eBook Formatting Tips: Seven Frequent Mistakes to Avoid

When I worked in skilled digital business, there have been bound information mistakes that weren't allowed on publications going out of our department to alternative departments or our company's shoppers. I often see eBook authors creating these mistakes, at the side of a number of alternative common errors.

To Maine et al. awake to business business standards, these mistakes area unit marks of associate degree amateur. If you would like your eBooks to seem a lot of skilled, here area unit a number of common mistakes to avoid.

(I ought to mention that during this article, i'm talking concerning eBooks created in PDF format. a number of what's aforesaid here won't apply to eBooks created in mobile reader formats like Kindle, tho' there's some overlap that will apply to each forms of formats.)

Don't mix Your cowl and page together with your Body

In some eBooks, it's tough to tell apart the duvet from the page, or either from the body of the text. build these distinct by mistreatment page breaks within the applicable places. For a model, consider the means the primary few pages of a written book area unit set out.

Don't Skip Your Table of Contents

A table of contents makes your eBook easier to navigate, that makes it easier to scan. does one reader a favor by together with one.

Don't Use Multiple Fonts in One Document

Just because Microsoft Word enables you to use many fonts doesn't suggest you ought to use all of them in one document. every font has been professionally designed with its own standardized options for the form, height, and breadth of the letters, similarly because the areas between letters. This style is meant to form the font clear to the subconscious eye. admixture fonts destroys this style and might build your font exhausting on your readers' eyes.

Stick to one font per document as a rule of thumb. the sole major exception is for your main page, wherever you'll be able to use a distinct font for aesthetic reasons. however do not alternate fonts within the body of your eBook.

Incidentally, for on-screen viewing, a sans-serif font like Arial has historically been easier to scan than a line font like Times New Roman. However, as screen resolution quality has improved, some newer line fonts are designed to be clear on laptop screens and mobile devices. this may beyond any doubt still develop.

Don't build Body Fonts Too little or overlarge

In our department, wherever we have a tendency to were typically making documents meant to be written out, we have a tendency to used 12-point font as our default size. we have a tendency to ne'er used fonts smaller than eleven points, aside from terribly special exceptions. Smaller than this became exhausting to scan once a document was written out. At the opposite extreme, because the body text became larger than twelve points, it quickly became too loud for the eyes.

Now once applying this to eBooks, it is important to recollect that eBooks area unit primarily meant to be displayed on-screen in PDF format, that interprets font purpose sizes into percentages. during this context, twelve to fourteen points for the first data processing document before conversion to PDF may be a fashionable size vary. there's some variation for audience and style, however usually, larger or smaller font ought to be reserved for special uses like headings or footnotes.

Don't amplify Everything

Some eBook authors, influenced by copywriters, tend to daring, italicize, underline, color, and highlight 0.5 the words on the page. however prime copywriters consider skilled publishers that once you emphasize everything, it loses the result. Save your stress for really vital passages if you would like to preserve the impact.

Don't Leave Long Text Blocks Unbroken while not Breaks and Headings

After a short time, an extended block of text gets exhausting on the eyes. Spare your readers eye strain by mistreatment shorter paragraphs and a lot of headings between teams of paragraphs.

There is no absolute rule here, however there area unit some general tips I tend to follow that you just could notice helpful. For a page, I attempt to embrace concerning 3 headings, providing in fact that it is smart in context. For a paragraph, I begin attempting to wrap it up when concerning 3 lines, and if I notice myself going abundant over 5 to seven full lines, I take into account finding somewhere to insert a prospect for a replacement paragraph.

Don't Leave Words Hanging Before or when Page Breaks

I typically see eBooks wherever a heading seems at very cheap of a page however the text it introduces does not seem till successive page. Another version of this development is once one word at the tip of a chapter spills over onto a replacement page and also the remainder of the page is blank. this can be ugly.

Avoid this by coming up with your page breaks a lot of strategically. generally you'll ought to ingeminate a sentence to shorten or lengthen it. alternative times you'll ought to insert manual paragraph breaks or a manual page break.

Avoiding these mistakes can build your eBooks look a lot of skilled. Equally significantly, it'll build them easier for your audience to scan. Their eyes can appreciate it.