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When writing an ebook and publishing it, do you double space the lines?

by Tristan Lee
14 replies
For example, if you have an ebook that's 20 pages single spaced on Microsoft Word, when you publish it to PDF format, do you double space it, or keep in single spaced?
#double #ebook #lines #publishing #space #writing
  • Profile picture of the author dre94114
    Personally I didn't double space anything or throw in too many pictures and stuff just to take up space. While this made my ebook slightly shorter it was packed with information. I think I mainly did this because I hate buying an ebook and having to scroll through 2-3 pages before I get to the good content
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    • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
      Originally Posted by dre94114 View Post

      Personally I didn't double space anything or throw in too many pictures and stuff just to take up space. While this made my ebook slightly shorter it was packed with information. I think I mainly did this because I hate buying an ebook and having to scroll through 2-3 pages before I get to the good content
      Single space or a space and a half. Verdana and Times New Roman are two fonts I primarily use for reports and e-books.

      RoD "If-you-cut-me-I-bleed-coffee" Cortez
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  • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
    Originally Posted by Tristan Lee View Post

    For example, if you have an ebook that's 20 pages single spaced on Microsoft Word, when you publish it to PDF format, do you double space it, or keep in single spaced?
    Single spaced, fairly large font though. I like a 12 font in either Verdana or Arial. Tahoma works, too. It's always better to cover the needs of as wide a range of customers as possible. Some will want to print out the PDF to read at their leisure when not in front of the computer. Others will be older folks with trouble reading smaller font sizes. Make 'em all happy. And it won't upset the rest of us, as long as you don't push how many pages it is as a selling point. Use white space liberally. Makes for easier reading.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    I also use single spacing with a larger font. I also try to keep paragraphs short. There should be a decent amount of information on each page in my view. If a person leaves a page with the feeling they didn't get anything from that page, it's not a good thing. If they leave two or three pages in a row feeling that way don't be surprised if you get refund requests. If you start double spacing you risk having pages that aren't as satisfying as they could be and even though your work would be longer double spaced, the customer won't have the same sense of satisfaction. If your book ends up shorter than you'd like - just change what you call it. I sell guides. If I wanted to put pages of fluff in there I could sell books. Same price, same info, just condensed so that every page makes an impact.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave147
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Rick Johansson
      I usually use single-spaces with 12 point font and 1 inch margins. I thought about using double-spaced once but I was afraid people would think I was trying to artificially inflate the number of pages of the ebook.

      Rick
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  • Profile picture of the author Lisa Gergets
    I use 1.5 line spacing and 12 point verdana type.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Lisa Gergets View Post

      I use 1.5 line spacing and 12 point verdana type.
      With that font, I usually go with a 1.25 line spacing with a double space between paragraphs. Margins about 1.25" left and right, 1" top and bottom.

      Seems to make a nice balance between screen reading and printout size...
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  • Profile picture of the author Tristan Lee
    Thanks guys for these tips, they were very helpful.
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    • Profile picture of the author archivefive
      I agree. 12 pt type with 1.5 or 1.25 spacing is readable. Print publishers do this all the time to increase readability.

      Remember that a sans serif font (such as Arial) is more readable on the screen than a serif font (such as Times New Roman).
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  • Profile picture of the author Peggy Baron
    I do an 11 point Verdana, single spaced, with about 1.2 left and right margins for ease of reading. I also make the paragraphs short, as HeySal said, and use lots of white space. I really aim to make it as easy to read as possible.

    Peggy
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  • Profile picture of the author Joanne Reid
    I also use 1.5 spacing and 12 pt Verdana. It's easy on the eyes. And it's pdf so does not use up a lot of trees anyway.
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