Scrivener Formatting

After the nightmare of Word formatting, I sincerely thought Scrivener 3 would just be a different headache.

Boy, was I wrong.

It's really just a matter of nailing down your settings, but I'll throw out what I did.

Most of your formatting WILL be in the final Compile setting, so...

Keep a couple things in mind here. If you want to visually separate your scenes with separators, there is a built-in option for that later. If you want to preserve any format choices you make in your Editor options (fonts, etc.) make sure you select all text and Format>Preserve Formatting. Ideally, you will want to create separate files for each distinct category. I'll give you a visual representation at the end of this description, but start with this:

• Parts: Create a folder for each part, if you're using Parts. Later, you can designate the folder as a Part and choose whether it defaults text with "PART ONE: (name of folder)" or just "(name of folder)". If that's confusing, just make sure you name the folder.
• Chapters: If you are using formal chapters, create a subfolder in a Parts folder ( it will indent to the right to show it's in the main folder). Again, you can either name it 'Chapter #:(name of chapter)' or it can add the chapter number and the folder name as you request it.
• Scenes: These will be text files in your chapter folder, if you are using that tier. I only worked with Parts and Scenes for my last book (no formal chapters), but these will be text files with side note sections (any notes or comments you use are omitted by default). As mentioned above, rather than using these to separate just actual scenes, consider using them to frame out any paragraphs that are single-spaced. If you are tempted to double space to change locations or time spans, go ahead and start a new scene instead. Scenes are usually separated by double-space or separators, depending on your options.
• Front/Back Matter: Title page, dedication page, table of contents, etc. Use a separate file for each of these. You will designate these as Front Matter in most cases, but you can drag these to where they need to go prior to compiling. For now, just make sure you have them somewhere.

Visually, this is pretty much the tier I'm describing:

Front matter files (text)

PART FOLDER

          CHAPTER FOLDER

                   Scene (text)

You'll have setting and character folders/files in the default list, but these are also not compiled by default either, so don't worry about them ending up in your converted files accidentally.

Compiling for Print:

Since this is the more involved of the two, we'll start here. Before we hit compile, keep in mind that the first selected page will be a right-facing page. If your front matter has a title page, a copyright page and a dedication, then you will need a blank page to start your text on the right-facing page. Create blank pages with the <$blank_page> tag (I also put it in a new text file labeled 'blank' so I know it's there and can easily not compile it later for ebooks).

When all of your elements are in place, hit Compile in the File menu.

There is a Paperback Book option. Right click on that and Duplicate and Edit Format. Name it what you want. When you're done toggling these options, you can save your options. I'll get to exporting them for later use once you set up the rest. For now, just make sure you choose PDF as the output.

First up, Section Layouts. This is where you can choose what Scrivener shows. You'll see As Is is a frequent option for each section. Choose from Part Headings, Chapter Heading, Scenes, Front Matter. When you hit Compile, you'll see labels to the right of each checked element. Make sure they are all appropriately attached to one of the section types and whatever formats you choose in Section Layouts will adhere to those selections. The layouts will show if they support page breaks, As Is, etc. so just look at the types and choose which ones you want for yours. It's very visual, so there's little chance you'll be confused. There are even Previews in some of these settings options for extra clarification.

Next, Separators. If you want special characters or spaces to display between scenes, this is where it does it for you. Again, self-explanatory, but part of the reason I mentioned how important it is to use your scenes to create sections.

Page Settings. Start with Page Setup and define what sized book you're using. For me, it was 5x8. When you click on Page Setup, it's under Paper Size and Manage Custom Sizes. For margins, you'll need to know what your publisher requires. This will vary by page count. Max page count for KDP is 828. My recent book was at 767, but anything above 701 needs a .875" inner (left) margin. You'll having facing pages set by default. Your minimum margins for all other edges will be .25" (for black and white print). Again, look up the requirements for your page count. If you don't know the page count (you can get an estimate from the Project tab under Statistics), you can always run a test compile to see where you are. If you're a page hog like me, you can reduce font size to lower your page count. For KDP, again, minimum font size is 7 pt, but keep in mind, most people aren't trying to read your book with a magnifying lens anyway so try not to reduce font too much and alienate the visually impaired.

