diff --git a/resources/default_tweaks.py b/resources/default_tweaks.py
index 01a6e8bd75..43cf5772f6 100644
--- a/resources/default_tweaks.py
+++ b/resources/default_tweaks.py
@@ -126,12 +126,14 @@ sort_columns_at_startup = None
 gui_pubdate_display_format = 'MMM yyyy'
 gui_timestamp_display_format = 'dd MMM yyyy'
 
-#: Control sorting of titles and series in the display
-# Control title and series sorting in the library view.
-# If set to 'library_order', Leading articles such as The and A will be ignored.
-# If set to 'strictly_alphabetic', the titles will be sorted without processing
-# For example, with library_order, The Client will sort under 'C'. With
-# strictly_alphabetic, the book will sort under 'T'.
+#: Control sorting of titles and series in the library display
+# Control title and series sorting in the library view. If set to
+# 'library_order', the title sort field will be used instead of the title.
+# Unless you have manually edited the title sort field, leading articles such as
+# The and A will be ignored. If set to 'strictly_alphabetic', the titles will be
+# sorted as-is (sort by title instead of title sort). For example, with
+# library_order, The Client will sort under 'C'. With strictly_alphabetic, the
+# book will sort under 'T'.
 # This flag affects Calibre's library display. It has no effect on devices. In
 # addition, titles for books added before changing the flag will retain their
 # order until the title is edited. Double-clicking on a title and hitting return
@@ -140,11 +142,15 @@ title_series_sorting = 'library_order'
 
 #: Control formatting of title and series when used in templates
 # Control how title and series names are formatted when saving to disk/sending
-# to device. If set to library_order, leading articles such as The and A will
-# be put at the end
-# If set to 'strictly_alphabetic', the titles will be sorted without processing
-# For example, with library_order, "The Client" will become "Client, The". With
-# strictly_alphabetic, it would remain "The Client".
+# to device. The behavior depends on the field being processed. If processing
+# title, then if this tweak is set to 'library_order', the title will be
+# replaced with title_sort. If it is set to 'strictly_alphabetic', then the
+# title will not be changed. If processing series, then if set to
+# 'library_order', articles such as 'The' and 'An' will be moved to the end. If
+# set to 'strictly_alphabetic', the series will be sent without change.
+# For example, if the tweak is set to library_order, "The Lord of the Rings"
+# will become "Lord of the Rings, The". If the tweak is set to
+# strictly_alphabetic, it would remain "The Lord of the Rings".
 save_template_title_series_sorting = 'library_order'
 
 #: Set the list of words considered to be "articles" for sort strings
diff --git a/src/calibre/library/save_to_disk.py b/src/calibre/library/save_to_disk.py
index 20c0a7e59c..9631737337 100644
--- a/src/calibre/library/save_to_disk.py
+++ b/src/calibre/library/save_to_disk.py
@@ -142,11 +142,19 @@ class SafeFormat(TemplateFormatter):
 def get_components(template, mi, id, timefmt='%b %Y', length=250,
         sanitize_func=ascii_filename, replace_whitespace=False,
         to_lowercase=False):
-    tsfmt = partial(title_sort, order=tweaks['save_template_title_series_sorting'])
+
+    tsorder = tweaks['save_template_title_series_sorting']
     format_args = FORMAT_ARGS.copy()
     format_args.update(mi.all_non_none_fields())
     if mi.title:
-        format_args['title'] = tsfmt(mi.title)
+        if tsorder == 'strictly_alphabetic':
+            v = mi.title
+        else:
+            # title_sort might be missing or empty. Check both conditions
+            v = mi.get('title_sort', None)
+            if not v:
+                v = title_sort(mi.title, order=tsorder)
+        format_args['title'] = v
     if mi.authors:
         format_args['authors'] = mi.format_authors()
         format_args['author'] = format_args['authors']
@@ -157,7 +165,7 @@ def get_components(template, mi, id, timefmt='%b %Y', length=250,
     else:
         format_args['tags'] = ''
     if mi.series:
-        format_args['series'] = tsfmt(mi.series)
+        format_args['series'] = title_sort(mi.series, order=tsorder)
         if mi.series_index is not None:
             format_args['series_index'] = mi.format_series_index()
     else:
@@ -176,7 +184,7 @@ def get_components(template, mi, id, timefmt='%b %Y', length=250,
             cm = custom_metadata[key]
             ## TODO: NEWMETA: should ratings be divided by 2? The standard rating isn't...
             if cm['datatype'] == 'series':
-                format_args[key] = tsfmt(format_args[key])
+                format_args[key] = title_sort(format_args[key], order=tsorder)
                 if key+'_index' in format_args:
                     format_args[key+'_index'] = fmt_sidx(format_args[key+'_index'])
             elif cm['datatype'] == 'datetime':