Running Headers, Footers, and Page Numbers in Book Design

Running headers are the lines of repeating text that appear at the top of each printed page — the author's name on the left, the book title on the right, or a chapter title alternating with the book title. They're a standard feature of professionally formatted books, and they serve a practical purpose: they orient the reader within the book and make it easy to identify the book itself when its pages are lying flat on a desk.

Most self-published authors format their interior without much thought to running headers. The result is either no running headers at all (which looks spare and sometimes appropriate, but often just looks unfinished) or running headers that break conventions — appearing on chapter opening pages, using text that's too large, or showing the same content on both the left and right pages. These are the kinds of details that professional book designers get right by default and that readers notice without being able to name.

This guide covers running header and page number conventions in full: what goes where, what gets omitted, and how to avoid the most common mistakes.

What running headers and running feet are

A running header (also called a running head) is a line of text that repeats at the top of every page throughout a book. A running footer or running foot is the same concept at the bottom of the page.

Most books use one zone or the other — not both. Using headers at the top and footer text at the bottom simultaneously is unusual in trade publishing and tends to look cluttered. The exception is books where page numbers appear in the footer while header text occupies the top — this is a legitimate design, but even then, the footer typically contains only the page number, not additional text.

The content in running headers typically comes from a small set of options:

• The author's full name
• The book's title
• The current chapter's title
• A combination of two of the above on alternating pages

The two zones: header and footer

The choice between top and bottom placement is a design decision that affects the overall feel of the book:

• Header (top of page): More traditional. The majority of trade-published fiction and nonfiction uses this placement. The running header sits within the top margin area, above the body text, separated by white space or a thin rule.
• Footer (bottom of page): More contemporary and common in certain nonfiction formats, especially academic texts and textbooks. The footer can hold a page number centered or at the outer margin, sometimes with additional text.

Some book designers omit running headers entirely and place only page numbers — at the bottom center, the outer top corner, or the outer bottom corner. This minimalist approach works well for literary fiction where the design emphasizes the text itself.

Running header conventions by page and position

The standard convention in English-language trade publishing distinguishes between verso (left, even-numbered) and recto (right, odd-numbered) pages.

Page position	Verso (left)	Recto (right)
Fiction convention	Author name	Book title
Nonfiction convention	Book title	Chapter title
Alternative (fiction)	Book title	Chapter title
Alternative (nonfiction)	Author name	Book title

The most widely used convention for fiction is author name on the verso, book title on the recto. This is what you'll find in the majority of traditionally published novels and what most readers unconsciously expect.

For nonfiction, the more useful convention is book title on the verso, chapter title on the recto — because nonfiction readers frequently dip in and out of chapters, and having the chapter title visible at the top of the page helps them stay oriented.

Page number placement options

Page numbers in trade publishing fall into a few standard positions:

• Outer margin of the header line — the most common position in fiction. The page number appears on the same line as the running header text, at the outer edge of the page (left for verso pages, right for recto pages).
• Centered beneath the running header — a more formal arrangement sometimes used in academic publishing.
• Centered in the footer — a clean, minimalist option. Often paired with no text-based running header.
• Outer margin of the footer — outer-bottom positioning; used in some academic and reference formats.

For most fiction, page numbers in the outer margin of the header line — on the same line as the author name or book title — is the correct choice. For nonfiction, the same is generally true, though some nonfiction designers prefer footer placement.

Verso/recto alternation

The distinction between left (verso) and right (recto) pages is foundational to print book design. In a bound book, even-numbered pages always appear on the left; odd-numbered pages always appear on the right. This is a fixed physical property of how bound books open.

Your running headers must reflect this:

• Verso pages (left, even numbers) show one content type — typically the author name
• Recto pages (right, odd numbers) show another — typically the book or chapter title

If both verso and recto pages show the same text, it wastes the navigational value of the alternating header system and can make the book feel like it was formatted without understanding print conventions.

Pages that should NOT have running headers or page numbers

This is where many self-formatted books go wrong. Running headers should not appear on every page. Standard conventions specify that certain pages are excluded.

Pages that typically have no running header and no page number:

• Chapter opening pages (the first page of each chapter never has a running header in traditional book design)
• Blank pages
• Full-page images or illustrations
• The title page
• The copyright page
• The dedication page
• The epigraph page

Pages that have page numbers but no running header text:

• Half-title page (sometimes)
• The table of contents (page numbers appear but typically no running header)
• Parts pages (section dividers between major parts)

Chapter opening pages are the most commonly mishandled. A chapter opening page in a well-formatted book has no running header — the chapter number and title design already anchor the page. Adding a running header on the same page crowds the top margin and violates a near-universal convention in trade publishing.

See chapter headings and section breaks for chapter opening design conventions that work in tandem with running header placement.

Front matter page numbering

The pages before chapter one — your front matter — use a different page numbering system from the main text. The convention:

• Front matter pages use lowercase Roman numerals: i, ii, iii, iv, v...
• Main text pages restart at Arabic numeral 1 at chapter one

The title page is typically counted as page i but does not display a page number. The copyright page is page ii and also typically shows no number. Page numbers (in Roman numerals) typically begin appearing on the table of contents or the preface.

