Everything You Need to Do to Format and Publish Your Book

I’m excited to share my book formatting process with you today. This is the exact method I use for almost all my books, and it’s made publishing so much easier. I’ll walk you through the tool I rely on called Atticus, which is available across platforms unlike some competitors that are Mac-only.

Formatting books doesn’t have to be complicated or frustrating. Atticus handles everything from scene breaks to special text styles, and even manages technical details like gutter margins automatically. The interface makes it simple to edit your manuscript, add various elements like quotes or text messages, and preview what your book will look like in both digital and print formats. You can also save templates for things like copyright pages and author bios to use across multiple books.

Key Takeaways

• Using specialized book formatting software saves significant time compared to word processors.
• The right formatting tool lets you easily add professional elements like scene breaks, quotes, and proper margins.
• Templates and reusable sections streamline your publishing process across multiple books.

Finding the Right Book Formatting Tool

What Atticus Offers

I use Atticus to format most of my books. It’s a powerful tool that makes the publishing process much easier. Atticus lets me import my manuscript and organize it exactly how I want.

The interface is simple to use. I can add scene breaks with a single button press. For non-fiction works, I can insert call-out boxes to highlight important information.

Atticus offers many formatting options:

• Text messages (great for contemporary fiction)
• Quotes and prose blocks
• Footnotes
• Custom images
• Letter formatting

I can even save parts of my book as templates. This means I only need to create my “About the Author” page once, then reuse it across all my books. If I update the information, I can apply those changes to all books with one click.

How It Compares to Vellum

Vellum is another formatting tool, but it’s only available for Mac users. I prefer Atticus because:

1. Wider availability – Works on multiple platforms, not just Mac
2. Lower cost – Atticus is more affordable than Vellum
3. Similar features – Does everything Vellum does

Atticus has had some performance issues during recent updates, but most of these problems have been fixed. The team behind Atticus is constantly improving the software.

Why Word Falls Short

I see many authors still using Microsoft Word to format their books. This creates unnecessary challenges:

Word’s limitations for book formatting:

• Difficult to create proper gutter margins (the extra space needed near the spine)
• Harder to maintain consistent formatting throughout a book
• Time-consuming to make global changes
• No built-in book-specific features

Atticus handles technical details automatically. For example, it creates proper gutter margins that adjust depending on whether it’s a left or right page. In Word, this would require complex setup and troubleshooting.

When formatting in Atticus, I can easily preview how my book will look in print or as an ebook. I can select custom fonts, adjust chapter headings, and create scene breaks with decorative elements. These tasks would take much more effort in Word.

Getting Your Book Ready for Publishing

Bringing Your Text into Atticus

I use Atticus for formatting most of my books. It’s a great tool that works on all platforms, unlike Vellum which is Mac-only. To start, I bring my finished manuscript into Atticus. While some authors write directly in Atticus, I typically write elsewhere and import my chapters when they’re complete. The process is simple – just copy and paste your text into the editor. Atticus shows you a clean workspace with your content organized by chapters and sections.

The editing interface is user-friendly with a title page that displays all your book details. You can easily change these by clicking “edit book details” where you’ll input your title, subtitle, author name, and series information. You can also set your “start page” – the spot where e-readers will open your book.

Using Scene Breaks Effectively

Scene breaks help readers understand when you’re shifting to a new scene or time. Adding them in Atticus is simple – just place your cursor where you want the break and click the “scene break” button. This inserts a visual separator (typically three asterisks) in your text.

These breaks aren’t just functional – they can be styled to match your book’s aesthetic. When formatting, you can select different ornamental break styles from simple asterisks to decorative elements. You can also adjust the width of these breaks to fit your page layout perfectly.

Scene breaks are especially useful for:

• Indicating time passing
• Changing viewpoint characters
• Shifting locations
• Creating dramatic pauses

Adding Images and Special Formatting Elements

Atticus offers many special formatting options beyond basic text. Here’s what I can add:

• Images: Insert pictures directly into your manuscript
• Call-out boxes: Perfect for non-fiction highlights or tips
• Text messages: Format realistic-looking text conversations
• Quotes: Create styled quote blocks (great for letters or excerpts)
• Footnotes: Add additional information without disrupting flow

I often use the quote feature for letters that characters read within the story. This gives them visual distinction from the main narrative.

For non-fiction works, call-out boxes are invaluable for emphasizing important points or creating sidebars with additional information.

When formatting your book, you can customize fonts, chapter headings, and page layouts. Atticus automatically handles technical details like gutter margins (the extra space needed near the book’s spine) that would be difficult to manage in Word.

