Novel Writing Programs

 

This is a sample page from a program called LibreOffice. I use it because it's a free download, but there are more capable ones like the Microsoft office suite. That one gives you the doc files that can upload anywhere. With LibreOffice, you must convert to rich text format (rtf) or pdf, but it's all there in the task bar.

The fancy first letter is called drop caps, which you can set as large as you want, then toggle off. Page size is set for 6x9, the most popular paperback format if you go that route. It works equally well for ebooks. The best thing about these programs is that what you see on screen is exactly how it looks in the published work. Sometimes with rtf, though, the drop caps appear as ordinary letters. 

Another consideration is making a backup copy to cd in case your computer crashes. Text size is 12 point Times New Roman. Some publishers make a title page and table of contents for you. I find it's best not to use page  numbering, because unpredictable things can happen if they get shifted. 

Margins are set to 0.8 on both sides (be sure to use 'mirror' on the page setup, since it will keep the margins the same). This is about right for a 200 page book. For larger page counts, the publisher has a calculation for setting a wider margin. That keeps your text from running right down into the divider due to margins set too narrow. 

So get your epic on disk--it's the first step to one day holding that book in your hands.