Revolutionize Your Book Design with OpenOffice Org: Follow these Expert Tricks Now!

As a writer or an author, you know that the critical element of any book is to latch onto the reader’s attention and stir their senses with the content they find inside its words. However, what makes a book even more engaging is its design.

A great book design draws the reader’s attention, gives the content room to breathe, and highlights essential elements that genuinely matter. But many of us think book design is rocket science and shudder at the thought of undertaking this task on our own.

This is where OpenOffice Org comes into play. This user-friendly and freely available application makes book design more accessible and more affordable than ever before.

Here are some expert tricks that can change the way you look at book design and start revolutionizing your self-publishing endeavours.

  1. Start with the cover

The first design element that your reader will ever see is your cover, so it’s paramount to nail that first impression. With OpenOffice Org, making a professional-looking cover is straightforward.

Simply create a new document with the book’s dimensions and design a new sheet with the cover’s measurements. You’ll have a neat and professional-looking book cover in no time.

  1. Use the correct font

Choosing a font that works well with your book’s content can make all the difference. OpenOffice Org offers an extensive selection of fonts to choose from, ensuring that you can find the perfect one to complement your work.

Expert tip: Incorporate different fonts for headings and subheadings to distinguish between sections and give your manuscript a clear and top-notch look.

  1. Get creative with page layouts

Page layout is a vital design element that often goes unnoticed. OpenOffice Org enables you to mix up different layouts across the book, which adds some creativity and helps break up the monotony of reading. Consider including sidebars on the page as well to add extra style and detail to your book design.

  1. Include Images

A picture says a thousand words, and including images can do wonders for your book’s design. OpenOffice Org allows you to seamlessly insert high-quality images into your text. Make the images visually appealing, and watch your book’s engagement skyrocket!

  1. Consistency is key.

Finally, make sure to keep your book’s design consistent throughout the work. It can be tempting to change layouts and designs frequently, but that can lead to a confusing result. Instead, maintain consistency with fonts, text size, and color schemes, which help keep it professional and eye-catching.

Utilising these expert tricks, you can now create eye-catching book designs without the hassle of making a hefty investment in professional designers. Start with these tips and embrace your creativity - OpenOffice Org is your perfect partner to unleash your design skills.

Conclusion

In this ever-changing digital world, where self-publishing has become the norm, having a book that stands out can indeed revolutionise your writing career. With OpenOffice Org, you have the freedom to create visually appealing book designs, even if you’re not a professional designer.

Give your readers a chance to sit back, absorb your content, enjoy your design, and fall in love with your book. So what are you waiting for? Revolutionize your book design and start creating work that can make all the difference!

It is all in your head: the plot, the characters, the locations, and even the scenes, but for some reason, staring at the blank page and blinking cursor makes you freeze. You like the idea of writing a book but cannot imagine actually completing it. If that feeling sounds familiar, then this might be the right article for you. Even if you have written a book and have it all ready to go, you may intend to self-publish it, start your own publishing company, send it to an editor, or just layout your book so you can see how it looks.

There is a long list of reasons why you might need to prepare an OpenOffice.org document in book form, and once you have learned how to do it, you will have a useful skill that you or people you know may need in the future. You can use this method for both print publications and e-books.

  1. Start OpenOffice.org Writer with a regular blank document template.

The first thing you will need to do is set the size of your book. In my personal experience, it helped me tremendously with writing to be able to see each page at a normal book size rather than the 8.5″x11″ college essay size. Suddenly, writing one hundred or two hundred pages will not take so long or seem so daunting.

  1. Click “Format” in the menu and then click “Page…”

  2. Enter in your custom width and height.

The current format will be “Letter”. Many non-fiction paperbacks will be 6″x9″, while fiction paperbacks are often smaller sizes, such as 5.25″x7.5″. If you are doing this purely for effect, then it is entirely up to you. If you have to meet certain printing press specifications, follow them precisely.

There are lead pages that always proceed the actual text of a book. If you are preparing a book for printing, they will be crucial. Bookstores rely on that information for stocking, and libraries rely on it for cataloging.

  1. Create a title page.

There is no particular format set in stone, but a title page should include at least the title of the book and statement of responsibility (author’s name). If available, it should also include the publisher and place of publication. This is the place to be creative. You can use whatever font style and size you want. Create a manual page break at the end of the title page.

  1. Create the title page verso.

This is the page directly on the other side of the title page and usually contains more detailed publication information, including copyright, ISBN, and CIP (cataloging in publication) data.

  1. Click “Format” and “Paragraph”.

Click on the “Alignment” tab, and change it to “Justified”. From this point on, you will want your text to be justified.

  1. Insert another page break, and you can enter any number of optional pages such as a dedication.

This can include a half title page with just the title or title and author’s name on the second to last page before the text. The final page before the text will be blank, and the text should begin on the recto or right-hand side.

  1. Insert a page break and begin your text.

Most books will begin with a chapter number, chapter name, or both.

In part 2, you will learn how to properly align page numbers and format paragraphs. You are now well on your way to preparing your book for publication. Writing a book can be a very rewarding experience, even if you have no intentions of publishing. With OpenOffice.org, free and open source software, you have all the tools you need to make it happen. Happy writing!

Tavis J. Hampton is a freelance writer from Indianapolis. He is an avid user of free and open source software and strongly believes that software and knowledge should be free and accessible to all people. He enjoys reading, writing, teaching, spending time with his family, and playing with gadgets.

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