In Page Settings, check out Headers and Footers. By default, it will put your author name on the top of the left page and the Manuscript name on the top of the right. You can go into the page options (Main Body, Facing page, etc.) and manually remove whatever p-tags you don't want. Page number is not defaulted, but honestly, don't. The page numbering doesn't really jibe with margin requirements for self-publishing. I'll tell you how to add page numbers to the PDF later. I got rid of all of the tags, just because their footers aren't really margin friendly. Again, Adobe Acrobat can help here.

I didn't really have a need for any other options. When done, I went ahead and clicked the little gear under the Formats list to Export Format. This will save a file with all of these settings that you can import in other projects, pulling up all of your settings you used here. Name the format, save it where you like to use later.

Once you're ready, Compile. It doesn't take long, even for massive projects, so you can always preview the resulting PDF in Adobe Acrobat and note any changes you need to make in settings. If you exported the format, remember to save it with the updated settings.

As for page numbering, your PDF will have three options on the right side of a toolbar: Tools, Comment Share. Choose the Tools option and you'll see Header and Footer under Edit Page Design. Choose Add Header and Footer on that. For bottom margin, I lowered it to .4 then clicked in the box labeled Center Footer Text. Then you just click on the tab that says Insert Page Number. You can limit the Page Range Options and all that, but I just manually deleted wherever I didn't want the page to be numbered. There are help pages for all of the options, but I'll keep it simple--this will at least guide you in the right direction.

Remember to save the PDF once satisfied. Your final test will be in the submission process, so good luck!

Compiling for Ebook:

Once you've done print, this will be a lot easier.

For this one I just opened a New Format, rather than Duplicate & Edit. I set all Margins to .5", toggled Section Layouts and Page Settings again. Make sure front and back matter is where you want it (most people put all but the title page at the back for an ebook). If you're using D2D, you do NOT need to create a Table of Contents; their system does this automatically and you can hit the "these aren't my chapters! Help!" button to fix any mistakes.

In fact, I highly recommend using D2D to make sure your ebook is all good. Great interface...

I recommend choosing to save it both as an epub and a docx in Scrivener this time. Depending on whether you use D2D or Smashwords or KDP, they all seem to have different favorite files. KDP favors mobi files.

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I know this probably seems like a lot, but if you've seen my Word formatting post, you'd also see this one is a LOT simpler by comparison. Scrivener more easily honors your styles and doesn't end up throwing in some poorly coded garbage you don't want. It lets you use your initial style choices or can just as easily unify your fonts. It DOESN'T make your italics or bracket styles disappear on font changes, which is HUGE for me. This means I don't need a lot of pictures and troubleshooting to explain it to you.

Truly, if you do NaNoWriMo, use that Scrivener discount to snag it for only $22.50. Best investment I've ever made as a writer. The learning curve is SO generous and it's really difficult to really screw things up. Self-publishing is not such a daunting task and I'm thrilled that writers can focus more on writing than reinventing the wheel of formatting. I don't regret that I often have to learn everything the hard way before things get easier. In fact, I'm often proud that, as an early adopter, I help a lot of programs become more refined through all my bitching about bad settings and coding (I say bitching, but I'm diplomatic. Diplomatting isn't a word).

Anyways, I hope that was helpful in your own publishing journey. I was thinking I'd be spending the next two weeks in a formatting haze, but no: two days and I was squared away. Less ahead, now that I have everything set up. Now I can take a mini vacation and enjoy some gaming. Sounds pretty sweet to me!

Mad-Libbing It Up and Skipping Ahead

While I can't really talk about my stories while writing them, there are certainly some techniques for fast drafting that I can share with you. This is assuming you're up to the challenge or it's already a method you enjoy but are curious to see if there's some angle you haven't looked at.

Most fast work is sloppy work. Even people quick to whip out books and articles run the risk of putting out work chock full of errors. If your plots are simple enough or if you have a decent handle on grammar, you might be the exception. However, when drafting something trickier, it's entirely possible you can do a rather impressive job of getting it down and making it comprehensible for editing to iron it out.

