Amazon is one of the biggest platforms for self-publishing books out there and it’s typically most people’s first choice when it comes to self-publishing. Amazon makes self-publishing a very accessible thing and it makes it easy to be discovered by readers since Amazon promotes its Kindle-related services quite frequently. Of course, because of this, it’s important to create an eBook version of your story when you publish a book, even if you’re also planning on publishing a paperback and hardcover version. Nowadays, it’s basically a necessity to publish an eBook as well. So, today, I’ll be teaching you how you can format an eBook for Amazon KDP for free.
(affiliate disclaimer: some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means that I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you when you make a purchase using my link)
Download Kindle Create
The first thing you’ll want to do is to download Kindle Create. This is a free software that Amazon provides for Mac and Windows where you can create professional-level quality eBooks that are formatted for distribution on Kindle and other devices that have the Kindle app.
It’s super easy. Once you download it for your device, you just let the installer do its thing and you’re done with this part.
What Options Does Kindle Create Have?
Kindle Create has three different commonly used formats that should service nearly every need you have.
Firstly, you have the reflowable option. This is most often used for text-heavy things like novels. This is also likely the one you’ll be using if you’re writing a book. This allows readers to have the ability to resize the text and adapt to the screen size that a person is using.
The next one is the interactive print replica, which is usually used for things like cookbooks, textbooks, and other educational texts. This format maintains the look of the print edition but it does not allow readers to resize text. It’s also only available on certain devices, so not every device will be able to see this book.
Finally, there is comics with guided view. This format is built specifically for comics and manga and allows you to animate panel-to-panel movement so that each swipe shows how the story progresses across each page. It lets readers focus on a single panel at a time instead of seeing an entire page of panels in their face.
The screenshot below shows all the details you’ll need to make your decision:
Create a Compatible File for Your Manuscript
Next, depending on the choice you’ve made, you need to make a file that is compatible with that choice. For instance, if you’re choosing the reflowable option, you’ll need to upload a .doc or .docx file. For comics, you’ll need a jpg, png, or pdf file. For print replica, you’ll need a .pdf file.
If you’re working with a standard novel and you’re choosing the reflowable option (which you should in this case) then you may have a document done in something like Google Docs or even Scrivener or something like that. You’ll want to export the file into the compatible version and then don’t worry about anything else. You’ll be able to pretty much fix everything in Kindle Create. However, I do recommend you give the exported file a quick skim to make sure it’s all good.
If you’ve formatted a book that has lots of images and pictures in the paperback version, you’ll unfortunately not be able to include much of those in the eBook version. If you want the book to be reflowable, which is basically a must in the eBook world, then you’ll have to drop a lot of fancy things from your paperback version. It’s fine, it is what it is. Don’t worry too much about it. A lot of paperbacks have more extras than eBook versions anyways and they cost more, so it makes sense from a marketing perspective.
Start a New Project in Kindle Create
The next thing you’ll want to do is open up Kindle Create and from there you’ll want to start a brand new project. This is what the screen should show you when you first open the app.
There is the Create New option which is what you’ll want to use.
The next thing you want to do is to pick which option you want for your eBook. As you can see, the three options are listed and the app will tell you what sort of features you get with the different versions. It also tells you which apps and devices can actually use that type of book. So, as you can see, the Print Replica can’t work on a standard Kindle device, which makes sense because this version allows for audio and webpages to be linked.
Next, you can choose to input the details of your book at this stage, but you don’t have to. If you’re not super sure about what title your book has, you can leave this for later.
After this, you’ll need to upload the compatible file type for your book. As you can see, it won’t let you move on without uploading the document.
Once you’ve uploaded the document, Kindle Create will take a few minutes and then it will reformat your document to fit its system.
Fix Up Your eBook
The next thing you’ll want to do is to actually fix up any of the formatting issues that you may have in the eBook version. Sometimes, when it goes from a Word document or something, it may not pick up on some formatting cues. This is an easy fix and you’ll just need to go through and do things like change chapter headings to be chapter headings and so on.
As you can see here, this is actually Book 1 of my series, Malware, which I’m showing you a bit of some behind-the-scenes work. It’s obviously not going to have the same level of fancy formatting as my InDesign version of the book, as you are limited to what Kindle Create gives you. However, this is the best way to ensure that your eBook is optimized perfectly for Kindle devices. Trust me, a poorly optimized book is going to get readers annoyed when they go to read your story. It will impact the user experience.
Preview Your Book
One neat option about Kindle Create is the ability to actually preview what your book will look like so you can see how users will experience your story for themselves. You can choose to see it on a tablet, a Kindle, and a phone screen and it’s great because you can put yourself in the reader’s shoes to see what the options look like and how your book will feel for them to read as well.
Again, I’m using my book as an example (not a spoiler, you can read that in the sample anyways), and you can see how the formatting is with decently sized text on the tablet version. Of course, it will adapt to each device and you can change the way the text looks on your screen as well.
Export Your Book
Once you’re done previewing and checking your book for any errors, you want to export the book so that you can actually publish it on Amazon.
The nice thing about Kindle Create is that you can choose to export your book either as a KPF file or as an epub. KPF is only really good for Amazon and you’ll need epub if you’re planning on publishing on another service like Draft2Digital or Rakuten Kobo.
You can also use the KPF file for the print version of your book if you want, but for a print version, I recommend you actually go and design the book’s interior yourself and make it more customized for your liking. I personally am using InDesign for this, but you can also use Scrivener, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc… for this part.
Publish Your eBook on KDP
I won’t go in-depth on this part here, as I have a whole separate post on my blog about how to publish an eBook on KDP Select, so you can check that out if you’re interested and want an in-depth explanation.
Do I Need to Use Kindle Create for KDP?
No, you can use another software if that fits your fancy more. However, the nice thing about Kindle Create is that it streamlines the work for you and makes it so that your book is compatible with any device that has the Kindle app. You may want to use something else if you’re not planning on publishing on Amazon.
Is Kindle Create Complicated?
Not at all! In fact, Kindle Create was so easy to learn that I didn’t watch a single tutorial. I just went ahead and figured out the tool for myself. However, Amazon does have published tutorials for you in case you have any problems at some point in the way.
Conclusion
If you want to publish an eBook on Amazon and you want to reach readers on many devices, then choosing to format with Kindle Create is probably going to be your best option. You can make it work on Amazon’s Kindle app and readers and you can also format it easily for other ereaders and devices. You can also export as an epub file to make sure that it’s compatible with other apps and tools like Kobo. Kindle Create is a great and easy tool that just makes life honestly easier.
Before you head on out, be sure to check out my series, The Fallen Age Saga, and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so you can get updates on my latest WIPs, book releases, posts, and more!