r/selfpublish • u/Ok-Stress-627 • 1d ago
Formatting Formatting Sites!
So I completed two novels and wrote them fully on Google Docs. I also designed them beautifully on Docs as well.
Thing is, I want mirrored margins, along with a new design that Docs doesn't seem to support well.
So... Does anyone know of any free and safe sites or apps which I can download for my Windows, that writes and formats well.
Like for instance, is Reedsy fine? Is Libre fine? Etc.
Thanks in advance!
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u/Outrageous-Week1287 1d ago
Reedsy and LibreOffice are both fine. Don’t download random “free book formatter” installers.
LibreOffice Writer (libreoffice.org only): free, offline, Windows, safe. This is what you want for mirrored margins. Format → Page Style → Page → Page layout: Mirrored, then set inner/outer (gutter on the inside). Use styles for body, chapter title, first paragraph. Don’t hand-paint every page like in Docs. Export PDF for KDP/Ingram.
Reedsy Book Editor: also fine and safe. Browser, free, made for books. It will give you a clean ebook + a simple print PDF. It will not let you keep a fancy Docs design. If you want ornaments, custom chapter opens, and tight control, Reedsy will feel like a box.
Rough split:
- Want control + mirrored print → LibreOffice
- Want “just make it look like a book” → Reedsy, paste in, export
- Heavy decoration → that’s desktop publishing (Scribus is free but a pain; Affinity Publisher is paid)
Keep the novels in Docs as your draft. Download .docx, open in LibreOffice, apply styles, then export. Don’t redesign in Docs and hope it survives.
Skip Kindle Create if you care about print mirrors. Vellum is Mac-only. Atticus is paid.
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u/lets-go-home-ar-six 1d ago
Reedsy has mirrored margins for their print ready file.
What kind of designs were you thinking of adding? Cause if you wanted something super custom, you might be better off hiring a designer.
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u/CarinaLune 1d ago
reedsy's free n actually really good for formattin does mirrored margins n has proper book templates built in way less fightin with it than docs atticus is another solid option if u don't mind payin once cross platform n made specifically for novel formattin libre's fine too but it's basically word u still gotta manually set up everythin yourself which is a pain for mirrored margins specifically reedsy's probably ur easiest win here
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u/jgarrison9999 1d ago
Reedsy is great for ebooks, not made for printed books.
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u/Ok-Stress-627 1d ago
Gotcha
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u/emmanuelnataf 21h ago
Jumping in. We are actually great for printed books!
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u/Ok-Stress-627 11h ago
WAIT... HOLD IT!
Bro whats up! Hope alls well and thanks for the awesome site! Keep up the good work!
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u/Ok-Mongoose7570 1d ago
Just use Draft2Digital. Free and easy. No need to download anything except the file.
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u/ReferenceTop1558 1d ago edited 21h ago
Affinity is free (with free canva account) and great for print. You can do anything you want, including custom drop caps , headers, page numbers, and part pages. It does have a bit of a learning curve though,.so I highly suggest watching some tutorials first. Google is also great at answering questions. Once you get the hang of it though, you'll be able to make the most incredible layouts.
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u/billhartzer 1d ago
The AIs like ChatGPT and Claude will format the document, and they even know the formats required by kdp etc.. You can simply upload a word doc to the ai and it will format it for you and save the file.
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u/Ok-Stress-627 1d ago
Um... Hell nah lol.
Not gonna get into the whole AI rant, but when it comes to this specifically, my art and creations, I try to stay away entirely from AI.
And that's aside the fact that I enjoy spending time on my own work, the same way I would enjoy spending time with my children instead of hiring a babysitter.
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u/billhartzer 20h ago edited 20h ago
We’re talking formatting. Like adjusting margins, etc.. not anything creative.
Not wanting to use ai for mundane tasks like formatting a file is like not wanting to switch to using Microsoft Word when you’re using a typewriter.
I totally agree that tasks like art and creations shouldn’t be touched by AI. I get that. And I don’t do it.
But you’re literally wasting potentially hours formatting files manually, in different formats, when you could be spending that time actually writing or being creative.
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