If you’ve written a fiction book that is a compilation of short stories, please use the following guidelines to apply the final formatting touches to your book. Please read each guideline carefully to be sure your book complies.

Table of Contents: A table of contents is necessary. Each short story should be a separate chapter, and the chapter titles should be same as the titles of the stories. *Chapters should not be numbered. Please do not include page numbers (since these will change) or Xs to hold the place of future page numbers. This will be taken care of at a later stage in production.

*Please refer to the “Begin here” page for how to format chapter titles.

Incorrect:

Table of Contents

Leap Frogs………………………………………….…XX

Jumping Jacks ………………………….……………..XX

Geldings and Stallions……….……………………….XX

Spiders in the Attic..……..…………………………….XX

The Spelling Bee…….………………….……………XX

Jordan’s Victory…..……………………………………XX

Kaleidoscope………..….……………………………..XX

Correct:

Table of Contents

Leap Frogs

Jumping Jacks

Geldings and Stallions

Spiders in the Attic

The Spelling Bee

Jordan’s Victory

Kaleidoscope

Narrative Breaks: If your book contains narrative breaks—a symbol and space between paragraphs to signify a scene change within a chapter—replace these breaks with five Xs (XXXXX) on its own line. Our graphic designers will search the manuscript specifically for five Xs and replace with the appropriate design element.

Xs should only be used when there is a scene change without reasonable transition. For instance, a new paragraph that begins “The next morning…” does not need a narrative break before it. “The next morning” is a sufficient transition and does not constitute a scene break. Scene breaks are needed for abrupt transitions or when the point of view is changing within the chapter. An example is provided below.

Karen knew John didn’t have long. She knew she needed to say her goodbyes while she still could.

XXXXX

John lay in his hospital bed thinking about the long life he’d led and how much happiness he’d had. He knew he was ready to let go, but he was trying to hang on for Karen. He didn’t want to slip away before she got to say goodbye.

BACKMATTER

The term backmatter refers to the text that will appear on the back cover of your book. This always includes a short teaser about the book and an author bio about yourself. Sometimes this can include endorsements, but endorsements are never necessary. Please be aware that because of limited space available on the back cover, backmatter must adhere to specific word count limits depending on the length of the manuscript. Typically, these are what those limits are:

Manuscript length: 0–20,000 words → Backmatter length: 200-250 words

Manuscript length: 20,001–80,000 words → Backmatter length: 225–275 words

Manuscript length: 80,001–up → Backmatter length: 300–325 words

Teaser: Your teaser should be a short paragraph that immediately hooks the reader by providing a small amount of information about what can be found in the book. A teaser should include the name of the book at least once and may or may not include the author’s name. In the editing phase of production, your editor will work with you, using the teaser you provide, to revise and refine it. Your editor may only use elements of the teaser you submit to make the back cover as marketable and intriguing as possible while adhering to the word count limit.

Sample Teaser:

How we handle hardships determines much of who we are. It’s Tough Growing Up: Children’s Stories of Courage will comfort youths with the knowledge that they are not alone with their problems and that others before them have wrestled with similar difficulties. The stories in It’s Tough Growing Up are written by adults who used to be the readers’ ages and who had difficulties much like any normal adolescent or teenager. From encountering a bully at school to dealing with leukemia, the authors want readers to know that they will triumph no matter what battles they have to fight.

Author Bio: Your author bio should be a short paragraph that provides information about yourself as the author. This can include but is not limited to: work experience, field experience that pertains to the subject matter of the book, education experience and achievements, current place of residence, and family information. Your editor may also work with you to revise the author bio to make it relevant and interesting and, again, adhere to the backmatter word count limits.

Sample Bio:

Brian Godwin lives in Melkbosstrand, a seaside town north of Cape Town in South Africa. He reads weekly to a group of people at a frail-care clinic. He is also involved with his church, where his stories are used to teach Sunday school.

ENDORSEMENTS

Endorsements are never necessary, but if you have one or two to include, please click the Endorsements link and follow the guidelines provided there. If your endorsement(s) cannot meet the criteria set forth in the guidelines, please revise it or omit it.

Congratulations! You’ve finished the last formatting step! Please proceed by clicking the Submit Your Manuscript link at the top of the page.