3 Benefits of DIY Book Formatting

June 18, 2022

One thing you learn pretty quick about being an author is that is isn’t all about the writing. If you decide to self-publish your book, you have to become a jack-of-all-trades pretty quick. Learning how to edit (and/or find an editor), format, market, and publish your writing.

You have to invest in editing, cover design, research tools, book marketing, and more. So thrifty authors always want to save a dime when they can. Which is why a lot of authors turn to DIY book formatting. Here are three of the benefits of formatting your own book.

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3 Benefits of DIY Book Formatting

1.) Complete Control

One thing a lot of authors want is complete control of their book project, so that’s always the first benefit of DIY book formatting. When you format your own book, you are in complete control.

You aren’t

Waiting on someone else’s timetable.
Hoping it will look the way you pictured it.
Left wondering when you will hear back from a formatter.
Disappointed with results.

Instead, you know

It’s up to you.
Your schedule.
Exactly what you want it to look like.

You know, and you’re in control of the outcome.

2.) Update Anytime

If you know how to format your own book, you can update it anytime.

Did you catch a typo after publication? (It happens to the best of us) – you can just go in and fix it.

Do you want to change your author bio or add a pitch for your next book in the back matter? You can do it.

If you create a lead magnet for your email list and want to add a pitch to the front or back matter, it’s easy peasy.

You aren’t stuck waiting, paying extra, or feeling paralyzed by all the hoops you’ll need to jump through to get something little done.

And if you ever do publish a second book or updated edition of your first one, you’ll know the ins-and-outs of DIY book formatting and you can just get it done.

3.) Save Money

Depending on the program you use to format your book, doing the formatting yourself can save you a ton of money because you’re not always paying someone else to get that done for you.

In addition to paying for the original book formatting, in multiple formats (print, kindle, etc.) if you want to make an updated edition later on, or make any changes, you’ll need to pay to have that formatting altered or re-done altogether. Knowing how to make those changes and not having to pay someone to do it for you can save you a ton of cash.