STOP Publishing Your Book Like THIS, Boost Sales NOW!

About this video

Dale lists ten common interior-formatting mistakes that make self-published books look amateurish and subconsciously turn readers off, noting solutions vary by software and referencing Microsoft Word as his starting tool. The mistakes are: (1) left-aligning text instead of justifying it; (2) mixing block paragraphs with first-line indents — use one system, since indented paragraphs need no extra space between them, a tip he credits to Mark Coker of Smashwords; (3) placing elements near the print gutter, where they can be hard to read or chopped off; (4) a print table of contents with no page numbers; (5) an ebook table of contents with no links, which most software can generate automatically; (6) widows and orphans — a lone line at a page top or a lone word on a paragraph’s last line — which professional typesetters are paid to fix; (7) starting chapters on left-hand/even pages instead of the right-hand odd page, at least for the first chapter; (8) not embedding unorthodox fonts, and not checking a font’s commercial-use licence; (9) heavy, ink-rich images on thin 50–60 lb print-on-demand paper, which can warp pages — convert to greyscale and adjust brightness for black-and-white, ease saturation/contrast for colour, and always proof; and (10) omitting headers and footers, especially page numbers, in print books. Throughout, the goal is a smoother, more professional reader experience.

Key takeaways

• Justify body text and pick one paragraph style: block paragraphs with spacing, or first-line indents without extra spacing
• Keep elements out of the print gutter, give print tables of contents page numbers, and give ebook tables of contents working links
• Fix widows and orphans and start chapters on right-hand, odd-numbered pages for a predictable reading flow
• Embed fonts and verify they are licensed for commercial use before uploading a print PDF
• Proof print books: heavy images on thin POD paper can warp pages, and print editions need headers/footers with page numbers

Episode details: published November 27, 2023 · 10:29 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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