Kindle Create Basics
I encountered a steep learning curve when creating an eBook with Kindle Create. After sorting through a lot of information and trying various methods, I developed a process that works really well. This blog post takes you through my process and, hopefully, eases some of the pain points for you.
Start by bookmarking Amazon’s Getting Started with Kindle Create page and use it for reference. You’ll get a good overview of the requirements, features, and troubleshooting. The Getting Started page has links for downloading the application. Or you can go to the download page:
Process for Exact Replica of Printed Book
Opening a PDF in Kindle Create produces an exact replica of the printed book, without any reflow. You can try this first to see if you get the results you want. Follow these steps:
- Launch Kindle Create
- Select “Create new“, then click “Choose” button
- In left sidebar, select “Print Replica“, then click “Choose File (.pdf)” button
- Navigate to the folder that has the PDF and select it. The File name field will autofill with the name of the PDF. Files of type will be “PDF (*.pdf)“.
- Open the PDF.
- Save the file: In this tutorial, my file name is “author-title-inside-demo-prep_KC“. I keep the “_KC” in the File name for easy identification. Files of type will be “Books (*.kcb)“.
Finishing Touches
1. Table of Contents (TOC)
Kindle will generate a TOC based on the pages you select.
- Select a page in the left sidebar.
- In the right sidebar, indicate whether or not the page should be included in Table of Contents.
- Provide a name in the Table of Contents Entry field.
- Repeat the process for each page you want in the TOC
2. Metadata (done via frontmatter)
It’s good to have some frontmatter, since it builds metadata for search engines to find. There are 2 ways to generate frontmatter.
- Add frontmatter: In the left sidebar Contents area, click the “+” Plus symbol. Select a page from the list that pops out.
or - Convert existing pages into frontmatter pages: in the left sidebar Contents area, select the page you want to convert. CNTL-click > Convert an option to one of the options in the list.
3. Create epub: Save the file, then export .kcb file > .kpf file
4. Upload .kpf file to your Amazon KDP Bookshelf
5. Create hi-res (high resolution) TIFF of front cover and upload to Amazon
6. Create lo-res (low resolution) JPG of front cover for use on social media
Summary
Although the PDF-based eBook retains all of the styling of the printed book, it has disadvantages: its fixed format is only available on a limited number of devices and readers can’t resize the text. With books that are image-heavy or have complicated design aesthetics, you might choose a fixed-layout. For example, children’s books would be good candidates for a cloned book. Keep in mind, though, that fixed formats look terrible on mobile phones and other devices with narrow display widths.
Process for Reflowable Book
For a reflowable book, there are 4 main steps.
- Export PDF > MS Word
- Match the Printed Book styling
- After restyling in MS Word, import that MS Word doc into Kindle Create
- Use Kindle Create to generate the eBook
A reflowable book is more preferable for an eBook, since it allows the readers to adjust the text size according to their needs. Thus, it is more user-friendly and accessible. When the size is adjusted, the text and images automatically reflow to fit the reading device width and height it’s being displayed on.
Let’s look at each step in more detail.
1. Export PDF > MS Word
- Open the PDF file
- Go to the File menu: Export to > Microsoft Word > Word Document
2. Match the Printed Book Styling
As someone who spent years in the print design world using PageMaker, Quark XPress, and Adobe InDesign, I find Kindle Create very limited in its design features. There are lots of things it does well, but it is not a full-fledged design and layout tool. Font options are especially restricted. Try not to get discouraged. Just know that the eBook will look very different from the printed book.
Matching the printed book’s styling can be tricky. Despite the fact that the PDF is an exact replica of the printed book, a lot of things change when you export a PDF to MS Word. The bold and italic might be retained, but the sizes and fonts might not be not be the same. Even more variations occur once the MS Word file is imported into Kindle Create.
In order to control certain things, it’s best to do as much of the restyling in MS Word as possible. Kindle Create is simply not as powerful as InDesign or MS Word. It’s very difficult, and sometimes futile, to attempt changing style spex in Create.
- Restyle in MS Word to match printed book as best as possible
- Format basic things in MS Word, like:
body text, chapter titles, indents, line spaces, quotes, credits, dropcaps
- Format basic things in MS Word, like:
- Retain italic by applying stylesheet carefully!
3. Import MS Word doc into Kindle Create
When finished restyling in MS Word, import the MS Word doc into Kindle Create.
