---
title: "Book writing software for a novel in Finnish"
description: "Write and typeset a Finnish novel: the right quote pair as you type, hyphenation that copes with agglutination, fifteen book faces and a print-ready PDF for Amazon or a Finnish printer."
source: https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-finnish
---
# Book writing software for writing a novel in Finnish

TL;DR Finnish builds the longest words on this shelf, which makes hyphenation the setting that decides whether a justified page looks printed. Galley hyphenates on Finnish patterns, types the right-facing quote pair Finnish uses, and takes the book to a print-ready PDF.

Suomi

## Romaanin kirjoittaminen suomeksi

Galleyssa kirjoitat romaanin ja teet siitä kirjan. Kirjoitat ensimmäisestä lauseesta lähtien oikealle kirjan sivulle: oma koko, omat marginaalit, painetun kirjan kirjasin.

Lainausmerkit ovat suomalaiset, tavutus noudattaa suomen sääntöjä, ja valittavana on viisitoista kirjakirjasinta, kaikki vapaasti lisensoituja myyntiä varten.

Lopputuloksena on painovalmis PDF ja kelvollinen EPUB. Käyttöliittymä on englanniksi; kirja on suomeksi.

## Why Galley is the right book writing software for a novel in Finnish

Finnish is agglutinative, so it builds words no other language on this shelf
builds, and a justified Finnish line with no hyphenation is a row of holes.
Hyphenation stops being a refinement and becomes the setting that decides whether
the page looks like a printed book. Galley carries Finnish patterns and applies
them in the print PDF when you justify. If you set ragged right, which plenty of
contemporary Finnish fiction does, the question never arises.

The quotes are the second thing. Finnish sets a right-facing double mark at both
ends, and English-first software gives you the open-and-close pair because its
smart-quote rule was written once and never asked what language the book was in.
Galley asks.

The third is the licence on the type. Galley embeds the face inside your PDF and
your EPUB, which is redistribution, so every face on the shelf is one you may
sell the book with.

Everything else is the same app: a [true book page](https://usegalley.com/features/make-the-book) at
your trim, the [story bible](https://usegalley.com/features/story-bible) beside the manuscript, a
print-ready PDF and a valid EPUB.

## How Finnish gets typeset

**Hyphenation follows Finnish rules**, in the justified print PDF only.

**Ä and ö go all the way through**, including into the download filename.

**Sorting is Finnish**, so ä and ö land after z where a Finnish reader expects
them.

**Italics work.** All fifteen faces ship a drawn italic.

## The typefaces you get for Finnish

Fifteen faces, all under the [SIL Open Font License](https://openfontlicense.org/).

**EB Garamond** is the safe first choice for a novel.

![Sample sentence in EB Garamond](https://usegalley.com/images/specimens/eb-garamond-en.png)

**Literata** reads well at small sizes, which matters when the words are long
and the measure is fixed.

![Sample sentence in Literata](https://usegalley.com/images/specimens/literata-en.png)

**Gentium Book Plus** has unusually wide diacritic coverage and sets a calm page.

![Sample sentence in Gentium Book Plus](https://usegalley.com/images/specimens/gentium-book-en.png)

The rest of the shelf: Crimson Pro, Cormorant, Lora, Libre Baskerville, Source
Serif 4, Spectral, Alegreya, Vollkorn, Cardo, Newsreader, Libre Caslon Text and
Charis SIL. The [typeface documentation](https://usegalley.com/docs/book-design#typeface) lists every
face by language.

## Exports for a Finnish novel

- **Print-ready PDF** at your trim, mirrored margins, real gutter, font embedded.

- **EPUB 3** with your cover, tagged `fi`.

- **Store-ready EPUBs** for Kindle, Kobo and Apple Books.

- **Word and Markdown** for a kustannustoimittaja or an archive.

- **Manuscript format**, double-spaced.

- **A proofreading PDF** two pages to a sheet, and a **large print PDF**.

- **A watermarked copy per beta reader**.

The [KDP preflight](https://usegalley.com/docs/publishing#preflight) checks the file first.

## Finnish punctuation

The quote pair you get automatically. Finnish fiction also opens speech with a
dash at the head of the line, which is a character you type and which survives
into both exports.

The [dialogue punctuation rules](https://usegalley.com/resources/dialogue-punctuation-rules) and
[dashes, hyphens and ellipses](https://usegalley.com/resources/dashes-hyphens-and-ellipses) sheets
cover the general cases.

