https://usegalley.com/blog Practical, no-fluff writing on how novels get finished and published — craft, formatting, and self-publishing, plainly explained. en Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://usegalley.com/blog/standard-manuscript-format https://usegalley.com/blog/standard-manuscript-format The Shunn manuscript format specification in plain terms: font, spacing, margins, indents, scene breaks, the running header, and the word count that should be rounded. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Publishing https://usegalley.com/blog/write-a-novel-in-your-language https://usegalley.com/blog/write-a-novel-in-your-language How to write and typeset a book in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hebrew, Hindi, Bengali, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Greek or Vietnamese, which typeface each script gets, and what still needs building. Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Design Publishing https://usegalley.com/blog/accessible-ebooks-and-the-eaa https://usegalley.com/blog/accessible-ebooks-and-the-eaa What the EAA means for a self-published novel sold in the EU: accessibility metadata, what makes an EPUB accessible, the microenterprise exemption, and the large-print edition nobody makes. Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Publishing https://usegalley.com/blog/best-book-writing-software https://usegalley.com/blog/best-book-writing-software A no-hype guide to the writing tools novelists actually use (Scrivener, Vellum, Atticus, Ulysses, Dabble, Reedsy, and Galley), sorted by what you need each one to do. Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Guides https://usegalley.com/blog/galley-for-self-publishing https://usegalley.com/blog/galley-for-self-publishing What self-publishing a novel in Galley involves: a print-ready interior PDF, a valid EPUB, a tuned file per store, and two checks that run before you upload to KDP. Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Publishing Galley https://usegalley.com/blog/galley-for-traditional-publishing https://usegalley.com/blog/galley-for-traditional-publishing Querying agents or working with an editor: standard manuscript format, the submission package, watermarked beta drafts, and getting an editor's Word comments back where they belong. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Publishing Galley https://usegalley.com/blog/how-long-should-a-novel-be https://usegalley.com/blog/how-long-should-a-novel-be The word-count ranges agents and readers actually expect (fantasy, romance, thriller, YA, literary), and what to do if you're way over or under. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Craft https://usegalley.com/blog/choosing-a-trim-size https://usegalley.com/blog/choosing-a-trim-size What trim size means, the standard sizes for fiction (5x8, 5.25x8, 5.5x8.5, 6x9), and how to pick the one that fits your genre and page count. Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Formatting https://usegalley.com/blog/is-your-writing-used-to-train-ai https://usegalley.com/blog/is-your-writing-used-to-train-ai How to find out what your writing app is allowed to do with your manuscript: the licence grant, the improve-our-services clause, the sub-processor list, and what no hosted tool can honestly promise. Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Galley https://usegalley.com/blog/no-ai-in-your-prose https://usegalley.com/blog/no-ai-in-your-prose AI writing tools are everywhere. Galley deliberately has none in your manuscript: no generation, no rewriting, no training on your words. Here's the reasoning, in full. Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Galley https://usegalley.com/blog/book-front-matter-order https://usegalley.com/blog/book-front-matter-order Every page that comes before and after your story (half-title, title, copyright, dedication, acknowledgements) in the order printers and readers expect them. Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Formatting https://usegalley.com/blog/sending-your-novel-to-beta-readers https://usegalley.com/blog/sending-your-novel-to-beta-readers When to send a draft out, how many readers you actually need, the brief that gets useful answers, what file to send, and why every copy should carry the reader's name. Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Craft https://usegalley.com/blog/write-on-the-real-page https://usegalley.com/blog/write-on-the-real-page Most writing apps show you a text box and reveal the book only at export. Galley shows the finished 6x9 page (trim, typeface, ornaments, scene breaks) while you write. Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Galley https://usegalley.com/blog/epub-vs-print-pdf https://usegalley.com/blog/epub-vs-print-pdf What each publishing file is for (print-interior PDF, EPUB, DOCX) and which ones you need for Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books, and Kobo. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Publishing https://usegalley.com/blog/manuscript-to-published-book https://usegalley.com/blog/manuscript-to-published-book The back half of self-publishing (print PDF, EPUB, KDP preflight, beta-reader drafts, submission packages) usually means a second tool or a freelancer. In Galley it's a menu. Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Galley https://usegalley.com/blog/format-a-paperback-for-kdp https://usegalley.com/blog/format-a-paperback-for-kdp A plain-language walkthrough of the print-interior settings Amazon KDP checks (trim size, margins, gutter, bleed, and page count) so your paperback passes on the first upload. Sat, 06 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Publishing https://usegalley.com/blog/why-galley-is-buy-once https://usegalley.com/blog/why-galley-is-buy-once Most writing tools now rent by the month. Galley is €199, paid once, with every feature and every future update included. Here's the reasoning, and the maths. Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Galley https://usegalley.com/blog/do-you-need-an-isbn https://usegalley.com/blog/do-you-need-an-isbn When you need an ISBN, when you don't, the difference between KDP's free ISBN and your own, and why the imprint on the barcode matters more than the cost. Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Publishing https://usegalley.com/blog/story-bible-beside-your-manuscript https://usegalley.com/blog/story-bible-beside-your-manuscript A story bible only works if you keep it updated, and a bible in a separate app is a bible you forget. Galley's lives next to the prose, one keystroke away. Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Galley https://usegalley.com/blog/what-is-a-story-bible https://usegalley.com/blog/what-is-a-story-bible The reference document that keeps names, timelines, and world details consistent across a novel or series, what goes in it, and when you actually need one. Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Craft https://usegalley.com/blog/book-typography-basics https://usegalley.com/blog/book-typography-basics Widows, orphans, rivers, hyphenation, and the small typesetting conventions readers never notice but always feel, and why they separate a real book from a Word export. Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Design