HOW TO USE THESE TEMPLATES
From How to Write Your Life by Luke Stoffel


WHAT'S IN THIS FOLDER

Book Template - Ebook.epub
For your Kindle or Apple Books ebook.

Book Template - Print.pdf
What a finished print book looks like inside, at 5.5 x 8.5 inches.

Book Template - InDesign.indd
The same print layout, if you have InDesign.

Book Template - InDesign (older versions and Affinity).idml
The same file for older InDesign or Affinity Publisher.


BEFORE YOU START

Put your whole manuscript in one file, a Word doc or a .md file, with every chapter title on its own line.

Open your chatbot. Attach the template and your manuscript. Paste in the prompt below. Fill in the parts in [brackets].


FOR YOUR EBOOK

Attach: Book Template - Ebook.epub, your manuscript, and your cover image (1600 x 2560 pixels) if you have one.

Here's a template EPUB and my manuscript. Format my book to match the template: same fonts, chapter openers, spacing, and table of contents. My title is [title]. My name is [name]. For the copyright page, use [year, ISBN, publisher, anything else]. Use my cover image if I attached one. Don't change any of my words. Give me back a finished EPUB file, and tell me anything that didn't fit.


FOR YOUR PRINT BOOK

Attach: Book Template - Print.pdf and your manuscript.

Here's a print PDF template and my manuscript. Lay out my book to match the template: same margins, fonts, chapter openers, running heads, and page numbers. Start every chapter on a right-hand page. My title is [title]. My name is [name]. For the copyright page, use [year, ISBN, publisher, anything else]. Build the table of contents with the right page numbers. Don't change any of my words. Give me a print-ready PDF at [5.5 x 8.5] inches with the fonts embedded, the file KDP and IngramSpark want. Tell me anything that didn't fit.

Want a different size? Change 5.5 x 8.5 to your trim size, like 6 x 9.


IF YOU HAVE INDESIGN

1. Install the two fonts first: EB Garamond and Montserrat. Both are free at fonts.google.com.
2. Open the InDesign file. Paste each chapter over the placeholder text. The styles do the rest.
3. Update the contents: Layout, then Update Table of Contents.
4. Export: File, then Export, then Adobe PDF (Print).


CHECK EVERYTHING

The machine will tell you it worked. Check anyway.

Make sure every word made it in. Read the first and last page of every chapter.
Open your EPUB in Kindle Previewer, free from Amazon, and look at every chapter.
Order a printed proof before you hit publish.


lucasstoffel.com/how-to-write
