Can You Typeset a Book with Microsoft Word?
The short answer is - Yes, you CAN typeset a book in Microsoft Word. However, you are unlikely to get professional looking results. Please note that this is not an attempt to sell you my services! Word does a great job even when used by inexperienced people of getting text into an electronic format, and different versions of the file can then be used by many other programs. In experienced hands, clever use of search and replace and the other built-in tools can really speed up creating long documents, especially ones containing difficult technical terms or foreign names. When I am writing long documents, I use Word to get the text into electronic format (but then I bring it into InDesign to make it pretty).
However, most people don't really know how to use Word; it has simply replaced their typewriter. And the software itself lacks many features which improve design or readability, or ensure high quality text and images when professionally printed. Finally, the default settings often create more problems than they solve.
This is not to say that you can not or should not typeset your manuscript using Word. Most people have a copy of it on their computer and at least a basic ability to use it. For documents with few or no images, tables, or other graphical elements, it is possible to create a decent looking document. However, you will need to really learn the software, have a good idea of the final design before you begin, and expect to spend a lot of time adjusting things by hand.
- Typesetting in Microsoft Word
- Common Problems Using Word for Typesetting
- Microsoft Word Resources and Links