Formatting a Novel in Microsoft Word Using Styles

[@davidstewart8796]

the chapter numbering was a great insight, thanks for sharing

[@suzanne5378]

THIS VIDEO WAS A GODSEND! Thank you SO much for posting this, you saved my sanity.

[@oneminutewriter]

So glad to hear that!!

[@suzanne5378]

@@oneminutewriter You have NO idea! I spent a WEEK with other sites trying to make things work. I now have HOPE!

[@shadowdragon6877]

This is really helpful. Thank you so much.

[@clara2768]

This is amazing and super useful! Thank you so much for this.

[@zechariahtheghost]

This video is informative and educational and thanks for sharing my beautiful sister I just subscribed to your channel I'm currently editing my first novel

[@shadowdragon6877]

Started to read your book, because of this :-D

[@oneminutewriter]

Best comment ever! Thanks so much. Hope you enjoy it.

[@VideosOfRandomContext]

Thank you so much for this tutorial!! Just a question, I want to format my novel a bit like ‘GONE GIRL’ where the chapters are aligned to the left or right and not in the center, and I also want to add a italicised date one space above the chapter. For example: Tuesday, 17 March, 2020 JUSTIN HANDERSON That Morning And then writing will be inserted here. Is this allowed? Or do I have to align the chapters in the centre and ask for it to be aligned to the left or right during publication?

[@oneminutewriter]

Jamez JAMEZZZ You could certainly set up styles for those things. Be aware, however, that formatting for publication is different than formatting for your own eyes. :) I don’t know a lot about using Word to format for publication, though I think it works along the same principles with Styles. If you have a publisher, they’ll likely do your formatting for you. I self publish and use a program called Vellum to format for publication.

[@VideosOfRandomContext]

Carol Beth Anderson, Author Thank you so much! 😊

[@kenfrisbiejr9904]

I am going to go over it at least one more time... maybe more

[@TFRasheed]

Many thanks for your help

[@suzanne5378]

I do have a question or two. If I want to start the word Chapter a 1/3 of the way down the page each time, how do I set that? I also want a few more lines under the Chapter name, how would I set it to always do that all the way through the novel?

[@oneminutewriter]

Suzanne Rogers Unfortunately, I don’t know how to do either of those things! I’m sorry!

[@shadowdragon6877]

If you don't have a publisher, how do you make sure all your legal rights are protected???

[@ItWILLbeWONDERFUL_THERE]

Hi and PLEASE help. I've got a manuscript that I want to format, but I've been to three or four sites that tell me at least one thing different than the previous site. *PLEASE!!!!!* Tell me there is a *STANDARD FORMAT* for publishing so I don't get rejected based on bad formatting info. These sites are easier to listen to than the dry-as-dust instructional manuals are to use, but if the information is wrong, it's all for nothing. I just want to make sure it's done right the first time because, to quote Roy Schieder in Jaws 2, *"I don't intend to go through that hell again!"* 😖

[@oneminutewriter]

I’m self published but this site seems solid! www.shunn.net/format/story/ Some publishers or agents have their own requirements, so always check their websites.

[@ItWILLbeWONDERFUL_THERE]

@@oneminutewriter Thanks Carol! Here's to hoping. I have the book , *"The Disaster Artist"* (Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell) about the making of the movie THE ROOM. The formatting of that book is very straight forward. I can't publish conventionally because this is a fan fiction project, so I'm footing the bill If someone wants a copy, it's free, apart from publishing recoup cost. ($5.00 per copy) So, for now, I just want to make sure that the basic formatting rules are kept. I was just at another site whee the author said she LIKED indenting the first line of the first paragraph. That's what makes this SO frustrating! People seem to be cherry picking the rules they will follow and what rules they won't follow and it's all well and good. For the time being, I'm going to try and work within the rules and see where that gets me. Thanks, again, for the link. 👍👏

[@oneminutewriter]

Johanna {NOT a christie Fan !} If you’re distributing it, you’ll want to format it not as a manuscript but as a book. Check out Draft2Digital for free formatting tools. Vellum is amazing formatting software (pricey, though, and Mac-only). The link I gave you is for submitting manuscripts to agents or publishers, not readers. Good luck!