Does formatting still matter?
A former boss of mine was a stickler for formatting, especially the elimination of widows and orphans in our publications.
I humored her but never really saw the point of rewriting text ten times over to account for single words on a line or the odd page break.
What started as an irritation quickly became a habit. Now, thanks to her insistence on this basic premise, these publishing "rules" are ingrained in my production cycle.
Still, with so much of my work being digital, widows and orphans were not on my mind until I prepped my first book for publication.
So many formatting considerations
My first formatting attempt used a basic Microsoft Word setup, and I hated the way it looked in the final publication format.
So, I purchased a pre-packaged template that worked for both Word and Adobe Illustrator. Laid out, the appearance was cleaner and more professional.
But I still had to face a number of issues, like paragraphs bleeding onto the next page, odd hyphenations, and weird visual breaks (i.e., widows and orphans).
For many, especially those in a hurry to get their work to market, this might not be a big deal. For me, it was.
I'm a perfectionist, but that wasn't the main reason I spent so much time formatting my book.
Just as I edit my work to "sound" right, the final product needed to be attractive.
Don't overlook the visual appeal
Self-publishing incorporates multiple processes and decisions. It may be easy to forego the typesetting, especially when sites like Amazon allow you to upload a Word doc instead of a more robust file created with tools like Adobe InDesign.
But the attention you pay to the inside of your book is as important as the cover. I recently purchased a book from Amazon that did not look self-published because the cover was well-done. Imagine my surprise when the book arrived and the text looked like a barely formatted Word document compressed into a smaller page size. The margins and spacing were unattractive, and the font and page breaks did not flow. Worse, the cover was actually upside down.
It was unreadable, and I made a commitment to myself I would do better.
For e-books, there is certainly more leeway with formatting. But as the e-pub output evolves, there is no reason not to brush up on the latest technology and make your product the best it can be before it goes out into the world.
As my own publisher, I get to choose the font, style, and chapter ornaments for my book, as well as whether to force right-side breaks and which tools to use. Having so much say is freeing, yes, but I still keep the reader experience top-of-mind for each decision.
Stand apart from the crowd
The first impression you create with your reader is the most lasting one. This is especially true when you are an unknown author, competing against many other, established professionals.
I don't care what new release the author of that one book comes out with... I won't pay money for anything else of his unless it's clear he's not just slapping something together for a quick release.
How am I supposed to trust the "advice" of someone who can't even be bothered to verify his production files are correct?
While you don’t want to get stuck in a cycle of perfection, there is nothing wrong with spending a little extra time to be sure your product is formatted in a way that is pleasing to the eye. It may be what helps your work stand out from other self-published authors who do not take this extra step.
I went through several formatting versions before uploading my final manuscript. These versions also included another round of editing as I worked within the book's natural margins. Reviewing text for orphans and widows — and making the necessary adjustments to eliminate them — may sound tedious, but it actually helped the story's tempo. I don't regret the time I spent or the cuts I made as part of this review.