- Launch Kindle Create
- Select “Create new“, then click “Choose” button
- In left sidebar, select “Reflowable”, then click “Choose File (.doc, .docx)” button
- Navigate to the folder that has the Word file and select it. The File name field will autofill with the name of the Word doc. Files of type will be “Microsoft Word Documents (*.docx *.doc)“.
- Kindle Create will import convert the .doc file into its own .kcb format.
- Once the import is successful, click the “Continue” button and follow the prompts.
- Click the “Get Started” button and you’ll be able to create the Table of Contents.
- You can “Accept Selected” for now, then return to this area at any time to fine-tune.
- When done, the left sidebar shows the Contents
Revised SPEX in MS Word > Kindle
Some of the spex in MS Word get changed automatically after importing to Kindle.
- Flush left > Justified
- Indents: 0 left and right; .2 paragraph > 1.2
- Spacing: 1.5 > 1
- Dropcap paragraph – seems to retain the indents
- Body text – doesn’t seem to retain the indents
- Chapter Titles: 22pt
- Opening Quotes & Credit line
4. Use Kindle Create to generate the eBook
More Formatting
- Optional: Place Chapter numbers above Chapter Titles. Assign the “chapter title” format to the actual title and not the page number. By default, Kindle Create assigns the “chapter title” format to the page number.
- Format opening quotes (if you have any)
- Create Dingbat – the font used for a dingbat will likely not be available in Kindle. You’ll have to do a screengrab of it in the PDF, then scale down to fit.
- Insert images where you want them. If you want to retain the original position of the images, you’ll have to place them manually in the Kindle Create file. The default placement is at the end of the document.
Finishing Touches
1. Table of Contents (TOC) – Fine-tune as needed
2. Metadata (done via frontmatter) – See details above
3. Create epub: Save the file, then export .kcb file > .kpf file
4. Upload .kpf file to your Amazon KDP Bookshelf
5. Create hi-res (high resolution) TIFF of front cover and upload to Amazon
6. Create lo-res (low resolution) JPG of front cover for use on social media
Editing an eBook
KCB = Kindle Create Book = filename.kcb (working file)
KPF = Kindle Package Format = filename.kpf (uploaded file)
The working file is in the KCB format (.kcb). When you need to edit the book, launch Kindle Create and click “Open an Existing File“. You could also select from the list in the Recents column. Choose the appropriate KCB file, make the changes, and save to the same folder.
The file you upload to Amazon is KPF file (.kpf). It gets created when exporting the KCB file. Amazon uses the KPF file to publish your eBook.
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Very thorough and packed with helpful information! Anne knows what she’s doing (I speak from experience)!
Yes, we’ve done 3 eBooks together!
Very timely article–I’m in the midst of creating an ePub from an INDD; with disappointing results. I’ll try your method (with the Kindle app). Thanks for posting.
Have an awesome Summery mid July.
Hi Len, I have also gone the IDD > epub route. It’s a complicated method, but it does give you a much better, comparable result to the actual printed book. You also have more control over the look and feel of the epub file.
Check out my earlier blog post:
https://www.askdesign.biz/blog/2022/01/create-an-ebook-via-indesign-export-to-html/
Thank you for providing this resourceful content and it is really insightful. Got to know some amazing insights about the content topic.
This is a fantastic and detailed guide on using Kindle Create to create eBooks! As someone who has struggled with eBook formatting in the past, I truly appreciate the effort you’ve put into developing this step-by-step process. Your explanation of both the exact replica and reflowable formats is invaluable, and the tips on matching the printed book styling are incredibly helpful.
Your attention to detail and thorough explanations make it easier for beginners to navigate through the sometimes daunting process of eBook creation. I’ll definitely bookmark this post for future reference, and I’m sure many others will find it just as beneficial.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us. This post will undoubtedly ease the pain points for anyone venturing into eBook creation with Kindle Create. Well done!
Wow, thanks for these positive words! It’s good to know that you found my guide to be helpful!
This is very helpful. I’m struggling with the Word file someone created electronically from my book Everyday Miracles. First we tried putting it directly into Kindle Direct, but it was too hard to fix the mistakes in that, so I’m trying to clean up the Word file first. This blog gives a lot of helpful clues as to how to proceed. Thanks very much for sharing this.
Great to know my post was helpful, thank you for your comment.