How to Make a Book Designed for the Kindle

Kindle is a type of portable e-book reader.

If you want to publish your book on Amazon's Kindle, the recommended format is Microsoft Word's DOC. Although you can technically use many other formats, such as TXT files and zipped HTML, the DOC format gives the best results. Whether you have crafted a biography or the next bestselling novel, you'll want to present your product in the most professional way possible. Following some basic formatting principles for Kindle Direct Publishing will ensure your formatting doesn't go awry when your book is converted to Kindle format.

Instructions

1. Convert your book into a DOC format, if it isn't in that format already. In Microsoft Word, click the "Microsoft Office" button, then mouse over "Save As" and then click "Microsoft Word 97-2003 document."

2. Remove any page numbers, different font sizes, special fonts, bullet points, headers, footers and margins in Word. They don't apply when they are converted to Kindle. Leaving them in your document may give you a false impression of how your book is going to look. Indentations, italics, bold characters and headings will all transfer well.

3. Make an intentional page break between chapters or sections by clicking "Insert" and then click "Page Break."

4. Insert images into your book by clicking "Insert" and then "Picture." Use JPEG format for your pictures with center alignment. Don't copy and paste pictures into your book -- they won't convert well into Kindle and may not convert at all.

5. Add a title page to your book with the title of your book on top and the author name underneath. Insert a page break after the title and author name.

6. Save your file as a "Web Page, Filtered (*HTM & *HTML)." Click the "Microsoft Office" button, then mouse over "Save as" and then click "Web Page, Filtered (*HTM & *HTML)." Your book is now ready for conversion to the Kindle format.

Tips & Warnings

• The first line of each paragraph defaults to an indent in Kindle format, so there's no need to indent your paragraphs in Word.

• PDF formats don't work well for Kindle books because of formatting issues. If you do have a PDF and want to turn it into a Kindle, Amazon recommends converting the PDF to a DOC format before uploading to the Kindle.

References

• Kindle Direct Publishing: Supported Formats
• Kindle Direct Publishing: Simplified Formatting Guide