5 Signs Your Manuscript Needs Professional Formatting

You've finished your book. Now you're staring at your Word document wondering: "Can I format this myself, or do I need help?"

Here are five red flags that mean professional formatting will save you time, money, and frustration.

1. Your Word Doc Has "Weird Formatting" You Can't Explain

You open your manuscript and see:

• Inconsistent line spacing (single in some places, double in others)
• Random font changes mid-paragraph
• Indentation that shifts unpredictably
• Mysterious spacing around headings

This happens when you:

• Copy-pasted from multiple sources (Scrivener, Google Docs, emails, PDFs)
• Used different computers or Word versions
• Edited in Track Changes mode
• Mixed manual formatting instead of using paragraph styles

Why it's a problem: These inconsistencies multiply when you convert to EPUB. Minor issues in Word become giant gaps, random font jumps, and broken indentation on Kindle.

The fix: Professional formatters strip out all hidden formatting and rebuild your manuscript with clean, consistent styling.

2. You Used Manual Spacing to Format Your Book

Quick test: Click "Show Formatting Marks" (¶ button) in Word. Do you see:

• Multiple spaces between sentences?
• Tab characters for paragraph indents?
• Extra line breaks around chapter headings?
• Spaces or tabs to center text?

Why it's a problem: Ebooks reflow based on screen size and font size. Manual spacing doesn't scale:

• Chapter titles become off-center on tablets
• Paragraph indents turn into huge gaps on phones
• Extra line breaks create massive white space on e-readers
• Multiple spaces collapse unpredictably

This is one of "the biggest book formatting mistakes self-publishers make."

The fix: Professional formatting uses CSS styles for all spacing and indentation, which scales perfectly across devices.

3. Scene Breaks Use Asterisks or Wingdings Symbols

How did you mark scene breaks?

• * * * (three asterisks)
• — — — (em dashes)
• # # # (hashtags)
• Symbols from Wingdings (❦ ✦ ❧)

Why it's a problem: When you convert to EPUB:

• Wingdings symbols strip out completely (non-standard encoding)
• Plain asterisks look amateurish
• Spacing around breaks is inconsistent or missing

Authors discover this after uploading: "Scene breaks disappeared on the actual device—readers couldn't tell when the POV changed."

The fix: Professional formatting uses ornamental characters from specialized fonts (316+ options) embedded properly. Scene breaks render consistently with proper spacing.

4. You Tried an Automated Converter and It Broke Your Book

You exported to PDF, uploaded to an EPUB converter, and discovered:

• Italics disappeared - All emphasis in regular text
• Chapter headings have huge gaps - Random spacing
• Strange characters everywhere - “, â€", ’
• Scene breaks vanished - Scenes run together
• Table of contents is broken - Duplicate TOCs or wrong links

PDF converters can't handle:

• Synthetic italic/bold styling
• UTF-8 character encoding
• Special characters from decorative fonts
• Proper semantic structure

One author described their result as "formatting lost converting Word" requiring hours of manual fixes.

The fix: Professional formatting bypasses converters. Text is extracted cleanly and rebuilt with proper structure.

5. You've Already Wasted 5+ Hours Troubleshooting

Be honest. How much time have you spent:

• Googling "how to format an ebook"
• Watching Calibre tutorials
• Trying different conversion software
• Fixing validation errors
• Re-uploading to KDP after rejections
• Testing and finding new problems

If you're over 5 hours, you've already spent more time than a professional would take.

Common time sinks:

• Learning Scrivener's compile ("like climbing a mountain in roller skates")
• Calibre's TOC editor (requires "manually fine-tuning")
• Epubcheck errors (requires "editing HTML, CSS, or XML directly")
• KDP failures ("fix highlighted errors" with nothing highlighted)

The fix: Professional formatting delivers a finished, validated EPUB in 3-5 days with zero hours of your time.

When DIY Actually Works

Don't hire a formatter if your book is:

• Pure text with no italics or special formatting
• Simple chapter breaks with generic styling
• No scene breaks, epigraphs, or decorative elements
• No images or tables

For dead-simple novels, free tools work fine.

When You Need Professional Formatting

Hire a professional if:

• Your manuscript has italicized thoughts or dialogue
• You want scene breaks with ornamental symbols
• Your Word doc has "weird formatting" you can't fix
• You've already wasted hours on failed DIY attempts
• You're publishing multiple books and need consistency
• You want your ebook to look traditionally published

The Real Cost

DIY formatting:

• $0-150 for software (Vellum, Atticus, or free tools)
• 10-20 hours learning and troubleshooting
• Risk of KDP rejections requiring reformatting
• "Good enough" but not professional results

Professional formatting:

• $99-219 flat fee
• 0 hours of your time
• Formatted for KDP requirements and reviewed before delivery
• Professional typography, scene breaks, and TOC
• Multi-platform compatibility

If you value your time at minimum wage, professional formatting pays for itself.

What Professional Formatting Includes

• Clean text extraction - Hidden formatting removed, manuscript rebuilt
• Genre-appropriate typography - Custom fonts matched to your style
• Professional scene breaks - Ornamental symbols from specialized libraries
• Hand-coded Table of Contents - Clickable navigation tested on devices
• Validation support - Formatting-related upload issues fixed at no extra cost
• Multi-device testing - Previewed on Kindle, iPad, Android before delivery

Want to compare options first? Review my professional formatting packages and the service FAQ so you know exactly what is included.