Smashwords Style Guide

by Mark Coker

  Are Styles for You? As mentioned in the heading for this step, the Heading Style is optional. One advantage of using a specially defined paragraph style is that it gives you more control over the look of the text. For example, your Normal paragraph style might define 12pt Times New Roman, but maybe you want your headings to be 14pt Helvetica Bold Italics and centered. Although you could manually alter each Normal heading to reflect the formatting you want, it’s time consuming, and also prone to error if you forget to implement everything consistently. By defining each heading the Heading style, you can automatically apply the style to that heading, and then if you decide you want to change the style later, you can do it just once and it’ll update all your headings.

  To implement, highlight your chapter headings and then select a heading style, such as Heading 2. This can make ToC-building easier in step 20 below. If you want to modify your Heading to have different characteristics, such as a different font size, or alignment, see Step 7 above which tells you how to modify your paragraph styles.

  Be careful with the Heading style, though, because if you use it in the wrong place, the beneficial page breaks I mentioned above will become an annoying formatting error that makes your book difficult to read. Only apply the Heading style to a single sentence, and NEVER across more than two paragraph returns in a row, otherwise you’ll have one paragraph per page (Bad). Also don’t use the Heading style for body copy, or for your table of contents at the top of the book.

  Step 19a: Naming your Chapters: If you name your chapters starting with the word “Chapter,” Meatgrinder will automatically detect the word and build useful navigation links into your EPUB file. Technically, it’s called an “NCX” file. NCX stands for Navigation Control file for XML. See the screen shot below. The book is Raven Memory (a well-formatted book, by the way) from Smashwords author David G. Shrock, and the screen shot shows his book in Adobe Digital Editions, a popular and important e-reading app. At left, you can see the automatically created table of contents (the NCX). I like to think of the NCX as a meta-ToC, since the file and the navigation actually reside outside the book, but point back into it (What you know as an EPUB file is really a zipped combination of multiple files of which the .NCX is only one). Mr Shrock used the Normal paragraph style and centered it for his chapter heading. Although he didn’t do it this example, he could have easily named his chapter something like “Chapter 2: The Joys of Ebook Formatting,” and that string would have appeared in the NCX file as well. A well-formed NCX file adds useful navigation for your reader. In addition to the NCX, which is auto-generated by Meatgrinder, you should also consider building a linked Table of Contents inside the book. See the next step below to understand how the linked ToC is right for you, and how it’s different from the .NCX.

  Simply by preceding your Chapter headings with the Word “Chapter,” Smashwords will generate useful navigation for your EPUB file

  Step 20. Creating a Hyperlinked Table of Contents. A Table of Contents (ToC) makes it easy for your reader to see, at-a-glance, the major chapters and sections of your book. Unlike the automatically generated NCX, described above, you will manually build your ToC inside your manuscript.

  Before you begin: 1. If you already have a ToC, make sure it doesn’t have page number references. Page numbers are irrelevant to ebooks because the page count of your book will change based on the size of the screen, the size of the font the reader selects, or even how the reader holds their ereading device (on the iPhone, for example, a book might be 200 pages in portrait mode [holding vertically] and 350 pages if they hold the phone horizontally in landscape mode). 2. Make sure you didn’t previously build your ToC using Word’s auto-ToC generation feature, found in Word 2007 at References: Table of Contents. For your Smashwords ToC, you’ll use the Insert: Bookmark feature, and the Insert: Hyperlink feature.

  Do you need a linked Table of Contents? If you write non-fiction, odds are yes, you should do a linked Table of Contents, especially if your book is organized into named chapters or sections. By adding a linked ToC, you add value to your book by making your book more accessible to your reader. Readers can easily click in their e-reading device to jump from one place to another (a powerful feature not available in print!). This is especially useful for non-fiction. Even some fiction can benefit from it, especially if you have named chapters or sections. However, if your chapters are only labeled, “Chapter 1, Chapter 2, or 1, 2, 3” there’s little need for a ToC.

  If you follow the instructions below, your linked ToC will work in our most important formats of EPUB, MOBI and PDF, but it will not work in our other formats such as the HTML or Javascript readers.

  How to create a linked Table of Contents. My thanks to Smashwords author Cheryl Anne Gardner for conducting the initial research which served as the foundation for this section. I have augmented her recommendations based on my own experience adding a ToC to the Style Guide (woo hoo!) and have updated it to address common issues I’ve observed from other Smashwords authors and publishers.

  First, create your table of contents where you want it by typing it out. This is usually at the start of your book, immediately following your title and copyright pages, and preceding the start of your prologue or first chapter. As you type out your ToC items, make sure your text is in the Normal paragraph style, just like the rest of your Smashwords document. DO NOT do your ToC in Heading style.