Making Your Book Look Good

Working with Text and Choosing Fonts

I use Atticus for formatting my books because it’s much easier than struggling with Word. When I’m editing in Atticus, I can change how the text appears while I work. Some editors actually prefer using Comic Sans during editing – there’s evidence it helps catch errors better! Don’t worry though – this won’t affect how your final book looks.

Adding scene breaks is simple – just place your cursor where you want the break and click the scene break button. Atticus gives you plenty of text formatting options including:

• Scene breaks
• Call-out boxes (great for non-fiction)
• Text message displays
• Footnotes
• Quote blocks

Making Special Text Elements Stand Out

When I need to show letters or other special text in my book, I use the quote formatting tool. This makes these elements stand out from regular paragraphs.

For example, in my current project, I formatted a letter that a character reads by putting it in a quote block. This clearly shows readers it’s different from the main narrative.

I can also add:

• Text messages between characters
• Call-out boxes for important information
• Custom scene breaks with decorative elements

Setting Up Your Book Information

Atticus makes it easy to manage all your book details in one place. I click “Edit Book Details” to update:

• Book title
• Subtitle
• Author name
• Series name
• Start page (where e-readers open your book)

I can create custom copyright pages and about the author sections. The best part? I can save these as templates to use in other books. If I update my author bio, I can apply that change to all my books with one click.

For print books, Atticus automatically handles tricky formatting like gutter margins – the extra space needed near the spine. This saves me hours of frustrating work trying to get the margins right in Word.

Editing and Organizing Content

Text Editing and Font Selection

I find Atticus to be the best tool for formatting my books. It’s more affordable than Vellum (which only works on Mac) and does everything I need. When working on my manuscript, I can choose different fonts just for editing purposes. Some writers prefer Comic Sans during editing since it helps spot errors more easily. Don’t worry – this won’t appear in your final book!

Atticus offers many formatting options with simple buttons. I can add scene breaks, call-out boxes for non-fiction, text message displays, footnotes, quotes, and more. These tools make it easy to create a professional-looking book without fighting with complicated word processor settings.

Formatting Quotes and Letters

When I need to show special text elements like letters in my story, I use the quote formatting tool in Atticus. This visually separates these elements from regular text.

For scene breaks, I can:

1. Place my cursor where I want the break
2. Click the scene break button
3. Choose what style of break appears in the final book

The scene break can be customized in the formatting settings tab. I can select different ornamental designs and adjust their width to match my book’s style. This creates a consistent, professional look throughout the manuscript.

Updating Book Details

The title page in Atticus isn’t just for show – it contains all my book’s important information. When I need to make changes, I click “Edit Book Details” to update:

• Book title
• Subtitle
• Author name
• Project/series name
• Start page location

One feature I love is the template system. I created a copyright page and “about the author” section that I can reuse across all my books. If I update my bio, I can apply that change to every book with a single click instead of editing 20 different files.

Atticus also handles technical details like gutter margins automatically. These wider margins near the book’s spine prevent text from disappearing into the binding. The program alternates these margins correctly on left and right pages – something that’s painful to set up manually in Word.

Important Book Parts

Making Your Title Page

I use Atticus to create my title pages for all my books. To set this up, you’ll need to enter your book’s basic details. Click on “Edit Book Details” to add your title, subtitle, author name, and series information. This becomes the foundation for your title page. You can also set the “start page” here – this tells e-readers exactly where to open your book when someone first loads it. I usually set mine to Chapter 1 so readers jump right into the story.

Setting Up Your Copyright Page

After your title page, you’ll need a copyright page. Mine is straightforward – “Copyright 2025 by [Your Name]” with standard rights language. This protects your work and establishes your ownership. I simply copy and paste this template into each new book, which saves me time. Atticus makes this easy by letting you save copyright pages as templates that you can reuse across multiple books.

Adding Your Author Information

I always include an “About the Author” page in my books. Atticus has a great feature where you can save this as a template and use it across all your books. The best part? If I update my bio, I can click “apply changes” and update it across every book that uses that template. This saves me from having to manually update 20+ books whenever I have new information to share about myself or my writing career.

Including Membership Information

At the bottom of my front matter, I add information about my “Knights of the Round Table” membership for fiction readers. This is a simple but effective way to promote my membership offer to anyone reading my books. I include a brief note explaining the benefits and how to join. This helps build my reader community and creates additional revenue beyond just book sales.

