How to write your manuscript in the editor

In short

In Write, type the paragraph under the line that should name the chapter, select a word, and click Bold (⌘B). Set that line to Chapter title (H1) in Block style, choose Scene break from +, then click Layout at the bottom of Write to see the chapter on the page.

A chapter title, a bold word, and a scene break drift apart when the manuscript lives in one file and the pages live in another. Here the words stay in the book. Write shows them as one column, without the page breaks in the way, and the pages are that same column with the breaks put back. You can read the chapter both ways before you order a proof.

Write the manuscript#

1. Open Write

   Open your book. In the bar under the header, click Write, next to Layout. The manuscript opens as one continuous column, the same text, so you can read a chapter without the page breaks in the way.

2. Type a paragraph

   In Write, click the line under the title and type the paragraph that belongs in the chapter. If that line is not there yet, click at the end of the title, press Enter, and then type.

3. Make a word bold

   Select the word. A bar opens over the selection. Click Bold (⌘B), or press ⌘B (Ctrl+B on Windows). The word turns bold in the column, and it stays bold on the page.

   The buttons live on that bar. A formatting bar above the manuscript stays off until you open View and turn on Format toolbar.

4. Add a chapter heading

   Select the title line above that paragraph. In the same bar, open Block style and choose Chapter title (H1). The line becomes the chapter title, and the paragraph under it stays in that chapter. Leave the line as Paragraph and it stays body text, so it does not join the chapter list.

   The new chapter opens on its own page. A title you type below the paragraph instead leaves that paragraph in the chapter above.

5. Insert a scene break

   Click in the paragraph the break should follow. At the left of that paragraph, click + and choose Scene break, under Structure. A centered * * * appears after the paragraph, and an empty line under it is where the next sentence goes.

6. See it on the pages

   Leave the caret in that chapter. At the bottom of Write, click Layout. The pages open on the page the caret is on, with the chapter title and the bold word.

   The Layout control next to Write, in the bar under the header, also leaves the column. It stays on whatever page was already open, which is often the first page of the book. Use the button at the bottom when you want the page you were writing.

Leave Write#

Click Write to come back to the column. The words are still there.

To remove the bold, select the word and click Bold (⌘B) again. To turn a chapter title back into body text, select it, open Block style, and choose Paragraph. To remove the scene break, press ⌘Z while it is the last change.

For the rest of what a print file is checked for before you upload, read what KDP checks in an interior PDF.