InDesign Step by Step

1. Divide your word document into separate chapter files.
2. Go to CreateSpace.com and find the size of book you want your book to be.
3. While on CreateSpace go to the TAB Interior and click on the link print-ready pdf (This is where you’ll be getting your margins and specifications for InDesign.)
4. Follow the guidelines for the page count of your book. So if it’s 151 to 400 pages your Inside Margin is .75 inches and your Outside Margin is .50 inches (per Amazon’s recommendation).
5. Note: Inside Margin and Gutter are the same number and will be entered in InDesign separately.
6. Open InDesign.
7. Each Chapter will be a separate InDesign File, but we need to create a template for the book so you won’t have to keep on setting up each individual file.
8. Go to Create New Document
9. The top TAB is Document Preset, click on Custom
10. Hit Save Preset and save it with the title of your book and the book size, just to make it easier to remember later.
11. Next TAB is Intent click Print
12. Number of Pages: 1
13. Start Page #: 1
14. Both Facing Pages and Primary Text Frame should be checked.
15. Page Size hit Custom Name it.
16. Width and Height are listed in Picas, but if you type in the number of inches followed by in it will automatically convert it to picas.
17. Columns: 1
18. Gutter: Again in Picas, but type it in inches and it will convert. This is .75 inches.
19. In the Margins section (Make sure the little chain is unlocked):
20. Top: .5 inches
21. Bottom: .5 inches
22. Inside: .75 inches
23. Outside: .5 inches
24. Hit Okay
25. In the upper right hand corner click on Pages to see the pages of your book and the Master Pages.
26. Anything that you want done to the whole book is done in Master Pages. (i.e. page numbering)
27. Go to the Type TAB and click on Paragraph Styles. Place it on the right of your screen below the Pages window.
28. Open first chapter in word.
29. Highlight text.
30. Drag to the InDesign blank page while holding down Shift.
31. Since you don’t want the text to be at the top of the page, click on the text box that surrounds the text and drag it down to where you want the text to start.
32. Now to make your character style for your book so you only have to do it once:
33. Click the T for text button on the left side bar.
34. Click anywhere in the text and hit Apple A to select all the text.
35. In your Character Style window, click the third button that says: Create New Style.
36. Click on the Character Style 1 text and rename it to your book title.
37. Right click on the character style to bring up the Paragraph Style Options page.
38. Go to Basic Character Formats TAB and enter data. Font, size and Leading (Leading is how much space is in-between the lines of text)
39. Go to Indents and Spacing and make the First Line Indent .3 inches or whatever looks good to you. Also for Alignment make it Left Justify.
40. Go to Hyphenation and click the Hyphenation button. Unless you want hyphens, I don’t like them so I like to take them all out.
41. Now, if changing the font and the spacing gives you an error in the bottom left hand corner, it’s because you need to add more pages. Go to Layout and click on Insert Pages, add however many pages you need. If you end up with too many you can always delete the extra pages.
42. For Chapter Headings: Click the T button on the left panel so that you are in Text mode. Then drag a rectangle across the page, from margin to margin, to make it even. In upper left, you can designate Font and Size. In the middle of the upper menu bar you can designate Justification.
43. When making the second document chapter, Copy the Paragraph Style template you made and paste it into the Paragraph Style window. A small box of text will appear. Make sure you are on the Arrow symbol on the left panel and click on the text box and delete. That way you have the style saved in your Paragraph Style window.
44. Drag your text from the second chapter while holding down shift.
45. Click on T for text.
46. Hit Apple A to highlight text.
47. Click on your Paragraph Style template.
48. Now for Page Numbering:
49. Double click on your Master Pages in the Master Page window.
50. Two blank pages will show up.
51. Like before click on T and make a long rectangle where you want your page numbering to go (top or bottom)
52. Go to the Type TAB.
53. Go to Insert Special Character.
54. Click on Markers and Current Page Number.
55. Copy and Paste the rectangle on the page next to it. (Make sure you click back on the arrow tool to copy, paste or move anything)
56. If you don’t want a page number on the first page of each chapter do this:
57. Go to Layout TAB.
58. Go to Pages
59. Go to Apply to Master Pages
60. Make sure it says None for the Apply Master section then hit OK.
61. For the beginning pages (copyright, title page, dedication, chapters, etc) Make a Document for them based on your template.
62. Also, if you want a bio in the back, make a page for that as well.
63. Now to put it all together.
64. Close all your files and place them in a folder.
65. Go to File and New and create a Book.
66. A small box labeled Book on the top appears.
67. Drag in all your files in the order you want them to appear.
68. Now you want the page number to begin on your first chapter, here’s how to do this:
69. Go to Layout TAB.
70. Go to Numbering & Section Options.
71. Make the Style lower case Roman numerals.
72. You’re all done! Now to Exporting.
73. Go to your Book box.
74. Click the upper right hand corner.
75. Click on Export Selected Documents to PDF.
76. Change bottom TAB to Print.
77. Hit Save.
78. Presets are good, hit Export. That’s your PDF for your print copy.
79. For EPUB click the same upper right button on the Book window.
80. Click on Export Book to Epub.
81. To see your epub, view it in Adobe Digital Editions (it comes with the Adobe Suite)