How do I format my book for publication?
How do I format my book for publication?
The Formatting tab gives you detailed control over how your book's interior looks — fonts, drop caps, chapter title style and alignment, page numbers, and ornamental breaks. These settings are applied to your final book during publication, so what you set here is what ends up in your downloaded file.
Opening Formatting settings
From the editor's settings menu, open the Formatting tab. You'll also find Manuscript and PubliAgent tabs alongside it.
Book theme
At the top, you'll see your current Book theme. If you've customized individual settings yourself, this shows as Custom — Your own mix of settings. Click Browse themes if you'd rather start from a ready-made design instead of adjusting settings one by one.
Previewing your changes
A reminder banner at the top of the panel notes that these settings apply to your final book during publication. Click the here link in that banner to preview the book and see how your changes will actually appear.
Fonts
Choose your font from the Fonts dropdown. You can select any Google Font, and it will be properly embedded in your downloaded file, so it displays correctly across EPUB, paperback PDF, and hardcover.
Drop caps
Toggle Dropcaps on to style the first letter of each chapter or section as a larger, decorative capital.
Chapter title alignment
Use Chapter title alignment to set whether chapter titles appear Left, Center, or Right on the page.
Chapter title style
Use Chapter title style to choose how chapter titles are displayed, such as showing just the chapter name, or including a chapter number before it.
Page numbers
Toggle Page number on to show page numbers throughout your book. Use Page number alignment to set where the page number appears.
Ornamental break
Choose an Ornamental break to mark scene or section changes within a chapter. You can pick from a range of decorative styles, or select the first option (a crossed-out circle) if you don't want an ornamental break at all. Ornamental breaks always appear centred on the page.
Saving your settings
Formatting settings are saved automatically as you adjust them. Since these settings apply to your book during publication, it's a good idea to preview your book after making changes to confirm everything looks the way you expect.
Related articles
- How do I choose a book design (theme)?
- How do I preview my book before publishing?
- What should I do if my book preview or formatting looks wrong?
- How do I manage changes and version history?
- What is PubliAgent?
Updated on: 05/08/2026
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