How to Set Up Word to Format for a Book Page for Publishing

1. Go to the 'Start' menu and create a 'New' document. Click on the 'Home' ribbon and open the 'Paragraph' command on the ribbon bar. Set your alignment, line spacing and any special indents here. The typical settings for book publication are left justified for alignment, double for line spacing and 0.5 for special indents. On the 'Font' command, set your font to a typical book publishing font. Times New Roman, Courier and Georgia are popular choices. Word 2007's Constantia is ideal for digital text.
2. Choose the 'Page Layout' ribbon and under the 'Page Setup' command set your page margins to one inch on all sides. This is typical for book publishing preparation.
3. Set up your chapters by marking the chapter title as 'Heading 1' on the home ribbon. This will make the font color blue. Go to the 'Font' command and change the color back to black. By marking your chapter headings in this way, you will be able to do an automatic table of contents later on.
4. Go to the 'Insert' ribbon and select the 'Page Numbers' command. Select the page numbering style you wish to have for your book. Go to the 'Blank Page' command and insert a blank page at the start of your document for dedication and copyright information.
5. Save this entire file as a template so you don't need to do it over again for your next book. To do this, use the 'Save As' command on the 'Start' button and select 'Word Template.' Name it something like Book Manuscript. It will then be available to you for other sessions.