## How long a Finnish novel is

Finnish publishers quote length in liuska, in characters and in printed sheets.
Finnish is compact in word count and long in characters, because one Finnish word
carries what English spreads over four, so a Finnish manuscript can look short by
word count and set to the same page count as an English one. Galley counts words
and shows the page count projection, which is the number that decides your spine.

The [word count to page count converter](https://usegalley.com/resources/word-count-to-page-count)
should be a helpful resource for you.

## Trim sizes for a Finnish book

Six standards, from mass market at 4.25×6.87 inches to Royal at 6.14×9.21.
Finnish trade fiction is commonly issued around 13×20cm, which sits close to the
Digest at 5.5×8.5 inches.

The [spine width calculator](https://usegalley.com/resources/book-spine-width-calculator) and the
[trim size comparison](https://usegalley.com/resources/book-trim-size-comparison) would be helpful here.

## Metadata and the copyright page

The [copyright page](https://usegalley.com/docs/publishing#copyright-page) writes itself from the
metadata you filled in. A Finnish ISBN comes from the Kansalliskirjasto and is
free.

## Translating into or out of Finnish

A translation in Galley is its own book: its own language, its own typeface
shelf, its own ISBN, its own cover, still linked to the original, with the editor
split so the original sits read-only beside what you write.

There are pages on [writing a novel in Swedish](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-swedish),
[writing a novel in Estonian](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-estonian) and
[writing a novel in Norwegian](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-norwegian).

No machine touches the prose. Galley has
[no AI anywhere near your writing](https://usegalley.com/blog/no-ai-in-your-prose).

## Self-publishing and traditional publishing in Finnish

**Self-publishing.** Amazon takes Finnish in all three formats. There is no
Finnish Amazon store, so domestic reach runs through the bookshops and the
libraries, and the same print PDF and EPUB serve either.

**Traditional publishing.** Finnish houses read submissions directly, and the
grant system through Taike and the Finnish Cultural Foundation is a real part of
how literary fiction gets written. The
[submission package](https://usegalley.com/docs/publishing#where-it-goes) assembles the synopsis, the
bio and the opening chapters.

The same book exports both. The longer arguments are in
[Galley for self-publishing](https://usegalley.com/blog/galley-for-self-publishing) and
[Galley for traditional publishing](https://usegalley.com/blog/galley-for-traditional-publishing).

## Where to go next

- [Writing software for novelists who don’t write in English](https://usegalley.com/blog/write-a-novel-in-your-language)
covers every script Galley sets.

- [Book design and typefaces](https://usegalley.com/docs/book-design#typeface) lists every face by
language.

- [Series and translations](https://usegalley.com/docs/series-and-translations) covers the full
language list.

- [Choosing a trim size](https://usegalley.com/blog/choosing-a-trim-size) is the longer argument on
format.

## Questions people ask about writing a novel in Finnish

### Does Galley hyphenate Finnish?

Yes, on Finnish patterns, and only in the print PDF when you justify. Finnish words are long enough that this is the difference between a printed page and a word-processed one.

### Which quote marks does a Finnish book get?

The right-facing double mark at both ends, which is the Finnish convention and the same pair Swedish uses. The rule follows the book's language.

### Can I sell a Finnish book on Amazon KDP?

Yes, in all three formats: Kindle ebook, paperback and hardcover.

### Do ä and ö survive export?

Yes, through typing, autosave, search, the print PDF, the EPUB, the Word file and the download filename.

## Other languages

- [Book writing software for Swedish](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-swedish)Write and typeset a Swedish novel: ”right-facing quotes” as you type, hyphenation by Swedish rules, fifteen book faces and a print-ready PDF for Amazon or a Swedish printer.
- [Book writing software for Estonian](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-estonian)Write and typeset an Estonian novel: „low-high quotes“ as you type, hyphenation for long compounds, õ ä ö ü intact through export, and a print-ready PDF.
- [Book writing software for Norwegian](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-norwegian)Write and typeset a Norwegian novel in Bokmål or Nynorsk: guillemets as you type, hyphenation for both written standards, fifteen book faces and a print-ready PDF.

Start the book. Galley sets it in Finnish from the first sentence to the print PDF.

[Launch Galley](https://app.usegalley.com)
