Interior Book Formatting

Why Formatting Your Book Properly Is Essential (And Why It Pays to Let Experts Handle It)

If you’ve written a book, congratulations—you’re already miles ahead of most people who only dream of doing the same. But before you hit “publish,” there’s one crucial step you absolutely mustn’t overlook: formatting.

Let’s be honest—formatting probably isn’t the most exciting part of self-publishing. It’s not as thrilling as finishing your final chapter, revealing your book cover, or seeing your title listed on Amazon. But here’s the truth: good formatting can make or break your book’s success.

Why? Because formatting is what turns your manuscript into a professional-looking product. It’s not just about making your book look pretty. It’s about ensuring that it meets the technical standards of platforms like Amazon KDP, while also providing your readers with an easy, enjoyable reading experience. Done well, formatting becomes invisible—readers won’t notice it because they’re fully immersed in your story or message. Done poorly, and it sticks out like a sore thumb.

So, What Exactly Is Formatting?

Think of formatting as the presentation layer of your book. It’s everything the reader sees on the page—fonts, font sizes, alignment, line spacing, margins, indents, chapter headings, page numbers, section breaks, headers and footers, and more. These aren’t just cosmetic choices; they affect how comfortable and professional your book feels to the reader.

You might have typed your entire manuscript in Word using Times New Roman, with random spacing and a few manual tabs to line things up. That’s fine for drafting. But for publishing? That just won’t cut it.

Amazon and other platforms have strict requirements when it comes to things like margins, embedded fonts, page breaks, and image resolution. If your book doesn’t meet those standards, it can be rejected—or worse, published with problems that annoy your readers and cost you sales.

Poor Formatting = Poor Sales (and Bad Reviews)

Let’s get to the bottom line: formatting affects your bottom line.

If your book is hard to read—say the font is too small, the paragraphs aren’t indented properly, or the text looks cramped—readers will struggle. Even subconsciously, they may lose interest, stop reading, or feel that your book is “unprofessional.”

And what do unhappy readers do? They leave poor reviews. They request refunds. They don’t recommend your book to others.

On the flip side, well-formatted books get better reviews, fewer returns, and more repeat buyers. They feel more trustworthy and appealing. The reader is more likely to finish the book, enjoy the experience, and leave a positive review or even sign up for your newsletter. That’s the kind of feedback loop you want to create.

DIY or Done-for-You?

Now, you could spend hours—maybe even days—trying to master the ins and outs of formatting software. You could watch dozens of tutorials, try to navigate complex layout settings in Word, fiddle with line spacing, and tear your hair out over rogue page numbers.

But here’s the thing: your time is valuable.

You’ve already done the hard part—writing the book. Let us handle the technical finishing touches.

At Chas Cann Publishers, we specialise in taking your manuscript and turning it into a clean, polished, and platform-ready book—whether that’s for Kindle, paperback, hardcover, or all three. We understand what Amazon expects, and more importantly, we understand what readers enjoy.

When you let professionals handle your formatting, you’re not just ticking a box. You’re investing in your book’s credibility, your author reputation, and ultimately, your sales.

In Summary

Formatting isn’t a “nice-to-have”—it’s a must-have. It ensures your book looks the part, reads smoothly, and meets the standards of the biggest retailers. It’s the difference between your book feeling like a self-published side project or a professionally produced publication.

So before you hit that publish button, make sure your book is ready to impress.

Let us take care of the fiddly bits—so you can focus on writing your next masterpiece.

We offer easy to calculate rates for formatting. See below.