File Preparation

How to format a book in Microsoft Word for printing

YourBookPress

| 8 minute read | Last updated: June 8, 2026

To format a book in Microsoft Word for printing, you set your page size to your book's trim size, use mirror margins with a gutter for binding, choose a readable serif font, style your chapter headings, and add page numbers, then export the finished file as a PDF. This guide walks through each step. If you want to skip the setup, you can download our free Word book template, already formatted for a 6 by 9 inch book, and just add your text.

Step 1: Set your page size to your trim size

Standard printer paper is 8.5 by 11 inches, but books are smaller. The finished size of your book is called the trim size. Before anything else, set your Word page size to match your trim size.

In Microsoft Word, go to the Layout tab, click Size, then More Paper Sizes at the bottom of the menu. In the dialog, enter your custom width and height. The most common book trim size is 6 by 9 inches, which suits most novels, memoirs, and nonfiction. Other common sizes include 5 by 8 and 5.5 by 8.5 inches for smaller paperbacks, and 8.5 by 11 inches for workbooks and large-format books.

Set the page size first, because margins and layout all depend on it. If you set margins before page size, you will have to redo them.

On Mac: the Layout tab works the same way; choose Size, then Manage Custom Sizes if you need a size that is not listed.

Step 2: Set mirror margins and a gutter for binding

Books are printed on both sides of the page and bound on one edge, so the inside margin (near the spine) needs to be a little wider than the outside margin. This is done with mirror margins, which flip the left and right margins on facing pages so the layout stays correct throughout the book.

Go to Layout, click Margins, then Custom Margins. In the dialog, find the Multiple pages dropdown and choose Mirror margins. The Left and Right labels will change to Inside and Outside.

Set your margins. For a 6 by 9 inch book, reasonable starting margins are 0.75 inch top and bottom, 0.75 inch inside, and 0.625 inch outside. Then add a gutter of about 0.125 to 0.25 inch, which is extra space on the binding edge so no text is lost in the spine. The thicker your book, the larger the gutter should be, because thicker books curve more at the spine.

If your book has very few pages, a small gutter is fine. If it runs several hundred pages, lean toward the larger end.

Step 3: Choose a readable book font

Most printed books use a serif font for the body text, because serifs guide the eye along the line and are comfortable for long reading. Good choices include Garamond, Caslon, Minion, Georgia, and Cambria. Avoid sans-serif fonts like Arial or Calibri for body text, since they are harder to read in long passages on paper.

Set your body text to your chosen font at 11 or 12 point. Select all your text, or set it in the Normal style so it applies throughout. Keep your font choices simple: one serif font for body text, and optionally one complementary font for chapter titles. Too many fonts make a book look amateur.

Step 4: Set your line spacing and paragraph style

Printed books use specific paragraph formatting that differs from how most people type on screen. Two conventions matter most.

First, use a first-line indent to start each new paragraph, not a blank line between paragraphs. To set this, select your text, open the paragraph settings, and under Indentation set Special to First line at about 0.25 inch. Set spacing before and after paragraphs to zero. The indent alone signals a new paragraph.

Second, the very first paragraph of each chapter, and the first paragraph after any section break, traditionally has no indent. So you indent every paragraph except the first one under a heading.

For line spacing, books use moderate leading, roughly 1.15 to 1.3 times the font size. In the paragraph settings, set line spacing to Multiple at 1.15 or 1.2. Avoid double spacing, which is for manuscript submission, not finished books. Justify your text (align to both margins) for the clean block look of a printed page.

Step 5: Style your chapter headings

Use Word's built-in Heading 1 style for your chapter titles. This does two useful things: it keeps your chapter titles consistent, and it lets Word build an automatic table of contents from them later.

Type your chapter title, then apply the Heading 1 style from the Home tab's style gallery. To change how chapter titles look, right-click the Heading 1 style, choose Modify, and set the font, size, and alignment you want. Centered chapter titles are common in books. You can also set the style to start each chapter on a new page automatically by choosing, in the paragraph settings for the style, Page break before.

Styling chapter titles with Heading 1 is what makes the automatic table of contents possible, so it is worth doing even if you like the default look.

Step 6: Add page numbers and running headers

Page numbers help readers and are expected in printed books. Go to the Insert tab, click Page Number, and choose a position, usually bottom center or bottom outside corner. Word will number every page automatically.

A running header, the small line of text at the top of each page showing the book title or author name, is optional but gives a professional finish. Double-click the top margin to open the header area and type your text. Many books put the book title on one side and the author name or chapter title on the other, using different headers for left and right pages.

One refinement: front matter pages like the title page and copyright page usually have no page number or running header. You can achieve this with section breaks, telling Word to start numbering at your first chapter. This is an advanced step; if you are using our template, it is already set up this way.

Step 7: Add your front matter

Front matter is the set of pages at the start of a book before the main text. A typical printed book includes, in order: a title page with the book title and author, a copyright page with the copyright notice and ISBN, an optional dedication, and a table of contents.

For the table of contents, place your cursor where you want it, go to the References tab, click Table of Contents, and choose an automatic style. Word builds it from your Heading 1 chapter titles. After you finish writing, right-click the table and choose Update Field to refresh the page numbers.

Our template includes all of these front matter pages already laid out, so you can see the order and replace the placeholder text.

Step 8: Export a print-ready PDF

Printers, including YourBookPress, want a PDF, not a Word file, because a PDF locks in your formatting, fonts, and layout so nothing shifts. Once your book is formatted, export it as a PDF.

Go to File, then Save As (or Export), and choose PDF as the file type. Before saving, make sure your fonts are embedded so they display correctly. In Word, the standard PDF export embeds fonts automatically in most cases. Save the PDF, open it, and check that every page looks right: trim size correct, margins even, no text running into the spine, page numbers in place.

That PDF is what you upload to print your book.

What about bleed?

Bleed is extra artwork that extends past the trim line so that color or images reach the edge of the page after cutting. If your book interior is text only, with white margins, you do not need bleed for the interior. If you have images or color that reach the edge of the page, you do need bleed, and Word does not handle bleed well.

For a full explanation of bleed and how to handle it, see our guide on what bleed is and how to add it to your file. For most text-only books formatted in Word, you can skip bleed entirely.

Is Microsoft Word good enough for book formatting?

Yes, for many books. Word is perfectly capable of formatting a clean, professional novel, memoir, or nonfiction book with text and simple images. Millions of self-published books have been formatted in Word.

Word has limits for complex layouts. If your book has heavy design, full-bleed images on every page, intricate typography, or precise image placement, dedicated layout software like Adobe InDesign or Affinity Publisher gives more control. But for a standard text-driven book, Word does the job, especially when you start from a properly set up template.

A note on booklets and the Book Fold setting

If you are not formatting a manuscript for professional printing but instead want to print and fold a small booklet on your own printer, Word has a Book Fold option under Layout, Margins, Custom Margins, Multiple pages. This rearranges pages so they fold into a booklet. That is a different task from formatting a book for professional printing, and most authors preparing a book to be printed and bound do not use it. For a book you are sending to a printer, follow the steps above instead.

Quick checklist before you send your file

Frequently asked questions about formatting a book in Word