This two-number-system convention is standard in traditionally published books and signals that the front matter is separate from the main text — a navigational aid that matters most in nonfiction, where readers may look up specific sections. See front matter and back matter for the complete front matter structure.

For short fiction paperbacks, some authors skip Roman numeral front matter entirely and simply have the page numbers start at 1 from the first printed page. This is simpler but less conventional. Either approach is defensible for fiction; nonfiction should use the traditional two-system approach.

Running header typography

Running headers are set in smaller type than the body text — typically 8–9pt when the body is 11–12pt. They are frequently set in small caps (uppercase letterforms scaled to the x-height of the font), which creates a formal, polished appearance and ensures the header doesn't compete visually with the body text.

Common treatments:

• Small caps — traditional, formal, elegant. Works well for literary fiction and most nonfiction.
• Italic — slightly softer than small caps. Sometimes used for the chapter title on the recto page.
• Roman (regular) — acceptable but can feel heavy if the type size isn't reduced sufficiently.
• All caps in a smaller size — used in some academic formats; slightly aggressive for most trade books.

The running header must not be so large that it competes with the chapter heading or the body text. It should be clearly subordinate — information available at a glance, not demanding attention.

Chapter title in the running header: full vs. abbreviated

For nonfiction books where chapter titles appear in the running header, the full chapter title may be too long to fit on a single line without extending into the margin. The options:

1. Abbreviate the title — use the first meaningful phrase or a shortened version. Keep it recognizable to a reader who knows the chapter.
2. Use a short-form title — if your chapter is titled "How to Structure a Three-Act Narrative for Commercial Fiction," the running header might read "Structuring a Three-Act Narrative" or simply "Three-Act Structure."
3. Use the chapter number only — "Chapter 4" or "4" as the running header content. This is functional but minimal.

Never let the running header text run into the page margin. If it doesn't fit abbreviated, use the chapter number.

Common running header mistakes

Mistake	Why it's a problem	Fix
Same text on both verso and recto	Wastes the alternating system; looks like an oversight	Use different content on each side
Running headers on chapter opening pages	Against established convention; crowds the top margin	Suppress headers on first page of each chapter
Running headers in front matter	Front matter pages have their own design logic	Suppress headers on title, copyright, dedication, and epigraph pages
Font too large	Header competes with body text	Set header at 8–9pt, smaller than body
Full-length chapter titles that overflow the margin	Looks like a formatting error	Abbreviate or use chapter number
No distinction between verso and recto	Makes the book feel symmetrically wrong	Apply alternating content correctly

Ebooks don't have running headers

Reflowable ePUB files — the format used by Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and similar — don't use running headers. The text reflows based on the reader's device, font choice, and font size, and the concept of a fixed header on a fixed page doesn't apply.

Navigation in ebooks is handled by the table of contents, bookmarks, and the device's own UI. You don't need to implement running headers in your EPUB file, and attempting to do so with fixed formatting typically creates display problems. See EPUB formatting best practices for what actually matters in ebook formatting.

Frequently asked questions

Should my running header show my name or the book title? For fiction, the standard is author name on the verso (left) page and book title on the recto (right) page. If you can only pick one — for example, in a simpler layout with centered content — the book title is more useful to a reader who picks up a loose page. For nonfiction, chapter title on the recto is more useful than author name.

What's the standard position for page numbers? The outer margin of the header line is the most common position in trade-published fiction and nonfiction. This means page numbers appear at the top left on verso pages and top right on recto pages, on the same line as the header text. Centered footer placement is also widely used and perfectly acceptable.

Do all books need running headers? No. Running headers are conventional but not mandatory. Short novels, chapbooks, and some literary works omit them entirely. If you omit running headers, make sure page numbers still appear — a book with no page numbers at all is genuinely hard to use for readers navigating back to a passage.

Can running headers include the book's subtitle? Sometimes — if the subtitle is short enough. But subtitles are more commonly omitted from running headers in favor of the main title, which is shorter and more recognizable. Never truncate either the title or subtitle in a way that makes the header ambiguous.

What if my book has multiple authors? Multi-author anthologies or collaborative works often use a different convention: the anthology or book title on the verso, and the individual story or chapter author's name on the recto. This is the established convention for story collections.

The bottom line

Running headers and page numbers are a small part of book interior design by area, but they have an outsized effect on how professional the book feels. Getting them right means knowing which pages to exclude (chapter openers, blank pages, front matter), which content goes on which side (author name verso, book title recto for fiction), and what typography to use (smaller than body, often in small caps).

The most common mistake is applying running headers uniformly to every page without understanding the suppression rules. Look at the interior of any traditionally published novel and you'll see these conventions in action: no header on the chapter opening, Roman numerals in the front matter, and consistent alternating content throughout.

LiberScript applies correct running header conventions automatically based on your book's structure, including suppressing headers on chapter opening pages. Get started to see your formatted book with professional page headers.