Book Formatting – Read First Chapter.com

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.

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.

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.

ADDITIONAL BRANDING IDEAS:

Shared background picture
Shared background color
Shared tonal color
Fonts & Title Placing on Covers
Motifs and/or graphic designs
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.

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.

So 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:

Now, 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:

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

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:

Self-Publishing Tip – How to Add Chapter Header Graphics

START WITH A SIMPLE WORD FORMAT

I've been struggling with trying to do this for about three years! I finally figured it out, thanks to some other YouTubers, one of which was Derek Murphy -- who knows all things when it comes to self-publishing!

I write in Scrivener and when it's time to proofread, I compile into Word and do the proofreading and editing there. So I start with simple formatting. This simple formatting will make adding the chapter graphics easier. You need to trust me on this. You will want to embed your fonts in Word also.

We will be going from DOCX to an ePub file. So as a reminder, make sure you do your Table of Contents using the Heading 1 links. I only have 3 pictures that I use in my books. One is a small publishing icon, one is a small scroll I use on the Note to Readers page, and the last one is the Chapter Graphic itself.

IMPORTANT: One more reminder to do your Table of Contents in Word using the links and Heading 1. If you forget this, you will have to redo the entire process I'm showing you! (Speaking from experience)

IMPORTANT: See above. Leave one blank before your Heading 1/ Chapter Titles. You will thank me for this later!

IMPORTANT: Only add one chapter header picture right before Chapter 1. Make sure it is wrapped “top and bottom” and also aligned to center. See above picture.

Save the document as a .DOCX file.

CONVERT TO A ePUB

I use a service called convertio.ca. (https://convertio.co/) I believe you can use this once for free, but I pay for it as I use it all the time. If you search for 'free ebook converter', you may find another free ebook converter. I used to use a Chrome extension that was similarly named, convertio or something, but it stopped working for me. You can see if they have another one in the app store if you don’t want to pay to convert.

Go to https://convertio.co/ and upload the manuscript.docx file and choose to convert into an ebook and then choose ePub. Then click on the convert button. It may take a few minutes to throw up a download button.

NOTE: During this process, your ePub will pull in all of your pictures and separate your chapters into separate files. That’s why you only want to add the one chapter picture. You can use the same one over and over in your document and keep the transfer cost down.

Once this is done, click on the download button. It will most likely save to your download folder. If you want to download it into your manuscript folder, you will need to choose that folder. In any event, it will be downloaded onto your hard drive.

DOWNLOAD SIGIL PROGRAM - THEN OPEN IT:

ONCE IT IS DOWNLOADED, open your Sigil program. If you don't have it yet, it's a free download. Go to https://sigil-ebook.com/sigil/download/ and download your version.

Once it's downloaded, open the program up. When it opens up, it will be sort of blank, like above. This is what a blank ePub document looks like. We won't be using the blank document.

Click on File => Open => Choose your recently-downloaded manuscript.ePub file. It will open it up in the Sigil program.

Once you open your manuscript epub file, it will pull in all of your chapters as individual html files.

Then there is a Styles folder. We will be making changes to the individual html files, the Title pages, and the stylesheet.css. Be sure to use the style sheet I have highlighted to the right.

Your images from your eBook will be pulled into the Images folder by the convertio process. You will be using the one chapter header graphic over and over. You have everything you need to begin to format the chapter titles.

LET'S ADD THE CUSTOM STYLES:

You will have to type out these codes. Each digit and space is important. If you forget one semi-colon or bracket, the codes won't work. So double check your work before you copy and paste into the Styles document.

DIRECTIONS: Go to the File Listings on the left side. Find the Styles folder and double-click on the stylesheet.css file. When it opens, scroll all the way to the bottom of the file.

Copy and paste the above coding into the page and save. There is a save icon on the top menu of the Sigil program. Or you can use Control S to save.

** See below for further coding explanation

FIX THE TITLE PAGES:

Nowt that we have saved the new css codes, it's time to change the files to pull in the new coding.

Looking at the diagram above, double click on the first file, marked index_split_000.html. This is the first page, which is my Book Title page. Now, even though I have coded this in Word to align to the center of the page, the ePub converter ignores this and throws my title onto the top of the page.

So I will change the class name from whatever it is (this will be auto-generated by your ePub converter) to "book_title". (Note: Be sure to use an underscore, not a dash) This will then move the title down 20% from the top of the page. I use 20% because when someone reads on a tablet in landscape, I don't want the title to disappear from the page. By moving it only 20% down, it is still 'above the fold'. If you don't understand this, don't sweat it.

I do the same thing on the second Title Page in my manuscript. Make the same change to "book_title". Changing the class name to "book_title" is the only change you need to make.

NOW WE WANT TO ADD THE CHAPTER GRAPHICS:

Double click on the first chapter page in the document above. There will be auto-generated html coding referencing the picture. If you look below, I have changed the coding to reference the class of "image_centered". That's the only part of your coding that needs to change.

Once you have made this change, copy this to your clipboard. (Control C).

One by one, you want to double-click each chapter to open it, and copy and paste this coding right above the CHAPTER 2, CHAPTER 3, CHAPTER 4, etc, in each file. It will be a little time consuming, but believe me, it is MUCH EASIER than hoping and praying that you can get a converter to get the spacing and alignment right.

Once you have finished each one, you can then save your work, and email it to your Kindle account and check it on your ereader and on your cellphone. I have had a perfect conversion using this method.

I hope I have helped you save all the frustration and hair-pulling I did in searching for a way to do this!

** FURTHER EXPLANATION:

The css codes added some alignment codes, to make sure they are centered. The max-widths of 25% are to make sure my publisher icon is not too big, and the max width of 60% is to make sure the chapter header graphic does not come up too big. The rest you don't really need to know, but if you are curious, you can go to W3School CSS to learn more.

These codes are used to style my chapter graphics, the book titles and the small publisher icon and another small graphic I use. So if you are only adding the chapter headers, you will only need to add those codes.