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Line Spacing a Book in Word

Method 1 (which I use regularly)

  • Go to the Paragraph dialog box. Under the Spacing section, go to Line Spacing. In the drop-down, choose Multiple, and under “at”, to the right, enter 1:20. This 120% (1.2) of the font size. This allows you to set your line spacing at intervals between single and double. In all my books, I now use 1.20 (or 120%). I used 1.15 in Christian Meditation and found it to be a little tight. Another approach to line spacing is as follows.

Method 2

  • “As a general rule of thumb, a font size of 9 to 11 point is a good reading size (depending on font choice) for the body text of the common A5 trimmed book. A larger sized book may need a larger font and increased line spacing. A page of body text looks tidy if left-justified. However, depending on the document, other paragraph options such as ‘left-aligned’ are quite appropriate. The line spacing (or leading) should be at least 1.2 single line spacing (if laying the text up in a Microsoft Word document). A better overall appearance for the main body of your text could be obtained in Microsoft Word if you make your line spacing approximately 2pt larger than your font size. For example, if your text size is Helvetica 10pt regular, try making the line spacing 12-12.5pt. If you are working in Microsoft Word you can change your line spacing by going into: format > paragraph and choosing ‘Exactly’ instead of ‘Single’ and then in the box to
    the right of it, select the appropriate pt size.” Check out this excellent page: Inside Page Specifications.  On the original site, see here.