Pages for book editors on Mac: edit, track and export a manuscript with Lazur's help

Pages templates for books on Mac: portrait or page layout

The template decides how text moves through the file, so start here. Pages has two book layouts. The portrait template is a word processing document. It suits books that are mostly text, such as novels, reports and journals. It can also group pages into sections, such as chapters.

The page layout template suits image-heavy or multi-column books. Text does not flow from page to page in that layout unless you add linked text boxes. You usually notice this after pasting a full chapter, which is the slow way to learn it. Check the template type first.

Apple's Authors guide says to start by choosing a template that fits the book's genre. Templates come with placeholder text and images. Delete the placeholder text, then paste your manuscript in. Use Paste and Match Style (⌥ ⇧ ⌘ V) so the pasted text takes the template's look.

Manuscripts often arrive from Word or Google Docs with odd characters attached. After a paste, press ⌘ F and search for two spaces in a row. Those double spaces often show up at line ends. Clean them before you format anything, so your styles start from a tidy file.

Set margins, headers and footers for left and right pages

Book templates let you change the margins. Set them before you format any chapter. A margin change moves every line break that follows, so a late change means checking every page again.

Book templates also support different headers and footers for left-facing and right-facing pages. Many books put the title on one side and the chapter name on the other. Set both sides once. Then check the first page of each chapter, because chapter openers often need a clean header.

For the exact steps, read our header and footer guide and our page numbers guide. Ask Lazur to walk you through them if your menu names look different.

Group chapters into sections in a portrait book

A portrait book can hold the whole manuscript in one file. Apple's guide says the portrait template can group pages into sections, such as chapters. Use that. One file is easier to search, export and send than a folder of loose chapters.

Here is a worked example. Say your novel has a title page, a copyright page, a contents page, several chapters and an afterword. Put the first three pages in a front matter section. Give each chapter its own section. Put the afterword in a back matter section. Then use the Pages thumbnails to jump to any chapter.

Group after the styles are in place, not before. Then each section starts with the chapter title you styled. If a chapter starts halfway down a page, you missed a break. Fix that first, then check the margins and headers again.

Use text styles so chapters and the contents page work

Apple's Authors guide says to use text styles for chapter headers and page breaks. This habit matters more than any other step on this page. A table of contents and an EPUB chapter break both depend on styles, not on how a title looks.

The workflow is simple. Select a chapter title. Open the paragraph style menu in the Format sidebar, then choose the heading style your template uses. Repeat for every chapter. Give scene breaks and part titles their own style, so you control what the contents page includes.

Unstyled text gets left out of a table of contents. A chapter title that you made bold and large by hand looks right on the page. It still does not appear in the contents. Check the styles before you blame the contents feature.

Scene breaks need a style too. Make a paragraph style called Scene Break, with the text centered. Apply it to the symbol or blank line that marks each break. Then every break looks the same across the book, and the break style is easy to change in one place.

Table of contents in Pages on Mac: build it from styles

Pages builds the table of contents from paragraph styles and shows it in the left sidebar. Open it from the View menu button, then choose Table of Contents. Pick the styles to include. Then place the insertion point where the list should go and insert it.

The Insert Table of Contents button stays dimmed until you place the insertion point. If the button looks dead, click into the document first. That single click is the step most people skip.

The feature has three limits that matter for book work. The table of contents goes only into word processing documents, not page layout documents. Unstyled text is left out. And once you click Customize Styles for an inserted contents page, you cannot undo that choice.

Fix a table of contents that looks wrong

Start with the chapter that is missing. Click into its title, then open the Format sidebar and read the paragraph style name. If it says a body style or shows no heading style, that is the cause.

Apply the heading style your template uses to that title. Then look at the contents page again. Hand formatting on top of a style does not make a title count as a heading. The style is what the contents page reads.

If the contents page still looks wrong, do not click Customize Styles to fix it. That choice cannot be undone. Work from the copy you saved, and compare the two files side by side.

Exported PDF and EPUB files keep the contents page for reader apps that support navigation. Open the export in the reader you plan to use, then click through a few chapters before you send it.

Track Changes in Pages on Mac for manuscript edits

Turn on Track Changes before you touch the manuscript, so the author sees every edit. Our Track Changes guide covers the steps for Pages 15.4. Use comments for questions that need an answer rather than an edit. Our comment guide shows the select, comment and save sequence.

Keep big-picture notes out of the margins. Put them in a separate letter, and keep the manuscript itself clean. An author who gets a comment on every line may miss the few that matter most.

