conflicting indications

[agasfer]

I know these questions are handled in the Smashwords Style Guide, but other sites purporting to summarize them make me wonder. Also I could have simply overlooked the right answer in the Style Guide, for which I ask forgiveness in advance.

 First, the margins are supposed to be left at "Normal". Fine. But then a site said that big margins make the text look silly, and recommended a one-inch (2.5 cm.) left-margin. (No one seems to talk about the right margin.) The Normal margins on my version of Word are 1.25 inch for left and right, and one-inch for top and bottom. Should I ignore the advice about one-inch margins?

Secondly, Smashwords says that one may choose either paragraph indenting or block style (but not both) for paragraph separation.  I looked around for what is best, ; one site says that "block style is standard at Smashwords", but I don't see any indication of that... to the contrary, I see most books choosing indenting. Should I figure that the person is talking through her hat?

Thirdly, Smashwords says that one should hit the spacebar twice to separate chapters. Does this put the new chapter on a new page?

Fourthly, I am not sure what to do if I separate my book into two parts. Any advice?

Thanks.

[Ted]

I'd stick with the Smashwords Style Guide.

Ereader files don't really have 'pages' as all text just flows to fit the screen of the device being used. I simply center the following 'Chapter' on the next line, make it bold, and set it as a bookmark for when I make the TOC. Other members have their preferences too, so you'll likely get a variety of opinions.

[Ria Stone]

Jul 13, 2016 21:00:25 GMT -8 agasfer said:

I know these questions are handled in the Smashwords Style Guide, but other sites purporting to summarize them make me wonder. Also I could have simply overlooked the right answer in the Style Guide, for which I ask forgiveness in advance.

 First, the margins are supposed to be left at "Normal". Fine. But then a site said that big margins make the text look silly, and recommended a one-inch (2.5 cm.) left-margin. (No one seems to talk about the right margin.) The Normal margins on my version of Word are 1.25 inch for left and right, and one-inch for top and bottom. Should I ignore the advice about one-inch margins?

--I understand your confusion about using "normal", but I use heading, body, footer and other styles and in the format box, for each style I put the body text style in "style for following paragraph", seems to work.---

Secondly, Smashwords says that one may choose either paragraph indenting or block style (but not both) for paragraph separation.  I looked around for what is best, ; one site says that "block style is standard at Smashwords", but I don't see any indication of that... to the contrary, I see most books choosing indenting. Should I figure that the person is talking through her hat?

---Hmmm, When I wrote my cookbook, I used block paragraphs yet some vendors converted them to indents. I used indents in my novel and they appear to be ok. ----

Thirdly, Smashwords says that one should hit the spacebar twice to separate chapters. Does this put the new chapter on a new page?

--Not sure I know of that technique, I thought inserting page breaks followed by the heading style was the preferred method to distinguish chapters. A page break creates a new page.--

Fourthly, I am not sure what to do if I separate my book into two parts. Any advice?

--Hmm, I assume you want to create a mini-series? If you create a series, each part is a separate ebook even if they are a continuation of the story. Series are popular. --


Good Luck


Thanks.

[chelsfield]

Agree with Ria about the page break. I am always wrestling with what a page consists of, as ereaders just don't 'naturally' operate according to pages, as Ted has said. I chop my non-fiction up according to sections and chapters. Sometmes, it's best to let the ereading software determine where the page will break. But other times it is best to force a break. It's like a pause for the reader, to think about what happened and what's going to happen. It can create anticipation.

So whether you use a page break or not depends on what's on the page, the flow of the text, and how you want the reader to experience the content...

[Julie Harris]

I always put a page break into the modified heading style used for chapters.
Block text works for non fiction. First line indent of 0.3 for fiction. It's difficult to read dialogue that isn't indented.
Space bar alone does not force a break. Unless you know the keyboard shortcut, use the insert menu.