Great books still die in ugly files. Formatting is production craft: readable type, sensible hierarchy, stable navigation, and exports that survive KDP and wide distributors. It is not a developmental edit in disguise, and it will not hide a story that is not ready. It will keep a ready book from looking like a draft that escaped.
The process
- Fit check. Trim size, ebook vs print vs both, genre conventions (chapter openers, scene breaks, letters, verse), and whether the words are actually frozen.
- File review. A clean Word manuscript with styles beats a decorated PDF you hope we can “just use.” We will tell you if the source file will multiply cost.
- Written scope. Deliverables (reflowable ebook, print PDF, or both), front/back matter, image handling, revision rounds for layout-only tweaks, and a delivery date.
- Typesetting and export. Hierarchy, running heads, page numbers, TOC, and exports aimed at the stores you named.
- Author proof. You review a proof. Content edits at this stage are expensive; layout notes are the point. Then, ideally, a proofread on the laid-out pages.
Ideal order: developmental or critique → revise → copyedit → format → proof → upload. See the self-publishing editing checklist and when to hire an editor.
Who it is for
Indie and hybrid authors taking a finished, copyedited manuscript to Kindle, KDP paperback, Ingram-style print, or wide ebook distribution. Novels, memoir, and narrative nonfiction with straightforward interiors do best. Heavily illustrated textbooks, full-color children’s spreads, and academic apparatus are a different production desk—we will say so rather than stretch the job.
What you receive
- Ebook interior (reflowable) optimized for major stores
- Print-ready interior PDF to your trim size
- Front/back matter structure: title, copyright, TOC, about the author
- Consistent styles for chapter openers, letters, texts, scene breaks
Cover design is not the interior. If you need a jacket, name it in the inquiry so we can scope it separately or point you elsewhere. Formatting also does not include developmental notes or a copyedit—those are earlier hires.
When not to buy this
- The story is still moving. Formatting a moving target multiplies cost.
- You have not copyedited (or equivalent). You will pay to reflow after the language pass.
- You want us to “fix the writing” inside InDesign. That is editing, and it belongs in Word first.
- You only need a last typo hunt on a file that is already well laid out—buy proofreading, not a reformat.
- You need a children’s picture-book spread designer or a full-bleed illustrated art book. Different craft.
Before you format: finish content edits. The cheap time to change Chapter 12 is before anyone has paginated it.
How it is priced
Formatting is a production job, not a per-word editorial pass. Quotes follow trim size, ebook vs print vs both, notes/images/verse, and how clean the source file is. Editorial market ranges (critique $0.008–$0.018, proof $0.01–$0.02, copy $0.018–$0.035, developmental $0.03–$0.06 per word) are useful for the rest of the budget; they are not a formatting rate card. Use the editing cost calculator to reserve copyedit and proof money, read how much book editing costs, then ask for a formatting quote with trim size and word count attached.
FAQ
Should I format before the copyedit?
No. Finish content edits first. Formatting a moving target multiplies cost. Ideally: developmental or critique, then copyedit, then format, then proof.
What files do I receive?
As scoped: a reflowable ebook interior for major stores and/or a print-ready interior PDF at your trim size, plus front and back matter structure. Cover design is a separate job unless we have scoped it.
Are Kindle and print the same file?
No. A reflowable ebook and a print PDF are different productions. They can share a typesetting plan and styles, but they are not a single export with the label swapped.
Do you design book covers?
Cover design is not interior formatting. If you need a cover, say so in the inquiry and we will tell you whether that work is in scope or a separate hire. Do not treat a formatted PDF as a jacket.
When should I hire book formatting?
After the copyedit is implemented and you are not planning further story surgery. Proofreading is most useful after layout, so format when the words are stable—then proof, then upload.