What goes in the header in a novel?

The left-page header and right-page header are usually different. The left-page header usually contains the title of the book or the title of the chapter. The right-page header usually contains the title of the chapter or the author name.


In book design, the header is the space at the top of each page, and the footer is the space at the bottom of each page. The footer usually contains the page number or nothing at all. (Sometimes the page number is put on the outer-side of each page header.)

There are different conventions for what goes in the header. The left-page header and right-page header usually contain different information, and there are generally three possible combinations, as shown in the table below.

Left-Page HeaderRight-Page Header
Style 1Book TitleChapter Title
Style 2Book TitleAuthor Name
Style 3Chapter TitleAuthor Name

Any of these styles are fine, and it’s up to you to choose which one you like. (For all my books, I use style 2.)

You can of course put anything else you like in the header and footer: small graphics, logos, or symbols. But whatever it is, make sure it doesn’t draw the eye too much – as it will appear on almost every page of the book.

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