🧩 1. Pick the Right Page Builder Plugin, a visual editor inside WordPress that gives you full control over page layout.
The three best options:
1. Elementor (Most Popular)
- Drag-and-drop blocks for text, images, headings, quotes, etc.
- You can set page size and margins to match print (A5, 6×9, etc.).
- Works beautifully for creating book-like chapters on separate pages.
- Add a “Print CSS” plugin so your design exports cleanly to PDF.
2. Divi Builder
- Great for design-heavy books (illustrations, art, poetry).
- Has a “Visual Builder” that mirrors what you’ll see when printed.
- Integrates well with WordPress themes that already look like magazines.
3. Beaver Builder (Lightweight & Reliable)
- Simple interface, doesn’t slow your site down.
- Perfect if you want a clean minimalist layout for a novel or nonfiction book.
🧱 2. Structure Your Book Inside WordPress
You’ll use Pages, not Posts.
Each page = one chapter or scene.
Example:
Home (Book Title Page)
│
├── Chapter 1: The Dream
├── Chapter 2: The Mirror
├── Chapter 3: The Descent
└── Chapter 4: The Return
Use your builder to add:
- Title blocks
- Drop caps (first big letter of a chapter)
- Paragraphs and pull quotes
- Optional images or decorative dividers
🧾 3. Set Print Dimensions Inside the Builder
When editing with Elementor or Divi:
- Go to Page Settings → Layout → Custom Width.
- Choose something close to your intended print trim:
- 6×9 inches (or 600x900px roughly)
- Set margins/padding manually: about 0.5 in (50px) on each side.
- Use a white or cream background for pages.
- Pick print-safe fonts: Georgia, Garamond, Merriweather, Lora.
🧰 4. Convert Your Book to a Print-Ready File
Once you’ve designed your chapters on WordPress:
Option A — Using a PDF Export Plugin
Install Print My Blog or PrintFriendly & PDF:
- Lets visitors (or you) export your entire book as a continuous PDF.
- Choose “Export all pages in sequence.”
- Check that images and line breaks look right.
Option B — Save as PDF from Browser
- In your browser, open the first page, then Ctrl+P (Print) → “Save as PDF.”
- Use “Background graphics: ON” to keep design elements.
- Repeat for each chapter, then merge PDFs using a tool like PDFsam or Adobe Acrobat.
📦 5. Print It Professionally
Once you have your final compiled PDF:
- Go to Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, or Lulu.
- Choose your trim size (match what you built on WP).
- Upload your PDF interior and cover file.
- Order a test copy to check layout and color.
💡 Pro Tips
- Keep all text selectable (not screenshots) — printers need embedded fonts.
- Add your title page, copyright, and about the author in separate WP pages.
- If you want double-sided printing, ensure each new chapter starts on an odd page number.
- For poetry or artistic works, use Divi or Elementor Canvas mode — it removes headers and footers so pages are clean.
🚀 Quick Action Plan
- Install Elementor or Divi on WordPress.
- Design one “Book Page Template.”
- Build your chapters page-by-page.
- Use Print My Blog to export the entire book as a print-ready PDF.
- Upload to KDP or IngramSpark for physical copies.
Would you like me to give you an Elementor page template layout (with fonts, spacing, and header/footer rules) ready to copy into your site for book chapters?