The way in which you format your manuscript is nearly as important as the writing itself. A well-formatted manuscript allows our production team to clearly discern how your text is to be laid out and ensures your students will receive a highly organized, easy-to-understand book.

Because quality formatting is so crucial to our layout and production processes, we ask all Cognella authors to use Microsoft Word Styles when writing and formatting manuscripts. This guide will walk you through how to find and apply styles in Word, how to customize styles, and how to use other Word features to help with formatting your manuscript. Additionally, your project editor will provide you a Microsoft Word Styles template you can use to begin writing your book.

If you’ve never used Microsoft Word Styles before, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover how easy the Microsoft Word feature makes writing a fully formatted manuscript. Styles eliminate the need to toggle back and forth within Word to repeatedly change the font, size, or color of text in each section of your manuscript. You can simply set and apply Word Styles to do the work for you, saving you time and ensuring consistency throughout your manuscript.

Ready to learn about Microsoft Word Styles? First, let’s explore where to find them.