CHOOSING THE SIZE OF YOUR BOOK (& how to RESIZE it) | Formatting a novel in WORD (Formatting part 4)

To decide on the size of your book, there are a few factors you need to consider, such as genre requirements, available templates, and personal preference. In this video, I’m sharing how to determine the best size for your book, where to find a template for that specific size, and how to resize a book in Microsoft Word if you need to make any changes, which can be surprisingly common!
FORMATTING PLAYLIST: • FORMATTING A NOVEL FRO...
(1) What you Need to Know About Formatting (Intro): • FORMATTING A BOOK - Wh...
(2) 10 Essential Formatting Rules: • 10 UNBREAKABLE FORMATT...
(3) Front and Back Matter: • How to set up FRONT AN...
(5) Fonts and Styles: • Choosing the FONT(s) +...
(6) Adding Images: • How to ADD IMAGES to y...
(7) Chapter Headers: • Creating fancy CHAPTER...
(8) Putting it all together: (link coming soon)
Template: WWW.DIYBOOKFORMATS.COM
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Thanks for watching!
❤️ Bethany
0:00 - Choosing the SIZE of your book and RESIZING
0:16 - WHAT will be covered in this video
0:50 - THREE SECRETS we’ll cover to save you money and pages
1:02 - Physical Books Focus
1:24 - WHY the size is SO important
1:46 - Introducing myself
2:09 - Our teaching assistant
2:48 - Notes
2:58 - My experience
3:39 - Template
3:53 - Series
4:07 - Time stamps
4:34 - Book Sizes
4:47 - Measuring some books for examples
5:55 - WHY the size matters so much
6:11 - My personal example
6:56 - How the book size affects the COST
8:26 - How the book size affects your READERS
8:55 - How to CHOOSE the size of your book
10:03 - Template options on KDP
10:56 - DIYbookformats.com templates
11:22 - RESIZING your book in Word
13:51 - 3 secrets for saving money and pages
14:28 - Secret #1 that you might guess and how to do this in one click
16:21 - Secret #2 that very few authors know
17:31 - Secret #3 to remove even MORE pages
19:28 - comparing before and after the three secrets are applied
20:27 - Why converting a Word document to PDF is important for print books
21:21 - Formatting Series Playlist and What’s Next…
#Authortube #SelfPublishing #NovelFormatting
Note: some of these links are affiliate links and will support me with a little extra income at no extra cost to you. :)

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

FORMATTING PLAYLIST: kzbin.info/aero/PL3IFBPbxQRypIBssmfDTmyFi68zmk5l-L TEMPLATE: www.diybookformats.com 💻 and don't forget to SIGN UP FOR MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER for FREE exclusives (starting with the first HALF of The Stolen Kingdom + a step-by-step self-publishing guide and template): www.bethanyatazadeh.com/contact

[@kiwi-ix7er]

im binge watching this series as im working on writing my debut novel and ive already learned sm ^^ ty for making this series :D it's super helpful to new writers!

[@karenkinziger4781]

Bethany, your videos have been close to my side (and my heart) through the process of publishing my first book. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

[@caroltrehearn1333]

I love this video series. I did your Udemy course and this is just an extra bonus. Thank you!

[@MsToniFrench]

Thanks for your channel and all the tutorials, Bethany. I just gave your name to a hotel front-desk clerk to share with a friend of hers who is trying to publish a book. I told her what a great resource you have been. I am watching this video to hopefully find out how to correctly format my Word Doc re: pagecount and then create the cover with those stats.

[@CharlieeWriter]

I've never heard of some of these resources before so ahh your advice was so helpful! thank you

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

So glad it was helpful!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Can you guess what I did wrong at 18:18? LOL... I saw it once the video was uploaded.

[@angiebee7254]

Another Very helpful video,thankyou from Italy and London...i will buy a book from you soon,as i am curious and to show my appreciation...

[@Artraive]

Yay! I hoped for a video today 😊 Thank you!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yay! Hope you enjoyed it!

[@ogijiblessing6622]

This video was really helpful. I have been battling on how to resize my book for publishing but no way. I am happy to have watched this video. Thank you so much

[@leannesimmons5579]

Love this thank you!

[@larapichler5850]

I loved that video, even though I already knew all of these tips. Still super great, looking forward for the next one! (This series gives me so much hope that I can publish my book in July / August already ^^)

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[@stacyhackney6100]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Glad it was helpful!

[@caydenscribner2640]

I watched this all the way through. I’ve got a novel going on along with a poetry collection. The poetry collection is what I’m stuck on, size wise. I assume it’s complicated everytime for poets when trying to figure out what to size their book to. This was very helpful though.

[@Lasherluke]

Loved this video, was a great help for me. Personally I'm sticking with font size 11 myself, just the way I prefer to write but loved this video regardless.

