Determine how you want to style your chapter headings and the first line of chapter text.

Your chapter header should be placed between 1/4 – 1/3 down the page, depending on the size of your chapter header.

The easiest placement for your chapter header is Center, but you can align it to the left or right, you’ll just have to think about consistency each time you start a new chapter to make sure it falls to the outside, whether it’s on a front or back page.

If you center your chapter title, make sure you adjust the first line indent by sliding the lever to the side. Otherwise your chapter title/image will be slightly off-center.

Place your chapter header.

Leave 2-3 line spaces between the header and the text.

The first line of your chapter should be aligned left. I just place my cursor at the first letter and drag the ruler to the side rather than go through the trouble of the paragraph dialogue.

You have a few options for the first line of your chapter.

1. Leave your text as is
2. Use a unique font
3. Put the first line in small caps
4. Insert a drop cap. Place cursor at first letter. Insert > Drop Cap > Drop Cap Options. From there choose Dropped, then font, default drop is 3 lines, but you can do up to 6 for a dramatic effect.

Click “Show/Hide” to reveal codes so you can easily see your line spacing and indents.

If you choose a graphic design, you can use Canva, Photoshop, or any other graphic program you like. You don’t need to be a graphic artist, at all. Canva is awesome that way because they have so many ready options available. But you can also buy designs or flourishes from stock photo places like BigStockPhoto or Shutterstock, etc.

Start with a canvas of 5” by 2” and a minimum 300 dpi. From here you can play around and find the size that works for your design.

Don’t forget to create a matching or complimentary scene break.

Play with that until you create a design you like. Save as a .png, maximum quality.
 

Basic Design

If you’re doing a non-graphic design, you can still make your book pretty. You can vary the font size like I did here, with the capitals a larger font size than the rest of the text. Adjust the "kerning" (distance between letters, I explain how to do that later) between the capital letter and regular letter so you don't have awkward spacing.

And/or you can use lines or shapes built into Windows:

Use a symbol font (free) to create a unique scene break. This one is the font Futurama Alien and would make a cool scene break.