Appearance of Word doc with block paragraphs

[marieruralliving2day]

First ebook for Smashwords...

I have tried to follow the Smashwords guide but have a question about the block paragraph formatting. Basically, should I see paragraph spacing on the Word doc?

My document appears like this:

The last line of each paragraph has the pilcrow symbol backwards P at the end of it, after the end punctuation period, question mark, or exclamation mark. No space between punctuation and pilcrow.
The next paragraph begins at the left margin on the next line. There is no space between paragraphs.

I should NOT enter another return, correct?

Does Meatgrinder apply the spacing (from the "6 pt after" designation in the paragraph box)?

Should we be able to see the paragraph spacing on the Word doc? Any way to doublecheck that the formatting is correct?

Thanks for any help

Marie

[Julie Harris]

From the Smashwords style guide:

Whether you use the first line indent method or the block method, make sure the “Line Spacing” is set to Single” or “1.5” and under the “At:” heading it should always remain blank.

Is your book fiction with dialogue or non fiction? If fiction with dialogue, the first line indent way is easier to read.

PM me if you would like some help.
Julie.

[marieruralliving2day]

Jules, thank you but it seems I'm not allowed to PM yet.

My book is nonfiction and set in block paragraphs. The line spacing is fine--it's the paragraph spacing I'm wondering about. Is the space supposed to show on the Word document? The trailing spacing is set to 6 pt after as in the Smashwords guide.

Thanks,
Marie

[Julie Harris]

Six points is just enough to differentiate one paragraph from another. How much space would you rather see between paragraphs? If you feel that 6 points after is not enough, try 6 points before as well. This should make the paras stand out a little more.

When I'm creating a centred style for sequence breaks I always have spacing before/after applied and it hasn't failed me, so maybe you can try that. Let me know how it goes. You will see the effects in your Word document. Once you get the spacing you are happy with, remember to update the style - this will save you from having to repeat the action over and over.

[David Ellis]

The block style in fiction bugs me. It may be just me, but I thought I would throw that out there. It is a bit off-putting for me since it adds so much space and not as much text fills my reader.

[johnchristensen312]

I've had a similar issue. Just downloaded a chapter to test the Smashwords style guide, and after activating Show/Hide and turning off AutoCorrect, setting paragraphs for normal style and choosing first line indent style, I've got one massive, two-page block of text, no paragraphs and one dainty indent at the beginning. 

Which is not exactly what I had in mind. 

I'm new to all this: is what I'm seeing normal?

Thanks,
JC

[Ted]

May 27, 2013 19:28:03 GMT -8 johnchristensen312 said:

I've had a similar issue. Just downloaded a chapter to test the Smashwords style guide, and after activating Show/Hide and turning off AutoCorrect, setting paragraphs for normal style and choosing first line indent style, I've got one massive, two-page block of text, no paragraphs and one dainty indent at the beginning. 

Which is not exactly what I had in mind. 

I'm new to all this: is what I'm seeing normal?

Thanks,
JC

JC, there should be paragraphs and first line indent. Your MSWord doc could be corrupted. You could try LibreOffice, nuking the chapter, or start with the MSWord file you used on Amazon.