What program should I use to format a book?

Book formatting software, which makes the print PDF and the EPUB from one project. We build Lacuna for exactly that. Lacuna runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux, a one-time $149 The trial has no time limit; payment unlocks the final files Word can make a correct paperback, but no EPUB Hiring a formatter runs about $70 to $1,300 a book The best book formatting software, compared

How do I format a book in Word?

Set the page to your trim size, mirror the margins, use styles, and export a PDF with the fonts embedded. Section breaks between the front matter and the body Different odd and even headers, with page numbers The contents built from your Heading 1 titles Word makes no EPUB How to format a book in Word or Google Docs

How much does it cost to have someone format your book?

About $70 to $1,300 a book in 2026. Flat-rate services start around $69 for an ebook and $239 for print Reedsy’s marketplace: about half of interior design projects cost $475 to $1,275 Images, tables, and footnotes and endnotes push the price up Formatting software is a one-time $147 to $249.99, for every book you write Hire a book formatter or do it yourself?

How do I make my text look like a book?

A book-size page, a 10 to 12 point serif, first-line indents with no space between paragraphs, and justified text with hyphenation. Line spacing at 120 to 145% of the type size No indent on a chapter’s first paragraph Headers: the author on left-hand pages, the title on right-hand pages One style for everything of the same kind

What is the front matter of a book, and what order does it go in?

Everything before chapter one. KDP’s order: half title, title, copyright, praise, dedication, contents, preface, acknowledgments, prologue, introduction. Half title, title page, dedication, and contents: right-hand pages Copyright: the left-hand page after the title page KDP calls many of the parts optional Front matter is numbered in lower-case roman numerals KDP’s front, body, and back matter guide

What format does my book need to be in for KDP?

A PDF for the paperback, and an EPUB or a Word file for the Kindle ebook. A paperback with bleed must be a PDF Without bleed, KDP also takes DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML, or TXT and converts it Single pages, not spreads, with every font embedded Kindle: EPUB or DOC/DOCX; KDP says complex formatting may not convert well from Word KDP’s paperback file guidelines

Where can I find formatting templates for KDP books?

KDP publishes free Word templates for paperbacks, one per trim size. The page size and margins are already set Blank, or with sample front matter and chapters The styles, headers, and PDF export are still yours to do KDP’s paperback manuscript templates

What is the difference between formatting for print and for ebook?

A print book is fixed; an ebook reflows to the reader’s screen and type size. Print: the trim, margins, page count, and every line are set once Ebook: no fixed pages, page numbers, or headers The EPUB standard requires a navigation table of contents One manuscript, two files

How should a novel manuscript be formatted?

For agents and editors: 12-point type, double spaced, with 1-inch margins. That is not how the printed book looks. Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier A header with your name, the title in capitals, and the page number Each chapter on a new page, a third of the way down The printed book uses a book-size page, line spacing at 120 to 145%, and mirrored margins Writer’s Digest on manuscript format

Only if something prints to the edge of the page, such as a full-page photo. Text-only interiors do not need it With bleed, KDP’s minimum outside margins grow from 0.25 to 0.375 in An interior with bleed is 0.125 in wider and 0.25 in taller than the trim Covers always have bleed Cover size with bleed for your trim and page count

How long does it take to format a book?

With formatting software you can start in minutes; the time goes into choosing a style and reading every page. A manuscript with chapter titles in Heading 1 imports in one piece Hired formatters quote about two to three weeks Nothing is finished until you have read a printed proof

What should I check before I upload?

The exported files, against the printer’s rules: page size, fonts, margins, right-hand pages, images, and the contents. The PDF page size equals the trim size (plus bleed, if any) Every font is embedded The gutter meets the minimum for the final page count The EPUB passes EPUBCheck The checklist on this page has the full list

Guide

How to Format a Book for Print and Ebook

Formatting is the last step between a finished manuscript and a book a printer will accept. Here are the ten steps in order, the front and back matter in KDP’s order, a pre-upload checklist, and the three ways to get the work done.

