How to Format Your Children’s Book Manuscript

Children’s book writing is one of the favorite genres to write among authors. Sadly, writers get way too excited and assume it’s relatable to doodling on the wall. They think that books for kids don’t require any formatting. But things get pretty dramatic for them when they realize that children’s book configurations are no joke. These are some pivotal harnesses you need to knot with your story. Hence, it’s better to learn about different structuring methods to convert your crude manuscript into something publish-worthy.

Furthermore, writing books for the young blood requires dedication and years of imagination. It is a fact that we live in a world where ABCs have grown larger than life. Now everyone wants to listen to a story than these tedious strong of 26-letters. The world has become collectively mature. To the extent that even children’s book ghostwriting services have become a money-spinning amenity for writing companies.

Besides, hundreds and thousands of entries are sent to literary agents and publishing houses every day. It indicates that the competition for writing books for kids matters on every side of the dices. Hence, maneuver them shrewdly in the fist to drop the six figures — both for a perfect book formatting score and your salary. Pretty rewarding, isn’t it?!

1. Name Your File And Save It

Save the File to save the day! Breathtaking imaginations only take a whiff of winds and spur of the moments to come by. Therefore, you should stack up pieces of information you collect in your mind. As well, name your File (s) accordingly. Creating multiple folders and files for specific subjects/chapters is better. Every children’s book ghostwriting agency use this technique to ensure a smooth flow of information from the colossal clients’ database.

Gather all your thoughts, ideas, and concepts securely on your computer’s hard disk. You can also save your .doc files into a USB and keep that in your cupboard. Your computer is a machine, and anything can go wrong with it. So, it’s better to create multiple backups of your NEXT BIG story.

In addition, you can create a hierarchy for saving your plot. For instance, you can start writing your drafts in the notebook, type them in MS Word, keep them on a hard disk, then upload them on your USB.

2. Restructure Page Format If Required

Once you have saved your files and designated them with particular titles, now it’s time to streamline page formats. You can go with standard page formatting if your client hasn’t specified any submission “book manuscript” reforming guidelines with you. But, you should connect with your customers and communicate specific instructions with them. Otherwise, run the page format settings as below:

• Letter Size (8.5” x 11”) for the US and Canada; and
• A4 (210 × 297mm) for any other territory.

Make sure each side of the page has a margin gap of at least one inch. Don’t create vague cascades of lines or lessen the page size to hide your word count. Be honest and pitch-perfect when it comes to page formatting. Besides, literary agents and book publishers are vigilantly sharp-eyed when catching howlers and “pointless” hidden text.

Google Docs and MS Word formats are ideal for writing books. You can click on the options layout and click size in MS Word. In Google Docs, you need to click on File then maneuver settings on the Page Setup taskbar as per your requirement. Besides, a reputable Children’s book ghostwriting company favors manuscripts written with these two tools instead of other fancy ones.

3. Use Simple Font Styles

Never start scribbling down words and phrases and feel as great as the likes of Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl, or Beverly Cleary. Times New Roman (12pt size) is the universally accepted font, yet, as old as its respective civilization when writing books for kids. Days are gone when it was all about how whimsical, funny, and entertaining your story was for the readers.

Now the scrawling rivalry has hit its all-time high. Thus, different writing techniques and font styles apply to children’s book ghostwriting. Now it’s all about the visionary depth of the story. No wonder mesmerizing texts and typography can add flairs and stir awe-inspiring imaginations into the readers’ minds.

4. Add Essential Information Of The First Page

Do not forget to mention essential information on the first page of your children’s book. Enlist details such as your name, address, email address, and contact number on the top-left corner. But if you have a literary agent hired for correcting incongruities and other wrong impressions in your book. They will be the ones that will mention the specified information in the prologue. Therefore, you should put your personal information on the preface and talk it out with your agent if he asserts his details.

5. Add An Eye-Catchy Book Title

Your book format is incomplete if you do not develop a catchy title. Now track yourself to the center of the page, and move down about three inches from the details you wrote down. It’s better that you strike down your title with capital letters. Type an imaginative heading that moves heads eagerly. After all, the title is to captivate the minds of your readers. Thus, create a good “solid” one to cross over their expectations. Create a title that’s heavy-handed and has a great “moving” story to tell. Good luck!

6. Proficiently Format Your Book’s Body

Never feel desperate to start your children’s book too early on. You must also follow the format procedures for your book’s central matter. Most of the format you did beforehand was all static, but now you need to be extra careful. When you start typing your book’s body, you will move from single-spacing to the double-spacing method. Some of the book formatting techniques are as follows:

• ‘Format’ then ‘Line spacing’ in Google Docs, or
• ‘Home’ and then the ‘Line and Paragraph Spacing’ key in Word.

Besides that, you need to adhere to the policies below for writing your children’s manuscript in the correct format:

• Leave two line spaces or one double space between the byline and the main text.
• Align the first line to the left of the text. Do not add indent.
• After that, indent the first line of every new paragraph by 0.5 inches.
• Do not leave extra lines between passages of the book.
• Justify the text from the left and leave it shabby and muddled from the right side.

For MS Word, you can click on ‘Home’ then click on Normal style. From here, click modify, then tap on the Format button. Here you will paragraph – under Indentation – left 0.5” – Special: First Line. For Google Docs, click format > align & indent > Indentation options > Special: First Line.

7. Align Your Headers

Your page headers should encompass your book’s title. In the same way, you should mention your last name on the left side. The page number should be on the right. Besides, categorizing your pages with numbers allow literary agents and publishers to point down particulars of your book. They can also call you to discuss specific information about your children’s manuscript. Last but not least, always format so that each chapter starts from a new page.