--- title: "Book writing software for a novel in Malay" description: "Write and typeset a Malay novel in Rumi: fifteen book faces licensed for sale, a print-ready PDF and a valid EPUB. Including the Jawi question, answered honestly." source: https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-malay --- # Book writing software for writing a novel in Malay TL;DR Galley sets Malay in Rumi and does it fully: all fifteen book faces, a print-ready PDF, a valid EPUB. It does not set Jawi, there are no hyphenation patterns, and Amazon does not sell Malay. Those three are stated here so you do not find it later. Bahasa Melayu ## Cara menulis novel dalam bahasa Melayu Galley ialah tempat anda menulis novel dan membuat bukunya. Anda menulis dari ayat pertama pada halaman buku yang sebenar: saiz anda, jidar anda, huruf buku yang dicetak. Terdapat lima belas huruf buku, semuanya berlesen bebas supaya anda boleh menjual apa yang anda cetak. Akhirnya anda mendapat PDF sedia cetak dan EPUB yang sah. Antara mukanya dalam bahasa Inggeris; bukunya dalam bahasa Melayu. ## Why Galley is the right book writing software for a novel in Malay Three things to know before you start, and one of them is a limit. **Rumi is fully supported.** Malay in Latin script uses the plain alphabet, so all fifteen book faces set it, nothing is hidden on the shelf, and nothing breaks at export. Your choice of face is a design decision and not a coverage one. **Jawi is not.** Galley has three Arabic-script faces, and they are cut for Arabic, Persian and Urdu. None of them is set up for Jawi, which needs its own letters and its own orthographic conventions on top of the Arabic script. If your book is in Jawi, Galley is not the tool for that part of it, and it is better to read that here than to find it out with a manuscript half written. **Amazon does not list Malay in any format.** So the file is the whole product: a print-ready PDF a Malaysian printer can work from, and a valid EPUB for Google Play, Apple Books, Kobo or a local store. There is also no hyphenation for Malay, so justify with care or set the book ragged right. Justification is off by default. 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 Malay gets typeset **All fifteen faces are available** for a Rumi book. **There is no hyphenation.** Ragged right never needs it. **Sorting is Malay**, so a cast list comes out predictably with the prefixed and reduplicated forms as written. **Italics work**, on a drawn italic in all fifteen faces, which Malay fiction leans on for Arabic and English loanwords. ## The typefaces you get for Malay Fifteen faces, all under the [SIL Open Font License](https://openfontlicense.org/). Five are recommended: EB Garamond, Crimson Pro, Cormorant, Lora and Libre Baskerville. **EB Garamond** is the safe first choice for a novel. ![Sample sentence in EB Garamond](https://usegalley.com/images/specimens/eb-garamond-en.png) **Spectral** was drawn for long-form reading and sets an even page. ![Sample sentence in Spectral](https://usegalley.com/images/specimens/spectral-en.png) **Newsreader** holds up small if your extent is pushing your spine. ![Sample sentence in Newsreader](https://usegalley.com/images/specimens/newsreader-en.png) The rest of the shelf: Crimson Pro, Cormorant, Lora, Libre Baskerville, Literata, Source Serif 4, Alegreya, Vollkorn, Cardo, Gentium Book Plus, Libre Caslon Text and Charis SIL. The [typeface documentation](https://usegalley.com/docs/book-design#typeface) lists every face by language. ## Exports for a Malay novel - **Print-ready PDF** at your trim, mirrored margins, real gutter, font embedded. - **EPUB 3** with your cover, tagged `ms`. - **Store-ready EPUBs** for Kobo and Apple Books. - **Word and Markdown** for an editor 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 Amazon-shaped tools switch off on a Malay book and say why. ## Malay punctuation Malay sets speech in the curly double pair, which is what Galley types on a Malay book. Arabic and English loanwords are italicised by convention, and the [style sheet](https://usegalley.com/docs/the-story-bible#style-sheet) in the story bible is where to record which ones you have decided are naturalised. 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 Malay novel is Malay publishers quote length in words and printed pages. Malay runs longer than English in word count for the same story because of its affixation. Galley counts words and projects a page count at your trim. 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 Malay book Six standards, from mass market at 4.25×6.87 inches to Royal at 6.14×9.21. Malay trade fiction is commonly issued around 13×19cm or 14.5×21.5cm, which land near the small trade at 5×8 inches and the Digest at 5.5×8.5. 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 Malaysian ISBN comes from Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. ## Translating into or out of Malay 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 Indonesian](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-indonesian), [writing a novel in Vietnamese](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-vietnamese) and [writing a novel in Arabic](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-arabic), which covers the Arabic-script side of the shelf in full. 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 Malay **Self-publishing.** Amazon is closed, so print goes through a Malaysian printer or IngramSpark and the ebook goes to Google Play, Apple Books, Kobo or a local store. **Traditional publishing.** Malay publishing runs through established houses and through Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, and both read submissions. 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. - [From manuscript to published book](https://usegalley.com/blog/manuscript-to-published-book) is the whole route. ## Questions people ask about writing a novel in Malay ### Can Galley set Jawi? No. Galley sets Malay in Rumi only. The Arabic-script faces on the shelf are cut for Arabic, Persian and Urdu, and none of them is set up for Jawi orthography. If your book is in Jawi, this is not the tool for that part of it. ### Does Galley hyphenate Malay? No. Malay has no hyphenation patterns in Galley, so justify with care or set the book ragged right. Justification is off by default. ### Can I sell a Malay book on Amazon KDP? No. Amazon does not list Malay in any format. The print PDF goes to a Malaysian printer or IngramSpark, and the EPUB goes to Google Play, Apple Books, Kobo or a local store. ### Which fonts can set Malay in Rumi? All fifteen. Rumi uses the plain Latin alphabet, so nothing on the shelf is hidden. ## Other languages - [Book writing software for Indonesian](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-indonesian)Write and typeset an Indonesian novel: fifteen book faces licensed for sale, a print-ready PDF for an Indonesian printer, and a valid EPUB. Including what Galley does not do for Indonesian. - [Book writing software for Vietnamese](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-vietnamese)Write and typeset a Vietnamese novel: stacked diacritics that do not collide, twelve book faces that carry the full set, and a print-ready PDF for a Vietnamese printer. - [Book writing software for Arabic](https://usegalley.com/book-writing-software-arabic)Write and typeset an Arabic novel: right to left, set in Amiri or Noto Naskh, with a complete print pipeline. Including the Amazon rule that catches Arabic writers out. Start the book. Galley sets it in Malay from the first sentence to the print PDF. [Launch Galley](https://app.usegalley.com)