[@Xingqiwu387]

Excellent overview! I recently bought 4 trade paperbacks covering economics for non-academics and they are all 6.69 x 9.61 and they are NOT self-published. To me it makes sense that publishers might be adopting this slightly larger format to cut down on the number of pages and hence the number of trees that have to be sacrificed.

[@canibethewinner]

In the "10 Unbreakable Formatting Rules" video you said you should always have single spacing, but @ 16:21 you set your spacing at 1.15. Did I miss something here? Thanks so much for the series, I'm digging it all so far!

[@jonahwhite6737]

Keep up the great content.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thank you, will do! :)

[@rhapsodyofrealitiesvideos2289]

YOU ARE THE BEST!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

thank you so much! :)

[@KathyAugust99]

I am writing my first book and your videos have helped me tremendously; thank you!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

You are so welcome!

[@2010kalex]

she helped me so much too

[@MargaretPinard]

Why would converting to pdf reduce the number of pages? 🤔

[@mrinalijadhav6575]

I sometimes lose my inspiration to write but watching these videos make me dream that- yes, even my book can be published and pop out of my head in my hands. Although that is still a long process. Thank you so much ^^

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Wonderful!

[@daniad8611]

Thank you for the video

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

You're welcome! :)

[@johndambrosio4655]

I never miss any of your videos since I stumbled on them one day!! Thank you so much!! I'm struggling with other author issues now, website, etc. Do you have a video on how you make your videos (equipment, etc.)? I already have my debut novel 33 Years in 3 Days in print as a 6 x 9, I'm considering what you recommend about the 5 x 8 reduction. It makes sense. Logically the cover size must be reduced as well in print. Does this change affect anything in ebook formatting? I assume this is a standard size that IS and KDP, B&N, D2D also print (in 5 x 8)? Are there any restrictions that you know of using this size? Anxiously awaiting your response. Thank you!

[@oneiceb5974]

Thank you 😊

[@Beyourselfandletstalk]

Thank you

[@Ruthie888]

This is a really great video. I encourage you to redo it with the latest word because my word doesn't look the same. --Always a problem with tech. Or the problem could be that you are using an apple computer, so it will look different from non-apple computers. Perhaps give a heads up on that.

[@shirleymay7986]

Thank you 🙏

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

You’re welcome 😊

[@kdkinz2272]

Question... Why do you use DIY formats when you are working on an Apple computer? Doesn't Apple have built-in templates? LOVE YOUR VIDEOS BETHANY!

[@npcertificationacademyllc8926]

How did you create your video? What are your tools? Thanks

[@SabineBeckerPUSH]

Really excellent video! I learned a lot 😊. The only issue I have is that you suggest the font size to be at 10.5. I have to tell you, that I could not read that without reading glasses, and I’m sure a lot of people out there can’t read that small font either. I will watch all your videos, because they are really super informative. Thank you so much.😊

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thank you! Funny you mention that, because I'm currently rebranding and changing all my 10.5 fonts back to size 12 haha, so I agree with you, it does seem to be easier for a lot of people. (Not sure why I did that, can't remember haha)

[@angelacosta1807]

Can u teach us how to make a small booklet???thanks.

[@eniafasolio9859]

How do I know if a book title has not already being used? Is there a website I can check? Thanks

[@davideug835]

Thanks for this info. I wrote a 30 page book but the hard cover version asks me to increase the pages to 75. it's a storybook. How should I resize?

[@mxm2k10]

I have a problem publishing a ebook that looks good in Word, looks good in the KDP preview, but gets fragmented after my upload. How do you control the format in KDP as you upload the manuscript? Thanks.

[@diedradrake5084]

Good video! But I am concerned about why your pdf shrinks by so many pages on upload conversion without otherwise changing anything in your document. Something has to change for that to happen (whether it's substituting custom fonts, adjusting spacing/kerning, or reflowing the text) but if you expect your document to look exactly as you finished with it in Word, that's not necessarily a good thing.

[@NR-rv8rz]

I just typed the same question a year after you did. But I guess as you didn't get a reply then neither will I.

[@thelvey1]

I'm wondering the same thing!!!

[@honeyasylum8178]

@@NR-rv8rz yeah she isnt that great about replying to legitimate questions. Except if you make a negative comment about her writing and then you get a comment.

[@Benjamin-gx8ho]

I don’t use word processing. It’s trash for books (granted if that’s what you like it will do fine). I use Tex maker and lyx, it’s far better. Anyway, on lyx, when I type the page margins change per the end of the book. The reason for that is because how the book folds and towards the end it changes

[@Vimokshadaka]

Paperback Non-fiction; is it 6x9 in the US and 5x7 3/4 in the U.K.? Amazon offers 5x8?

[@haydenquinn8080]

I know this video is 3 years old, how do you work around this for D2D?

[@freddy902]

I have a hard time reading large book like The inheritance saga. While the size of the book isn't too bad, the font is a little bit too small for me. If if your book gets so large that you have to us really small font then maybe edit your book edited or separated into two books. In closing when formatting your novel also keep font size in mind.