Managing Templates and Book Layout

Using and Changing Templates

I use Atticus to format almost all my books. It’s a great alternative to Vellum (which only works on Mac) and much better than struggling with Microsoft Word. In Atticus, I can easily add scene breaks by clicking the scene break button, which inserts three stars between sections. The software offers many formatting options including call-out boxes for non-fiction, text message displays for contemporary stories, and quote formatting for letters or special text.

When working on a manuscript, I can choose different fonts just for the editing process. Some writers prefer Comic Sans for editing as it may help spot errors more easily. Don’t worry – this editing font won’t appear in your final book!

The title page in Atticus isn’t the final design but shows all your book details. You can edit the book title, subtitle, author name, and series information by clicking “edit book details.” One helpful feature is setting the start page location for e-readers, ensuring readers begin at Chapter 1 instead of copyright pages.

Applying Template Changes Across Books

The real power of Atticus comes from its template system. I’ve created a custom template called “pulp/lovecraft” that I use for certain book styles. I picked the Voltater font because it has an art deco look that fits perfectly with this genre. For chapter numbers, I chose the spelled-out version (like “nine” instead of “9”) because I prefer how it looks.

Templates save tremendous time across multiple books. For example, my “about the author” page uses a template that I can apply to all my books. When I update information, I click “apply changes” and can push that update to every book using the same template. This prevents having to copy and paste changes into 20 different books manually.

The print preview shows how the book will look in physical form, including proper gutter margins (wider margins near the spine). Atticus handles these technical details automatically, while they’d be frustrating to set up in Word. I can also customize scene breaks, choosing different ornamental designs and adjusting their width to match my book’s style.

Advanced Formatting Tools

Making Text Look Great

I use Atticus for formatting my books, and it offers many ways to customize how your text appears. You can choose different fonts while editing your manuscript. Some writers even use Comic Sans during editing because it helps spot errors better.

For your final book, you can select fonts that match your book’s style. For my pulp/Lovecraft themed book, I chose Voltater font because it has an art deco look that fits the genre perfectly.

To change fonts and styles:

1. Go to the formatting tab
2. Select a template or modify an existing one
3. Choose fonts that match your book’s mood

Pro tip: Preview your formatting choices in both ebook and print views to make sure everything looks good on all platforms.

Setting Up Chapter Numbers

Atticus gives you several options for how your chapter numbers appear. You can choose:

• Just the number (9)
• The word “Chapter” plus the number (Chapter 9)
• Spelled out numbers (Nine)
• Custom combinations

I prefer using spelled-out numbers with nothing else for my current book. It’s clean and fits the style I want.

You can also adjust the size and appearance of chapter headings to create the exact look you want for your readers.

Creating Visual Breaks

Scene breaks help readers know when the story shifts to a new scene or perspective. In Atticus, adding these is simple – just click the “scene break” button where you want the break to appear.

For ornamental elements between scenes, you can:

1. Go to the formatting settings
2. Select the “scene break” tab
3. Choose from different ornamental break styles
4. Adjust the width to fit your page layout

I selected a decorative break that matches my book’s style instead of just using three asterisks (***).

For other special elements, Atticus lets you add:

• Call-out boxes (great for non-fiction)
• Text message formatting
• Quote blocks for letters or important text
• Footnotes and other professional elements

Preparing Your Book for Publishing

Checking Your Layout Before Printing

I use Atticus to preview how my book will look in print format. This step is crucial before finalizing your manuscript. When I click the preview button, I can see exactly how each page will appear when printed. This helps me catch any formatting issues that might not be obvious while editing. I always check several pages throughout the book to ensure consistency in the layout. Make sure your chapter headings appear as expected and that any special formatting elements like scene breaks display correctly.

Setting Up Proper Book Margins

Gutter margins are essential for printed books but often overlooked by new authors. These are the margins closest to the book’s spine. I’ve learned that:

• The inner margin needs to be wider than the outer margin
• Atticus handles this automatically, unlike Word
• Without proper gutter margins, text can disappear into the binding

Atticus flips these margins appropriately between left and right pages. When I check my preview, I can see the wider margin switches sides as pages turn, which is exactly what I need for professional printing.

Creating Files in Various Formats

I can easily export my book in multiple formats depending on my needs:

Format	Best Use	Where to Find in Atticus
EPUB	For ebook readers and stores	Book Details page or main menu
PDF	For print books and proofing	Book Details page or main menu
DOCX	For editors or other services	Only in Book Details page

When exporting to EPUB, I can also set the “start page” – the page readers will see first when opening the ebook. I typically set this to Chapter 1 rather than the copyright page. For print PDFs, I always double-check the layout with gutter margins enabled to ensure everything looks professional when printed.

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