Formatting Your Novel – Adding a Table of Contents
Formatting Your Novel – Adding in a Table of Contents
When you are formatting your novel and getting it ready to convert to an ebook, there are a number of steps that have to be done first. One of those, is adding in a table of contents. It is something that you have to do, it’s a requirement if you are publishing to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, etc. You can read more here: Amazon
Below, I walk you through the steps of how to add an active Table of Contents into your novel, so its ready to be converted to an ebook. It’s really simple but takes a little bit of time. Watch the video too, it might explain it better.
- Open your document in word
- go to each chapter heading, highlight the chapter name (i.e. chapter one) and then click on bookmark (on top ribbon in word, under the tab called insert). A new box will appear, write in whatever you want to call that chapter – chapterone or thebeginning (if you’ve named your chapters go ahead and use that) – ensure that whatever you call it, there are no spaces in the title.
- go through the entire manuscript and do this for each chapter and do it for the about the author, the other books by the author and any other information you have posted at the end of your novel
- now go back to the beginning of your book and determine where you are putting your table of contents (usually the third or fourth page) type in Table of Contents as the header and then put each chapter underneath.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
5. Then add in each chapter in a row down the center of the page – it works best for converting to an ebook. Only put Chapter One (or whatever name you’ve given each chapter). Do not include the page number.
6. Once you have all the chapters listed – highlight chapter one, click on hyperlink, then find the bookmark that you made for that chapter, click on it and add it.
7. Go through and do this for each chapter and the information that you book marked at the end
8. Once you are done all of the items listed in your table of contents should be blue
9. Now it’s time to check to make sure that each of them works
If you don’t do this and upload, smashwords will catch it and you’ll have to go and fix it.
Watch the video as I walk you through each step and I probably show it better than I write it. 🙂
Have any questions? Type them below.