[@SabineBeckerPUSH]

I agree, because I know I cannot read a 10.5 font 😮

[@NR-rv8rz]

At the end you show how converting from word to pdf reduces the page count but you don't explain why? Surely the book fills as many pages as the lines of text require according to font size and line spacing. Then when printed it will take up the same number of lines of text at the designated font size and line space. So what does pdf do that it reduces this?

[@HelenaCross]

Did you need to change the size of your headers and footers when you made the page size from 6x9 into a 5x8? If so what size did you adjust them to?

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yes, and you'll have to play with it to see what works best for you.

[@TonyInTownNZ]

I get evermore frustrated. Everywhere I look people are using a different version of word than me. I am paying for mine and its setup options are completely different from any tutorials I have seen. In most cases to do a particular thing is not an option that exists on my paid for version. Examle: I cant have a different first page, though microsoft has a tutorial about it, the option is not available to me. But I am learning from you tutorials which are helpful in other ways. Thanks

[@michaelmason4578]

what version of word is that? mines doens't have format at the top has design

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

I have no idea!

[@albeolevesque258]

I, Miss Atazadeh, I just screwed up big time. I sent my novel to Kindle and I did not know how to resize it. I made a mess. They won't accept it until I fix it. Help, please....Albeo Levesque

[@secretlyadragon4723]

Okay, but doesn't that line spacing 'trick' go against your first point in your 10 unbreakable formatting rules video? Or is this some other spacing you are referring to? Your first rule was always use single spacing not double spacing and THAT spacing refers to the space between each sentence and each line, yes? I'm confused.

[@SC-sg7kj]

Where did you get your hardcover book printed?

[@MsToniFrench]

I believe her preferred hardcover vendor is Ingramsparks.

[@cecilhicks]

You somewhat confused me at six minutes and 25 seconds in so I know it’s been a while since you’ve posted this video but my question is I have a 72,000 word memoir and I’m decided on 6 x 9 would this be correct in my genre

[@aurorasilverthorne]

5.25 x 8 is the standard size for a memoir.

[@katiemarie8580]

My book is currently a 6x9 with like 360 pages, but if I make it a 5x8 the page count will obviously go up. So is a 6x9 or 5x8 cheaper, because you said that a 6x9 costs more?

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Did you watch to the end? I answer this exact question at the end where I show three secrets to removing a couple hundred pages without changing the content at all. That will answer all your questions.

[@katiemarie8580]

@@BethanyAtazadeh Yes, and my font size, line spacing, and margins are already as small as I can get them. My book's really big, so I was just wondering which size would be best because I can't decide. I didn't know until watching this video that a 6x9 page size costs more than a 5x8.

[@ctang212]

This part of the video confused me, because when I run the calculations on Amazon a smaller, thicker book actually costs more to print than a larger, thinner one. It’s automatically thinner because more words fit on a page in a larger sized book. I’d been planning on going with 5x8 and chose to bump UP the size when I realized how much cheaper even half an inch more is.

[@meaganmccraw4312]

From what I've read doing research myself, on both KDP and Ingramspark, choosing 5x8 or 6x9 alone doesn't affect the cost to print. It's the number of pages that makes the most difference. So you going with 6x9 would be more cost-effective than a 6x9, as it would have more words per page, therefore needing less pages.

[@cingizsuleyman8310]

Atazadeh azərbaycanlısan?

[@p.s.w5288]

Unfortunately no matter how much I formate it, it’s not laying centered and the templates drive me nuts. I’ve given up and have hired a formatter lol but your tips have been very helpful ❤

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

It’s actually not supposed to be centered, because each page needs to leave room for the “gutter” aka the middle crease of the book, so the template makes room for that haha. But a formatter is good too!

[@p.s.w5288]

@@BethanyAtazadeh oh I understand that, when I say centred I mean not too far inside. Even with the gutters placed, the words are too far inside and there’s a big space on the outside.

[@elizabethruth5270]

Totally thought you were going to say Penny. 🤣

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Haha!

[@kayweda5929]

You probably figured it out by now, but your "in Word" conversion went wonky because you have a comment on the section titled "Note from the Author." I found that weird formatting out the hard way when I submitted a rough draft/outline for English class this past year via Canvas. In word I had comments because I was still figuring things out but the "print preview" option in the app didn't show, so I submitted it without clearing the comments. Whoops?

[@jojozepofthejungle2655]

I just don't get the word Genre. I've been told but just can't understand. KDP only has age catagory for under or over 18. I beleive it only matters if writing for under 18.

[@MammaSerpent]

Instead of word, is there a way we can use Google Docs?

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

I’m sure there is, I just don’t know it!

[@MammaSerpent]

@@BethanyAtazadeh - Thank you for the reply!

[@nicklang6798]

That's why it hasn't been working. I forgot to save it as a pdf. I feel like smacking my forehead

[@corrinthe]

Who does your proofreading and structure edits, it all has to be perfect before all this, but keep getting quoted thousands of dollars