  Here’s what your ToC might look like:

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 – The Beginning

  Chapter 2 – The Middle

  Chapter 3 – More in the Middle

  Chapter 4 – The Final Chapter

  Etc.

  You can left-justify it (as I did above) or center it using Word’s center button. Never indent your ToC more than one inch.

  Next, we are going to use Word’s Insert: Bookmark feature.

  Think of the bookmark as your target – it’s what you want to link to. It’s the destination for the reader after they click the link.

  Later, after you add each bookmark you’ll link to it from somewhere else, and in this case that “somewhere else” is most likely the Table of Contents listing at the top of your book. So, first you’ll tag the chapter headings in your body as Bookmarks, and next you’ll return to your ToC and add the links to the bookmarks.

  ADDING BOOKMARKS:

  If prior to starting your ToC linking adventure, you changed your chapter and section headings to one of the Heading paragraph styles, such as Heading 2, then these headings will probably appear as bookmarks when you go to select a target during the hyperlinking process. I’ve heard reports that you shouldn’t link to these Headings, yet in my experiments they seem to work just fine, so if you want to save time, link to the Headings and test it. Otherwise, read on to learn how to easily add your Bookmarks.

  In Word 2000, 2003 and 2007, the Bookmark function is under the Insert tab. Go through your document, and at each Chapter Start or Indexed item, you will highlight the words and then select Insert: Bookmark. Name your bookmark corresponding to the Chapter/Indexed item and then click add. It’s very important to use the first word of your heading you’re linking to, because later on, when you add the hyperlinks to these bookmark targets, Word displays the bookmark shortcuts in alphabetical order.

  Bookmarks cannot have spaces or odd characters. If you labeled your ToC “Table of Contents” as I did, then when you insert the bookmark, name the bookmark “TableofContents,” one word, or “toc.”

  With my bookmarks, I found I didn’t label them properly the first time through, so it was tough to link to the correct bookmark. If you want to link to a chapter named How to Publish Ebooks, I’d recommend naming your bookmark something like “HowToPublishEbooks” to make it easy to locate. If you instead name it, “ebooks,” you’ll frazzle your brain and make mistakes.

  Repeat the process above for every Chapter heading in your body as well as for other matter in the book like index, bibliography, epilogue, prologue,
etc. I didn’t link to every section in the Style Guide, because otherwise the ToC would have been three pages long. This is your call.

  Next, return to your table of contents at the top of your book and highlight the phrase “Table of Contents.” Click Insert, Bookmark, and label this last bookmark something like “ToC”. This will allow you to link all your Chapter headings in the body of your book back up to the top of the Table of Contents.

  LINKING TO BOOKMARKS

  Next, add the hyperlinks to your Chapter starts. In your table of contents, if Chapter 1 is called Chapter 1, then highlight Chapter 1 and then click insert Hyperlink. As you can see in the Style Guide, I tried to use more descriptive labels. In Word’s Hyperlink menu on the left hand side, select “Place in this document.” You will now see your bookmarks listed in the main window.

  Select Chapter1 bookmark (or whatever you labeled it) and then click ok. Repeat this procedure for every chapter or item in the table of contents that you want to have a clickable link.

  LINKING BODY PARTS BACK UP TO THE TOP

  Now you can link your chapter and section headings in your body back up to the table of contents. This makes it easy for the reader to jump back up to the top of book. From your ToC, click on the link to jump to your chapter or section heading. In Word 2000, you just click, but in later versions you have to press on the CTRL key before you click.

  Move through your document to each indexed item or Chapter start and highlight it. Then click Insert: Hyperlink, and then select “Place in this document.” When the bookmarks are showing in the main window, select the bookmark labeled “TableofContents,” assuming that’s what you named your Table of Contents. Do this for each and every chapter and or indexed item.

  Note that you can link any part of your book to any bookmark. This makes it possible to link between sections, or to manually create linked footnotes, endnotes or indexes.

  TESTING: WALKING THE WALK WITH YOUR TOC

  After you are finished, all your links will be underlined. Carefully test every single link in your book to make sure they’re operating properly. As I mentioned above, in some versions of Word you can just click your mouse on the link, and in other versions you need to press the CTRL key at the same time you click.

  Warning: After you create your bookmarks and link to them, if you edit the names of the bookmarks, or edit the linked text, you might damage the viability of your links. Even if the links work in your Word document, they may not work in the final ebook. If you discover this to be the case after you publish, then you may need to remove all your intra-document hyperlinks and bookmarks and reapply them (I made this mistake while creating this new edition of the Style Guide!).

  Reminder: Word has an automatic ToC generation feature under the reference tab that uses field codes. Do not use this. It uses automated headings and formatting to generate the ToC and this will un-normalize your text and cause font conversion issues in your Smashwords files.