Hell, I'll even add a bonus section at the end, showing how to throw out quick notes using Scrivener.

Mad Lib!

In a carefully treaded story, you probably stop, research, play with names, formulate those plots carefully... Do none of that; try this instead.

In place of the name or place or other unknown, plug in a word you absolutely won't use anywhere else. Persimmon, whorebag, igloo-- just grab at something off the wall and let it fill the place of something you might hang up on. Not only is it a quick creative nibble, it's a tried and true trick that makes replacing it later super easy. I usually advise to put it in caps too. If you accidentally misspell it then you'll catch it easier on a manual sweep. Keep a notepad or a plain text window open to record the word and a description of who or what it's filling in for. It might be a mini break in the flow but I've never had an issue with it taking me away as long as other options.

Skippy Dippy!

Sometimes, you want to form a subplot, some fun little opportunity for a bond, a development or a murder. You know the transition needs something but the inspiration isn't hitting, even boring you just thinking about it. In Scrivener, I sometimes create a whole new scene tab and leave it blank for later and move to the next solid scene, but if you're using a simple one document WP like Word, just double space, center text in CAPS along the lines of FIGHT SCENE #1, double space again, return to body format and move on.

If you have a solid lead on a subplot then give it your full effort, but if you're not quite into it, either give yourself time to warm to it or ditch it. Trying to force it out is mental constipation. Don't be afraid to rush on parts you're unsure of. You're going to edit later and you won't easily miss a spot you rushed through. You can always use a word processor feature like highlighting if you're sure you want to find it faster to fix up.

Bonus: Quick Scene

One thing I do with Scrivener is take my bare notes and throw them down right away. In a folder I start a bunch of new unnamed scenes, then take that document notes section and jot down any notes relevant to that scene. If you didn't plan, just jot down the quick version of what you hope will unfold. Name each scene something fun and relevant. By default, those names aren't going to pop up in your main document so you can give them spoiler names. Fall of the King, Poison Ivy is Terrible TP, All the Butts are Itchy, whatever. The idea is to set up scenes like you would for a play or movie. I usually stick to staying on one scene block until they change settings, but you can use them to isolate specific plots and perspectives as well.

Use each scene block's note section to type up a rough synopsis. You might be surprised by how fast you graduate into each transition when you've got the general idea peeking on the side. Mostly, I just type up a rough synopsis, but it's a good place to jot down new appearances or places and possible subplots. The Novel template contains subfolders for Characters, Places, and Research but you can make more of these 'hidden' folders to jump to while writing and refer to those as well. I usually find it to be more work than needed, filling all of that out and keeping it updated, but it can work as a style sheet or database just as well.

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No matter how you write, I'd always suggest doing a rough outline of what you think you want from the beginning, middle and end. All stories benefit from structure and you might get stuck a lot if you don't give yourself something to shoot for. In the past, my unfinished stories were often due to running way off course. They would become boring or muddy and it would be difficult to find where I jumped off course because I didn't have any idea what course I was trying to take.

At the very least, do some basic linear plotting. Think of it like a pitch. It's okay if you end up diverting as long as you still have a destination plot. If you originally planned for the hero to die at the end, but eventually formulate a much better idea that you need them alive for, then adhere to the new plot, even if it's as rough as 'hero lives'. You don't have to write everything down. Even if you're pretty forgetful, once you light a fire, you can keep rough notes and still be on a clear path. Even if you're blazing full speed, you may hit lulls. I do this from time to time, where I think the path is clear, but the transition starts to feel like it could be weak or dull no matter how you swing it. You might need to work in a subplot or jump to another character. A chapter jump (switching to another character or even a memory/flashback/dream) can be a natural transition when you need to move a character to another scene. If one path seems stale, go ahead and cut it short and move ahead. Don't come back to it until the idea of writing it is appealing. You may need to rework something before it or find some clever transition. Remember, you can use other characters, scenes, timelines, etc. to blend subplots relevant to the main plot. Sometimes you get caught up in detail you can do without. It sometimes needs help by moving ahead without it. That's the beauty of drafting though. You can write it in any order you need to, so there's never a need to force what isn't working.