Guides
- How to format a book for Amazon KDP
Trim size, margins, bleed, fonts and the two PDFs KDP wants. A checklist for a paperback or hardcover interior that passes review the first time.
- How to format a book for IngramSpark
What IngramSpark expects from an interior PDF and a cover, how it differs from KDP, and how to make one file that works for both.
- Book trim sizes explained: 5×8, 5.5×8.5, 6×9 and the rest
Which trim size to pick for a novel, a memoir or non-fiction, what each one does to the page count, and which sizes can be hardcovers.
- Book margins, gutter and bleed
Why the inside margin grows with the page count, the numbers KDP checks, what bleed is and when you need it.
- How to make a print-ready PDF of your book
What "print-ready" means: exact page size, embedded fonts, no crop marks, flattened images. And how to check a PDF before uploading it.
- How to make an EPUB from your manuscript
What an EPUB is, why it has no pages, what Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo need from it, and how to preview it before you publish.
- Book cover dimensions and spine width
How to work out the full-wrap cover size for a paperback or hardcover from the trim size, the page count and the paper.
- Widows, orphans, running heads and the other things a typesetter fixes
The typesetting rules that separate a printed book from a printed manuscript, and what each one looks like on the page.
- How to make a large-print edition of your book
What makes an edition "large print", the type size and leading to use, and why it is worth publishing one.
Looking for how to do something in the app itself? That is in the manual.