  Step 21. Front Matter (Important!!!)

  Front matter is stuff that goes on the first and second page of your book.

  21a. (Optional) Blurbs

  Note: Front-of-the-book blurbs (testimonials) are not required for inclusion in the Smashwords Premium Catalog. In fact, there’s a potential downside to this step. If you add too much testimonial content to the front of your book, it can actually decrease readership because the reader doesn’t want to flip multiple pages to start reading. If you add blurbs, keep them brief.

  If you add blurbs, put them at the very front of the book, before the Title & Copyright page (see below). If your book has received rave reviews from readers, consider adding a couple short snippets on the first page, so readers who sample your book will feel more inclined to purchase it. These should be real, honest reviews. If you falsify the reviews and your reader feels tricked, they may seek retribution by giving you a bad review on Smashwords.

  Here’s how self-publishing guru Dan Poynter begins his Smashwords book, “Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual Volume 2” (view it at https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/607/1/the-self-publishing-manual-volume-2):

  What others are saying about The Self-Publishing Manual

  “Poynter is at his best when discussing such specifics as starting one’s own publishing house; dealing with printers; establishing discount, credit, and return policies; promoting, advertising, and selling a book; and order fulfillment.”

  -- Publishers Weekly

  “As usual, our self-publishing guru, Dan Poynter, is on the cutting edge of the New Book Publishing Model. Volume II couldn't come at a better time...when we so desperately need it!”

  --Ellen Reid, www.bookshepherding.com

  21b. Title and Copyright Page (REQUIRED)

  Back to top

  On the first page of your book (unless you add the blurbs above), insert a title and copyright page. This page will look best if you center it.

  This page is required to publish at Smashwords. The copyright portion should be in English, even if the rest of your book is written in another language (it’s okay to list it in the book’s language too).

  This page is where you identify yourself as the author and claim copyright ownership of your book (if you’re not the original author, or you’re not the exclusive publisher or distributor of this book, your book does not belong on Smashwords. Public domain books are not allowed unless you are the original author. Private Label Rights articles and other similarly scammy works are not allowed).

  Tip: Your title/copyright page is the first impression you make on your reader. Make it look professional. Center the title and copyright page using Word’s center command (the button is in your toolbar), and do not use any indents on this page. Also make the text “Normal” paragraph style, and don’t use more than two different font sizes (looks ugly).

  A title/copyright page requires the following:

  Book Title

  Authorname

  Published by Firstname Lastname [or PublisherName] at Smashwords

  (or, alternatively, if you don’t want to use the “Published by...” line, add the words, Smashwords Edition on the next line. No need to do both.)

  Copyright 2010 Authorname

  (optional:)Discover other titles by [insert your author name] at Smashwords.com (or, link to your author page at Smashwords).

  (Optional: if you have multiple titles at Smashwords, write:)

  Discover other titles by Authorname at Smashwords.com:

  Title 1 - hyperlink *

  Title 2 - hyperlink

  Title 3 -hyperlink

  * Remember to make the hyperlinks “live” by highlighting the text you want to hyperlink, right-mouse click on the text, then follow the steps to insert the hyperlink. Remember, all web addresses here must begin with http:// otherwise the address won’t be clickable. Make it easy for your readers to learn more about you.

  Do not write "Published by Amazon" or “Kindle Edition,” or “Ebook available in the Apple iBookstore” otherwise it won’t qualify for the Premium Catalog.

  As a courtesy to ebook retailers who promote and sell your Smashwords Premium Catalog titles, please restrict your hyperlinks to only your Smashwords author page and book pages, or your personal home page or blog. Please do not add hyperlinks to online ebook retailers that may compete with current or future Smashwords retail distribution partners. It’s not considerate, for example, if to advertise your Kindle ebook in your ebook sold at Barnes & Noble. Such advertising will only serve to alienate your retail partners, confuse your customers, and will cause a retailer to remove your book from their catalog.

  Don’s write, “Printed in the United States,”, because this is your Smashwords ebook, not your print edition.

  Avoid long copyright pages. Shorter is better because it allows the reader to start reading your book faster.

  Here’s the world’s shortest Smashwords title/copyright page:

  Formatting is Fun

  Published by Mark Coker at Smashword
s

  Copyright 2010 Mark Coker

  Your ebook is published by you (the author or publisher) at Smashwords. It should say either Smashwords Edition on the copyright page, or "Published by [Authorname] at Smashwords," (remove the quote marks), or, if you’re a multi-author publisher, Published by [the name of the publisher publishing it on Smashwords] at Smashwords. Although some Smashwords authors consider Smashwords their publisher, we consider you the publisher. Smashwords is your ebook publishing and distribution platform. We’re your distributor, and we’re honored you’ve entrusted us to help you publish and distribute your ebook.