Have Us Professionally Format Your Book

If you’ve written a book but you’re struggling to figure out how to get it ready for sale, or you’ve uploaded your ebook to an online store but it doesn’t look right when you download it, we can help. We’ve formatted over 7,000 books (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, kids picture books, etc) in both electronic and print form for self-published authors (see some of our testimonials here), and have worked with many small publishers. We pride ourselves on delivering your book looking exactly how you want it to look, in a timely and affordable manner.

“I loved working with Jason and Marina at Polgarus Studio. This was my first novel, and I found Jason and Marina to be extremely patient and dedicated to making the book look exactly the way I imagined. They were able to incorporate images into my Chapter Headings and Section Headings that I was not able to achieve through the automated software I’d purchased and turnaround times were quick. Hiring Polgarus Studio was absolutely worth it, and I would highly recommend working with both Jason and Marina and hope to do so again myself in the future.”
— Emily Sanborn [See more testimonials]

Why Should You Choose Us?

Unlike some formatters, we don’t use software to convert your book automatically. That rarely works well and can cause all sorts of problems. Every book we format is done by hand, first converting your manuscript to HTML, then manually cleaning it up to make sure there are no hidden problems (and believe us, Word likes to hide all sorts of junk in your manuscript!) At this stage we also take the time to fix common issues like tabs or spaces at the start of paragraphs (these are converted to automatic indents), multiple spaces, ensure ellipses display on the one line, etc. Once we have a clean, problem-free file, only then do we convert it into the format(s) that you want.

The end result? Your ebook will be a small, optimized file that won’t have any of the glitches or other problems that an automated tool can create, and will display exactly how it should, while your print book will look professionally and consistently formatted throughout the entire book.

We Can Make Your Book Look How You Want It To Look

Because we are formatting everything by hand, and not just using templates or some software to control the appearance, you are not restricted with how your book can look. If there is a particular layout you have seen in another book that you quite liked, we can easily match it. Just tell us any specific requests you have before we start, and we’ll take care of the rest. And if it isn’t quite right the first time, we’ll work with you until it is!

But What If I Need Changes Later On?

We realize that after you have published, you may find a few typos that need to be fixed, or you may want to add/update a page with details on your other works. That’s no problem at all – we’re happy to take care of that (see here for details).

“The Polgarus team is professional, kind and dedicated, and I’m always impressed with their work. The creative collaboration they bring to designing my books’ interiors is indicative of their diligence and respect for the writing process. Five Stars.”
— Joanne DeMaio, New York Times Bestselling Author [See more testimonials]

What Do We Offer?

Your manuscript should be in Word format (although we can accept most other formats – just ask). All types of manuscripts, from novels to short-story compilations, poetry collections, and non-fiction are accepted.

We can convert your file into one or more of the following formats:

KPF (Kindle) + epub – These are the standard formats used by most ereaders. If you choose this option, you will receive both formats. KPF is the format Amazon use on their Kindle. You can upload the KPF file directly to Amazon, or add it to your Kindle. (If for some reason you also need the older mobi file format, we can happily provide you that as well). epub files are used by every other ebook reader (and ebook retailers like B&N and Apple). Both formats can also be sent to friends/family/reviewers/etc. Note: We cannot provide a PDF or Word document for upload to Amazon – only KPF.

Vellum – If you own or use Vellum, you know how handy it can be. But setting up the book in the first place can be a bit of a pain. We can do the work for you, cleaning up your manuscript to fix common problems hidden in Word, and providing you with a ready-to-use Vellum file that you can easily edit if you ever want to make changes. Note: You must own your own copy of Vellum. If you order a Vellum file, you do not need the Kindle/epub option.

Smashwords – While Smashwords is useful to get your book into multiple ebook stores, it’s processing software can be rather sensitive to even the slightest problem in your Word document. We will create a clean Word file that will have no problems getting through the Meatgrinder process.

KDP Print/Lightning Source/IngramSpark (print) – We will provide you with a print-ready PDF to upload to KDP Print, Lightning Source or IngramSpark (also usable at most other print on demand services, including Lulu). NOTE: This is for your manuscript only – we do not create or edit your cover for you.

Time Required

We’ll take a look at your manuscript, and send you any questions we have about how you want the final formatted books to look. Once we have that information from you, we will send you the converted file within six business days (Mon-Fri).

“Jason has done an outstanding job formatting the eBook and print versions of my novel, The Incident at Montebello. His work is meticulous and he has great attention to detail. I particularly appreciated that he was willing to customize the font and layout—even to the point of letting me try out several glyphs for section breaks within chapters. He was also very professional and very easy to work with. I highly recommend Jason and his work!.”
— P.A. Moed, author of The Incident at Montebello [See more testimonials]

Our Rates

Because everyone has different requirements, and may not need all the formats offered, our prices are set up so you only pay for what you want (just one of the formats on offer, two of them, etc). We also want to ensure our services are affordable to authors of shorter works, so our prices are based on word count.

We offer a discount if you have three or more books ready to format at the same time.

(What is a “format” in the table below? Kindle and epub files are counted as one format. A Smashwords Word file is one format. A file for one or more of the print sites, like KDP Print, is one format [the print file we give you will work on multiple sites]. So if you wanted files for Kindle, epub, KDP Print and IngramSpark, that would count as two formats.)

The prices below are a guide for novels and short stories. Other types of manuscripts (for example non-fiction, poetry collections, short story compilations, or books with more than three images or lots of interlinking) may have a higher price. And if you require something in your novel or short story that will take more time than normal, we may need to charge a higher price. Just send us your manuscript via the form below, along with any requirements you have, and we can give you an exact quote. All prices are in USD.

Word CountOne
Format
Two
Formats
Three
Formats
<10k$40 USD$50 USD$60 USD
10k – 20k$50$70$90
20k – 40k$70$100$130
40k – 75k$80$110$140
75k – 120k$90$130$170
120k – 180k$110$160$210
180k – 240k$130$190$250
240k+contact us contact us contact us

Optional: Express service (+$75 USD) : Once payment has been made, your book will be placed at the top of our queue and done as soon as possible (you will receive the first format within 24 hours, and usually a lot less than that). This option is not usually available for non-fiction books.

Payment is handled via PayPal (although we do have an alternative payment processor available if you don’t want to use PayPal for some reason). Unfortunately, we cannot accept checks, money orders, or bank transfers for payment.

What Next?

If you are interested in hiring us to handle your ebook/print formatting, or just have some questions about availability or how the process works, please contact us with the form below. Marina will return your email as soon as possible and answer any questions you may have. Including your manuscript at this stage is optional, but it can make it easier for us to answer any questions you may have. Please note that we can’t give you a firm quote if you don’t send your manuscript.

If your manuscript is too large to add to the form, just submit your query via the form below without it. We will contact you and talk through the various options on how you can transfer the file(s) over to us.

Except in rare situations, we are unable to format directly from a PDF – we will need a Word file, InDesign file, ODT file, etc. If all you have is a PDF we will work with you to try and find a solution, but it will complicate the formatting process and increase the cost.