The most common mistake is a quick fix with Track Changes off. The author then receives a file with silent edits. Quick fixes tend to land on chapter openings, so check those pages last.

Dictate edit letters and notes in Pages on Mac

Hold fn to dictate clean, formatted text at the cursor in any app. Dictation is included with Lazur. It works well for long notes at the end of a chapter, where talking is faster than typing.

Say punctuation and paragraph breaks clearly. Then read the output before you send it. Character names, place names and foreign words often come out wrong. Add them to the personal dictionary before a long session.

For the Pages steps, read our dictation guide. Dictation writes text. It does not change styles, margins or the contents page, so keep those steps for your keyboard and mouse.

Where Lazur helps while you edit in Pages

Hold ⌥ ⌘ to ask about anything on screen. Lazur answers out loud. Ask where a control is, and Lazur draws a circle and a label around it on your screen. Ask how to do something, and Lazur guides you one click at a time, waiting for each click.

Lazur does not click for you. It does not edit your file, and it is not a plugin or add-in for Pages. You keep your hands on the mouse. That suits editing, where you check every change anyway.

Lazur is most useful when you cannot find a setting. Ask where the margin controls are, and it circles them. Make the decisions yourself, though. Margins, styles and anything you plan to export stay in your hands.

Export EPUB from Pages on Mac for readers and Apple Books

When you export to EPUB, Pages asks for the book title, author name and a cover. Apple's guide also describes Optimize for Apple Books, which creates the EPUB without a separate export step. Apple's guide says iBooks Author books can be opened in Pages.

Cover design is a separate job. A 2023 survey, quoted by a book designer's blog, found that half of authors work with a professional designer for covers. About a quarter design their own. The survey gives no sample size, so treat it as a signal, not a rule.

Before you send any export, open it in the reader app your reader will use. Check the cover, the chapter breaks and the contents page. A file that looks right in Pages can still look different in a reader app.

Open the EPUB in Apple Books on your Mac before you send it. Scroll to the first chapter, then the last one. Click a few links in the contents page and check that each one lands on the right chapter.

Common mistakes book editors make in Pages

• Bold, large chapter titles that never get a style. The contents page then skips them.
• The page layout template for a novel. Text will not flow between pages without linked text boxes.
• Clicking Customize Styles on a contents page with no backup copy. That choice cannot be undone.
• Leaving Track Changes off during a fast pass. The author cannot see your edits.
• Using the old Mac app at 14.5 for new features. Version 15.1 carries new features, including free ones.
• Exporting EPUB without opening the file in a reader app first.

Check your Pages version and Creator Studio plan

Open Pages > About Pages to see your version. The Creator Studio edition is version 15.1, and it gets new features, including free ones. The older Mac app is at 14.5. Apple has stopped new features for that app.

Apple Creator Studio costs $12.99 per month or $129 per year in the US, according to MacRumors in January 2026. Subscribers get exclusive templates, Content Hub, and collaboration on files up to 4GB. Check Apple's site for current prices before you buy.

A September 2026 update added Screen View to Pages, for reading and focused writing. Apple said on 2026-11-05 that Pages will introduce new AI features in beta, but it did not confirm when they ship. Plan around the features you have today.

Save a template so every new manuscript starts clean

Once your margins, headers and styles are right, save the file as a template. Our template guide covers the steps. Each new book then starts with the same styles and page setup, so you fix them once.

Keep the template free of manuscript text. Put a sample chapter with the styles applied, plus the front matter you always use. Name it for the book type, such as Novel or Journal Issue, so you find it fast.

A one-chapter workflow for book editors

1. Set the chapter title style, then check the header on that page.
2. Turn on Track Changes and make your edits.
3. Leave comments for the author's decisions. Dictate the big notes into a separate letter.
4. Check the contents page for this chapter.
5. Save a copy before any export, then export to EPUB or PDF.

Keep a clean copy for the author and the printer

Save a working copy with a date in the file name. Keep the edited file you sent, plus the original manuscript the author gave you. When the author asks what changed, you can point to the exact file.

Do not edit the file you sent. Make a new copy for each round of changes. That gives you a clear trail, and it protects you if an edit goes missing.

What to do next with your manuscript in Pages

Open a copy of your manuscript, not the original. Apply the chapter style to one chapter, then check the contents page. If that works, repeat the process for the rest of the book.

Ask Lazur to walk you through any step that does not match this page. Hold ⌥ ⌘ and ask your question. Lazur answers out loud and points at the control.