to the asin=Then substitute your ASIN for my ASIN, as shown below:

http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=YOURASINHERE

Book Formatting – Ebook, Paperback & Hardcover

3-Page-KDP-Formatting-Cheat-Sheet-Image

In this blog post I will explain how to go from an eBook template, to a Paperback Template and then to a Hardcover Template.  What is the benefit of this?  By doing it this way, you don't have to start over each time with a different template and redo all of your styles!

REMINDERS FOR ALL MANUSCRIPTS:

Be sure to remember to embed fonts into your documents.  Go to File > Options > Save > Scroll down until you see this section about Embedding the fonts.  Only check the first box.  This information is from KDP.

Embedding-fonts-example

LET'S START WITH THE EBOOK MARGINS

EBOOK COVER SIZE:  1600 X 2560 – 300 dpi
If you will be using a cover on the web, make a copy of your eBook cover at 72 dpi.  This will make your cover images faster to upload and download on the web.

I use an 8.5 x 11 size paper but I have seen videos saying you can use the size of your paperback.  But I'm teaching people the way I do it.  To get to these settings, Click on the Layout Tab > Margins > Custom Margins.  Below is a picture of the settings that I start with.

This formatting has no gutter and the pages are completely centered.  That's why I use this formatting.

Ebook-FormattingFromWord



document-styles-and-headings

NEXT STEP:  Spend time changing your styles.  You will need the following:

Normal - with indent of .02" 
Normal-no-indent - for first paragraph after Chapter
Book Title
Book Subtltle
Book Author
Scene Ending, if applicable

I take away all of the styles that I won't be using.  This makes your template more sleek.  You don't have to comb through all of these styles that you will never use.  In order to delete them from the gallery, right click on the style and choose to remove from the gallery.

FORMATTING THE PAPERBACK:

KDP suggests you use Kindle Create to make the manuscript, but it was always too finicky for me.  I use the same manuscript size for the paperback, 5.81 x 7.81 and just use only page breaks, no headers and no page numbers.  I haven’t ever had a problem.

The following pictures are for the eBook and the Paperback.  I’ll write them below.

Paperback-Settings-in-word

FORMATTING FOR EBOOK SPECIFICALLY:

Use simple page breaks.  Don’t add page numbers or headers

FORMATTING FOR PAPERBACKS:

You need to use section breaks at the end of each chapter so that your chapter pages are on the right hand side in the real-world paperback.  That is considered an “odd page”  The book title is the first page and you want that on the right-hand side.

You need to put in page numbers and headers for the Paperback.

You need a full total of pages.  By skipping some even pages and numbering the first pages with Roman numerals, be sure you take the total page count from the bottom of your Word document.  It will be more than your pages in the book.  That is the number you will need to go to the Paperback book cover calculator



CHANGES FOR THE HARDCOVER MANUSCRIPT:

Hardcover-Settings-in-word

FORMATTING FOR BOOK COVERS:

EBOOK COVER SIZE:  1600 X 2560 – 300 dpi
If you will be using a cover on the web, make a copy of your eBook cover at 72 dpi.  This will make your cover images faster to upload and download on the web.

KDP-calculator
Paperback Hardcover Book Cover calculator: https://kdp.amazon.com/cover-calculator

Once you have the number of pages of your paperback, go to the calculator at the link above, and click through the calculator and choose what you want.
Then choose the proper trim size. I use Width: 5.06"
And Height: 7.81". The proper size for your Paperback and Hardcover should be determined by the average in the genre of books you are writing to.
If you use 6” x 9” for your paperback, then you can use the same manuscript for the Hardcover and only have to redo your Hardback Book cover
Tip if you are using Gimp: Once you create your book cover graphic in layers, save the Gimp file and export to a jpg. Then open the jpg separately and export and save a PDF. I say this because when I was new, I was hours and hours trying to figure out why my text kept getting thrown off-kilter.