Formatting by Deanna

If you are an independent author or anyone ready to publish a manuscript, you’ll need to have the interior file formatted to prepare it for printing and create the ebook file. We offer professional formatting for an affordable price.

From Files to Finished! If you are a CC Challenge B Tutor, I can help you go from individual student stories & images to finished, printed, shipped Anthology books at a special homeschool price!

Contact Deanna for a quote or to discuss your formatting needs. Quotes are normally returned within one week.

What you will receive:

1. For your eBook: An ePub file ready to upload to Amazon, BookFunnel, etc. It will have your cover image, a Title Page, Table of Contents, Copyright Page, your book, and any front and back matter you include (About the Author, Also By, etc.)
2. For your Print book: A PDF interior file ready to upload to Amazon, IngramSpark, etc. It will have all the same parts except a cover image (you purchase and upload your print cover separately—formatting service does not include a print cover).

These formatted files are normally completed one to three weeks from when I receive all your files (complete and final text, cover image, any interior images, complete Interview form), depending on the queue and the complexity of the job. Contact Deanna for a time estimate.

We can have a quick Zoom meeting for me to get your details, or you can fill out everything on the metadata and style interview.

What you need to do:

1. Ready for formatting? Formatting begins after the manuscript is finalized: edited, proofread, and complete.
   • Are all edits complete?
   • Is everything you want in the finished files in the manuscript (images, links, etc.)?
   • If you don’t have everything yet, we can quote and schedule your job now, then begin when the manuscript is complete.
2. Send me a manuscript file in any text format–Word is preferred.
   • Submit the exact manuscript you intend to publish.
   • Include any front matter (specific copyright page wording, “Praise for…”, Dedication, etc.) and back matter (Author’s note, About the Author, How to Subscribe, excerpt from the next book, etc.).
     • It’s best to put all these in one file, in the order you want them.
     • Make sure all your links are in the text.
     • Leave any images in the text so I can see where they go.
   • Have any bold, italic, superscript, subscript and strikethrough formatting just how you want it.
   • Make sure it’s clear where each chapter begins–use a page break and/or make the chapter title the style “Heading 1”.
   • Make section breaks by inserting a blank line, then ***, then a blank line
3. Send me your images in .jpg or .png format. Aim for 1-5mb size for best quality.
4. Consider your style preferences. Do you want a simple professional style and I’ll select the details? Do you have an Atticus theme picked out?
   • Let me know of any sections in which you want special formatting (“special” is anything more than italics, bold, underlined. Date lines or Characher POV at the start of each chapter, letters, quotes, poetry, song lyrics, text messages, etc. are all special formatting we can make look great!).
   • If you want to specify everything about your formatting, you can! I will work with you to create a custom formatting theme that you can use on all your books.

Once I complete your formatted files, you’ll review them for formatting correctness. I’ll fix any formatting mistakes or items I missed and re-send your files.

Because formatting assumes a final, complete manuscript, post-formatting proofreading corrections are not included. As a courtesy, I’m happy to make up to five minor proofreading corrections at no charge. Additional corrections begin at $15.

Price List for Formatting

(All prices in USD)

Professional manuscript formatting for a short book with minimal special formatting is extremely affordable at a base price of $60!

What elements add cost to the base price?

• Longer Manuscripts
• Custom Formatting Theme
• Lots of Special Formatting (block quotes, verse, text messages, callout boxes, etc)
• Lots of Images

See the details on our Price List for Formatting page.

Examples:

You have 85k word manuscript ($90 base price) with 40 sections of text messages (+$30). You have an author headshot and the book cover image of another book in your back matter (included). You like Deanna’s theme (included). Your total fee is $120.

You have a 15k reader magnet (included) with 3 sections of verse (included). You have an author headshot for your back matter, a cover image for the book you’re selling, and a single image to use at the beginning of each chapter (included).  You’re happy with Deanna’s Theme (included). Your total fee is $60.

You have a 20k reader magnet (included) with 3 callout boxes (included). You have an author headshot and custom images for each of the three chapters (included).  This is going to be the first of several works in a series and you want to create a custom theme to use for all the works in your series ($30). Your total fee is $90.

You have a 50k word non-fiction book ($90 base price). You have 30 illustrations (custom quote). We work together on special formatting to make your quotes and lists show up best. You know exactly what Atticus theme you want (included). After meeting, I give you quote $140.

Other Nitty Gritty Notes

If you don’t yet have all the images and links that will go into the final book, no problem–we’ll start when you do! It won’t make the job go faster to start before we have everything. Let me know if you’re in a rush, I’ve been there!

I use Atticus for formatting and do not have access to Vellum. I won’t be able to replicate Vellum formatting directly, because the programs just work differently. I also won’t be able to access a Vellum theme to determine its fonts or specifications. But you can give me the specifications from any formatting you like, including a Vellum formatted manuscript, and I’ll make you your own custom theme with those specs, at least for everything that is configurable in Atticus.

If you own Atticus software, you will still send me your text and image files in the same way as above (you can’t just share it with me in Atticus because that doesn’t give me access to the formatting tab). I’ll import your manuscript and format it. When the files are complete I will send them to you (PDF and ePub). You won’t be able to load them back into your Atticus program and continue working on them, however, because Atticus imports docx files.
While Atticus has a feature to Invite someone to edit or co-write, that feature does not provide access the formatting tab (view or edit) or the ability to export the final files.

Please note that an Index is a specialty product rather than a part of Formatting. I recommend searching for a professional Book Indexer if you want to commission an index.

If I miss anything you specified in your interview, or we agreed on, I will edit to make it right.
If you need to add to your formatting requests or change what you want done, there will be an add-on fee starting at $15.
If you find editing or proofreading changes (not formatting fixes–those are included):
– I will include one round of a few, minor fixes at no additional charge.
– If you have more than a few but they are minor fixes, editing and re-exporting final files starts at $15.
– If you have major edits, please submit a new job and I can format your work again from your manuscript.

Contact Deanna to discuss your formatting needs!