By Corey Jackson, developer of Lacuna

Reviewed by Melissa Erin Jackson, author of 15 self-published books

Updated October 5, 2026 · Read about us

The short answer

Finish the edit, set the trim size, margins, and type, lay out the front matter, chapters, and back matter, then export a print PDF and an EPUB.

6 x 9 inches is the most common trim size in the US
KDP’s gutter: 0.375 to 0.875 inches, by page count
Body text at 10 to 12 point, line spacing at 120 to 145%
Read a printed proof before you publish

Three ways to format a book

The steps below are the same whichever you choose. What changes is who does them and how often you can redo them.

Book formatting software

Import the manuscript, pick a style, set the trim, export the print PDF and the EPUB. One-time purchase, every book you write. The route this page assumes.

Compare the programs

Microsoft Word

A correct paperback is possible with the right page size, mirror margins, styles, and section breaks. No ebook, and every chapter opener is maintained by hand.

The Word walkthrough

Hire a formatter

About $70 to $1,300 a book. Worth it when you would rather hand the job to someone else, or a deadline leaves no time to learn a program.

What hiring costs and gets you

How to format a book in ten steps

In the order that avoids doing anything twice. The printer figures are KDP’s; IngramSpark and Lulu publish their own and the calculators carry all three.

Finish the edit first

Formatting lays out the words you have, so every edit after it costs a second pass through the layout. Finish the developmental edit, the copy edit, and the proofread, then put every chapter title in Word’s Heading 1 style and every ornamental break on its own line, and save the manuscript as a .docx. That one file feeds both the print book and the ebook.

Choose the trim size

Pick the finished page size before anything else, because margins, page count, spine, and cover all follow from it. In the US, 6 x 9 inches is the most common size and KDP’s default, and IngramSpark’s popular sizes for most categories run from 5 x 8 to 6 x 9; in the UK, B-format (129 x 198 mm) is a common paperback size. Check that your printer offers it and whether it counts as a large trim, which costs more per page.

Standard book sizes Words to pages calculator

Set the margins and the gutter

The inside margin, the gutter, grows with the page count: KDP asks for 0.375 inches up to 150 pages, rising to 0.875 inches at 828. Outside, top, and bottom margins need at least 0.25 inches, or 0.375 with bleed, and more than that to leave room for headers and page numbers. Mirror the margins so the gutter is on the inside of every page.

KDP’s gutter table by page count

Set the typography

A serif at 10 to 12 point, with line spacing at 120 to 145% of the type size. Indent every paragraph except the first in a chapter, with no space between paragraphs, and justify the text with hyphenation on. Keep widow and orphan control on so no paragraph strands a single line at the top or bottom of a page. One style for the body, one for chapter titles, one for subheads; never format a paragraph by hand.

The typesetting rules in detail See how type size moves the page count

Build the front matter in order

KDP’s order is half title, title page, copyright page, reviews and praise, dedication, contents, preface, acknowledgments, prologue, introduction, and it calls many of them optional. The half title, title page, dedication, and contents fall on right-hand pages; the copyright page is the left-hand page after the title page. Number the front matter in lower-case roman numerals, or leave the numbers off, so chapter one can start at page 1.

Front and back matter, in order

Lay out the chapters and ornamental breaks

Start chapter one on a right-hand page; KDP starts each later chapter on the next available page. A chapter’s first page carries no header, and its first paragraph has no indent. Keep the space at ornamental breaks the same all the way through. In KDP’s layout, left-hand pages carry the author’s name in the header and right-hand pages the book title.

Chapter openers and headers How to format dialogue

Place the images

KDP asks for images at a minimum of 300 DPI, inserted at 100% of their size, so a photo printed 4 inches wide needs 1,200 pixels across. Keep each image inside the margins unless it is meant to bleed off the edge, in which case the interior needs bleed. Color photos print in color only if you choose a color ink option, which costs more per page: on Amazon.com, $0.0255 for standard color against $0.012 for black ink.

Add the back matter

Epilogue and afterword if the story has them, then appendices, glossary, bibliography, and index for non-fiction, then the author bio. KDP starts the first section of back matter on a right-hand page, and the bibliography, the author bio, and the index each fall on a right-hand page too.

