How to convert Word file of your book into a perfect pdf for paperback printing

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book formatting, book writing ideas, how to convert 8.5 x 5.5 Word file to pdf, how to convert MS Word to pdf, indie authors, paperback writing and formatting tips, tips for Indie authors

Alas! Indie authors have to be master of all trades.

Penning a damn good story is the mere tip of the iceberg. You wrote it in MS Word – and now want it reproduced into a gorgeous pdf for a gorgeous paperback, right? But what if the pdf looks weirdly crowded and untidy as compared to your elegant MS Word?

Well, you can either create a pdf & then play around with it (If there does exist such a software, I’m blissfully unaware of it)  OR (more easily) convert the Word doc into pdf, which is what I did for my ‘Rage of the Maggots’.

Here’s how the stunningly simple procedure goes –

1] First format your text in MS Word as per your desired trim size. I have an unexplained, irrational, insistent love for 8.5 x 5.5 inch size. So, select Layout … Click on Size … Select from the wide range of size menu .

2] Next, click on File … Select ‘Save as’ from dropdown menu

3] Select option ‘Save as pdf’, then click on ‘More options’

4] You’ll see 2 options – Standard i.e for publishing online and printing AND Minimum size.

Choosing the latter will condense the Word file. Result? Your lovingly formatted Word file will now condensed and short by at least 5 pages.

If you want it to look EXACTLY as your Word file, choose option ‘Standard – publishing and printing’.

5] Click ‘Save’. Done! Drool over your picture perfect pdf!

Go ahead. Experiment. Your paperback is now fully in your control.

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#Read about Guest #Author Dr. Sweety Shinde

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arjun, arjuna, author interview, Bhagavad Gita, blurb ideas, book spine, books, cover design, fiction novel, Goodreads Giveaway, Guest blogpost, Indian epic, kurukshetra, Mahabharata, mythology, writing tips, youtube trailer

I got an opportunity to grace Chris Graham’s platform for authors. Here it is…

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Perfect quote – It aptly sums up the motive to pen my novel.

Why write at all? You cannot inhale and not exhale.
You cannot eat and not poop.
You cannot read and not write. (Did I just equate writing with pooping?) Yin & Yang. Reading is a passive, pleasant passion. Writing is challenging, invigorating, and pathologically addictive!

Profession vs Passion: I’m a Pathologist by profession. I dissect dead bodies and diagnose live diseases under the microscope. But human beings hold deeper mysteries beneath the visible surface. Mind, emotions, and idiosyncrasies – those are beyond the scalpel, but not beyond the pen’s might!

I decided to use my profession 2 ways. One, to fund my passion. Two, to stimulate both halves of my brain – the rational and the creative. Yin & Yang again. 

Flexing the muscles of Time: ‘Work expands to fill the time required to complete it.’ As a…

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God’s Jigsaw Puzzle

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atheist, death, exams, God, luck, memory, mercy, messenger, Mumbai bomb blasts, Savior

An exam, an error, a delay …God’s larger plan via a stroke of bad luck? Reblogging my favorite post from This month That year. March 2014 Read on …

Impractical Dreamer

Circa 1993 . H.S.C exams. Biology, my favorite paper. Every answer on my fingertip; and from there fluidly onto the answer paper. The giddy bubbly feeling when everything is sailing smooth. Life is perfect!

My answers fill Main plus 3 extra sheets. I crosscheck my roll number and hand over the paper bang on time. I stroll out with a silly smug smile hovering over my lips.  As I collect my bag, Disaster strikes! I have forgotten

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Taali-Ban The Hindus

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banned books, controversy, freedom of expression, Hinduism, hypocrisy, intolerance, marketing, publicity

I decided to reserve one slot per month on rejuvenating previous posts.
The flashback often surprises yourself as a writer. ‘Did I really pen it? Did I actually manage to seize an idea within words?”
So, in an era of increasing tug-of-war between intolerance and freedom of expression, here goes …

Impractical Dreamer

Penguin: ‘’Get me the Khajuraho orgy capture. Pronto.”

Wendy: Sir, this is not porn. My book covers the grave interpretation and inter-relation between History and Religi…”

Penguin: ‘’Lady, you will be the grave of me. You stick to writing. Leave the sales pitch to me. I need eyeballs for your 800 pages of dry research. Now where is that orgy?”

Wendy: ‘I warn you, this will backfire. In the age of

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Weekend Edition – More Than a Writer Plus Good Reads and Writing Tips

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art, create, ideas, story, Writer, writing

Author’s angst and bursts of ideas – perfectly encapsulated.

Live to Write - Write to Live

You are more than a writer.

I am a collection of experiences that is unique in all the expanse of space and time.

You fight hard for your art.

You create time where there isn’t any. You make hard choices and sacrifices.

You make your writing a priority.

Sometimes life gets in the way, and the best you can manage is a little time to think about a story, or an idea, or your craft. You have to be satisfied with nurturing your creations in silent, secret, intangible ways.

Other days, you give yourself the gift of time to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Sometimes, this feels like slipping smoothly down into a pool of inspiration, you submerge yourself and drink deeply. Other times the writing feels like hard labor on the chain gang, your whole being aching with the effort of chipping each precious word from an…

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