This is pretty easy after to do it a couple times. You will need to format your text editor to divide a page into segments. Here’s one example:
After you experiment a little, you will be able to make the appropriate changes to format your pages properly for your project. This is a fairly tiny book, of course, and uses just one sheet of copy paper to make an 8 page chapbook. This is perfect for haiku, or short poems. You will need to learn to fold the book properly. Here’s a video that shows you how (see below), and after just a couple tries, it really goes very quickly:
Folding an 8-page chapbook from one sheet
This is the no-software, no-staples booklet, and it’s a small miracle the first time it works. One sheet of letter paper becomes an eight-page booklet with a single cut and a few folds.
- Fold the sheet in half the short way, then in half again, then once more. Unfold it. You now have eight rectangles marked by creases.
- Fold the sheet in half the short way again and cut along the center crease from the folded edge to the middle, stopping at the center point. That slit is what lets it fold into pages.
- Open the sheet back to a single fold the long way, so it looks like a long tent.
- Push the two ends toward each other. The cut opens into a plus shape in the middle.
- Press the four panels together so they fold into a stack of pages, then crease the spine.
Because the pages fold from one sheet, they don’t sit in plain order on the flat page. Lay out your text so each panel lands right side up in the finished booklet. Print one blank test fold, number the panels in pencil as you go, then match your layout to those numbers. After a try or two it’s second nature.
This tiny format is perfect for haiku or a handful of short poems. For larger booklets you’ll fold and staple several sheets instead, which the main guide and the format guide cover.