Build the ebook as a separate thing

An EPUB has no fixed pages: the text reflows to the reader’s screen and type size, so page numbers, headers and footers, and blank pages do not carry over. The EPUB standard requires a navigation document with a table of contents, built from the chapter titles. Size the images for a screen rather than a press.

How to make a proper EPUB

Export, check, and order a proof

Export the print interior as a PDF with every font embedded (PDF/X-1a if the printer asks for it) at the exact trim size, and the ebook as an EPUB that passes EPUBCheck. Upload both to the printer’s and the store’s previewers and page through the whole book, looking at the first page of every chapter, the contents, and every image. Then order a printed proof copy and read it in your hands before you press publish.

KDP cover calculator Printing cost and royalty

Sources: margins, KDP¹; page order and headers, KDP²; type, Butterick⁴; images, KDP⁵⁶; the ebook, the EPUB standard⁹.

Front matter and back matter, in order

The order KDP gives, and the page each part falls on. KDP calls many of them optional, so most books use a handful.

Front matter

Part, in order	Where it goes
Half title	Right-hand page, with no page number or header
Title page	Right-hand page, straight after the half title, with no page number or header
Copyright page	The left-hand page after the title page, with no page number or header
Reviews and praise	Not set by KDP
Dedication	Right-hand page
Contents	Right-hand page, with no page number or header
Preface	Not set by KDP
Acknowledgments	Not set by KDP
Prologue	Not set by KDP
Introduction	Not set by KDP

Source: KDP²

Front matter is numbered in lower-case roman numerals, so chapter one can start at page 1.³
Display pages (half title, title, dedication, epigraph) and blank pages usually carry no page number.³
Wikipedia’s list adds an epigraph after the dedication and a foreword before the preface.³

Back matter

In order: epilogue, afterword, appendix, glossary, bibliography, index, and the author.³
The first section of back matter starts on a right-hand page, and so do the bibliography, the author bio, and the index.²
An index is set flush-and-hang: each entry starts flush left, and its following lines are indented.²

The pre-upload checklist

Check the exported files, not the manuscript.

The PDF page size equals the trim size (plus bleed, if the interior has bleed), not Letter or A4.
The PDF is single pages, not two-page spreads.
Every font is embedded in the PDF; the printer’s previewer shows no substitutions.
The gutter meets the printer’s minimum for the final page count, and the outside margins are at least 0.25 inches.
The half title, the title page, chapter one, and the first page of back matter sit on right-hand pages.
Chapter openers carry no header, blank pages no page number, and page numbers run in sequence through the body.
Ornamental breaks are consistent, and no page ends or starts with a single stranded line.
Every image is 300 dpi at its printed size and sits inside the margins unless it bleeds.
The contents page matches the chapter titles and page numbers after the last edit.
The copyright page carries the ISBN that matches the edition you are uploading.
The EPUB passes EPUBCheck, and its navigation contents lists every chapter.
You have read a printed proof copy, not just a screen.

From KDP’s file, margin, matter, and image pages⁷¹²⁵ and the EPUB standard.⁹

The same ten steps in Lacuna

We use our own program for the screenshots because we build it.

Lacuna’s editor beside a live print preview of a formatted chapter — The manuscript on the left, the formatted page on the right, updated as you type.

Lacuna’s style picker showing pre-made book designs — One of 32 pre-made styles sets the type, spacing, chapter openers, and headers together.

Lacuna’s Print Page Margins panel with the gutter and outside margins checked against Amazon KDP — The margins panel checks the gutter and outside margins against KDP’s minimums for your page count.

Lacuna’s Generate Print-Ready PDF dialog showing a 6 by 9 inch trim size — The print export at the trim size, with bleed and black and white or color.

Click any screenshot to see it full size.

Steps one to three, once

Import the Word file, pick the trim in inches or millimeters, and the margins panel checks the gutter and outside margins against KDP’s minimums for your page count.

Steps four to eight, by style

A pre-made style sets the typography, chapter openers, headers, ornamental breaks, and front matter pages for the whole book. Change the style and every page follows.

Steps nine and ten, from one project

The print PDF at the trim size with embedded fonts, an EPUB built to pass EPUBCheck, and a DOCX, from the same manuscript. Write and format in the same app, on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The trial is free with no time limit and every feature switched on. The one thing payment unlocks is generating the final files, so you can format the whole book, read every page, and decide, before you spend $149, one time.

Authors who formatted their own

Real authors. Real books. Formatted with Lacuna.

I’m a cover designer and interior formatter by profession and run my own small publishing press, so trust me when I say I’m picky and my standards are high. InDesign has always been the only program that formats for print with the level of customization I need. For years, I’ve used it for print and another program entirely for ebooks to get the results I wanted. When I saw Lacuna, I immediately went to check it out and within an hour from having downloaded the trial, I was hooked.
This gives me so much more freedom with print options than other formatting programs like Atticus or Vellum while still making ebooks a breeze. The ability to work from one file and have separate print and ebook settings is a complete gamechanger. I’m still learning my way around the program and loving every second.

JJ Carpenter

The Haunting of Kenmore Asylum

I originally checked out Lacuna because somebody in a KDP publishing group I belong to asked if anyone had tried Lacuna out yet. I published nine other books using a different formatter, but I wasn’t happy with it. I ended up taking a look at Lacuna even though I was pretty much sold on Atticus or Vellum. Once I started diving into Lacuna and saw the ease of use and flexibility, I was absolutely floored. It was a no-brainer, and I purchased Lacuna. Since then the program has only improved. Corey is amazing at fixing things and streamlining processes.

If you take a look at the book that I formatted with Lacuna you will see, it would be pretty difficult to do something like that with one of those other formatting programs. Plus they cost more. In my opinion Lacuna is already the best formatter on the market and only getting better. Thanks, Corey and Melissa, for making this available.

NextGen Victory Press

3-Minute Wrestling Devotionals for Rising Athletes

I tried numerous formatting methods and followed endless instructions from publishing websites, but nothing ever turned out right. Since finding Lacuna, everything has changed. I’ve been able to update all my manuscripts effortlessly and give them the professional look they deserve.
Lacuna helped me perfect one of my most cherished stories, The Magic Globe, and finally present it exactly as I envisioned. It’s truly been a game changer for my author journey.

Samuel Graham Astley

The Magic Globe

View all books created with Lacuna

Book formatting questions

What authors ask when the manuscript is done and the book is not yet a book.

Sources

Set trim size, bleed, and margins, KDP: gutter by page count, outside margins, bleed. Checked 2026-10-05.
Format front matter, body matter, and back matter, KDP: the order of parts, which fall on a right-hand page, headers, and chapter openers. Checked 2026-10-05.
Book design, Wikipedia, citing the Chicago Manual of Style: front and back matter parts, roman numerals, no page numbers on display pages. Checked 2026-10-05.
Butterick’s Practical Typography, line spacing (120 to 145%), point size (10 to 12 in print), first-line indents, justified text (“hyphenation is required”). Checked 2026-10-05.
Format images in your book, KDP: “a minimum resolution of 300 DPI”; color photos print in color only with a color ink option. Checked 2026-10-05.
Printing cost, KDP: black ink $0.012 a page, standard color $0.0255, Amazon.com. Checked 2026-10-05.
Save your manuscript file, KDP: PDF required with bleed; DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML, or TXT otherwise; single pages, not spreads; fonts embedded. Checked 2026-10-05.
Supported eBook formats, KDP: EPUB and DOC/DOCX for Kindle ebooks. Checked 2026-10-05.
EPUB 3.3, W3C: “The EPUB navigation document is a mandatory component of an EPUB publication”. Checked 2026-10-05.
EPUBCheck, W3C: the conformance checker ebook stores expect an EPUB to pass. Checked 2026-10-05.

Format the whole book before you pay for anything

Download Lacuna free, import your manuscript, and work through the ten steps with the page in front of you. Pay $149 only when you are ready to export.

No credit card required

Full features during trial

One-time purchase, lifetime updates

Want the details first? See all features or view pricing.