What our ebook formatting service covers
Ebook formatting is not the same job as print layout. A Kindle, Kobo or Apple Books file is reflowable: the reader chooses the font, the size and the device, so the text has to rebuild itself cleanly on a phone, a tablet and an E Ink screen. Our ebook formatting services set up that structure properly instead of exporting a print PDF and hoping it converts.
- Clean, styled structure — consistent heading levels, paragraph styles, scene breaks and block quotes, so nothing is hard-coded to one screen size.
- Working navigation — a linked table of contents and a navigation menu so readers can jump between chapters from the Kindle menu.
- Images and tables that behave — sized for small screens, with tables simplified or converted where they would break on a phone.
- Front and back matter — title page, copyright page, dedication, about the author, other books and calls to action placed where readers expect them.
- Device checks — we preview the file in Kindle Previewer before delivery, the checking tool KDP itself recommends.
Ebook file formats: EPUB, KPF and Word
According to KDP's supported ebook formats page, the recommended formats for Kindle ebooks are Microsoft Word (DOC/DOCX), Kindle Package Format (KPF, created with Kindle Create) and EPUB. MOBI is a legacy format, and KDP stopped accepting MOBI for fixed-layout ebooks from March 2025. That is why we deliver modern files rather than MOBI.
| Format | Best for | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Reflowable EPUB | Kindle (via KDP upload), Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books and most other ebook stores | Validated EPUB file ready to upload |
| KPF (Kindle Create) | Kindle-only books where you want a Kindle Create file you can edit later | KPF file plus the project files, on request |
| Fixed-layout / print replica | Highly visual books such as workbooks, cookbooks or children's books where the page design must not move | Scoped case by case during your consultation |
Not sure which you need? For most text-led nonfiction, memoir and business books, one reflowable EPUB covers Kindle and the other major stores.
Print book formatting: KDP trim sizes, margins and bleed
A paperback or hardcover interior is a fixed, print-ready PDF. KDP's trim size, bleed and margins guide sets the rules we build to. A few of the specifications that cause the most upload rejections:
| Specification | KDP requirement (paperback) |
|---|---|
| Most common US trim size | 6" x 9" (152.4 x 228.6 mm). Other popular sizes include 5" x 8", 5.25" x 8" and 5.5" x 8.5" |
| Large trim sizes | Wider than 6.12" or taller than 9" — these have different printing costs |
| Bleed | Add 0.125" (3.2 mm) to the top, bottom and outside edge. A 6" x 9" book with bleed uses a 6.125" x 9.25" page |
| Outside margins | At least 0.25" without bleed, at least 0.375" with bleed |
| Inside (gutter) margin | 0.375" for 24–150 pages, rising to 0.5" (151–300), 0.625" (301–500), 0.75" (501–700) and 0.875" (701–828) |
| Page count | Most paperback trims allow 24 to 828 pages on black ink and white paper (limits vary by size and paper) |
If even one page has an image that runs to the edge, the whole file must be set up with bleed. We choose the trim size with you at the start, because it changes the page count, the spine width and the cover file. KDP updates these limits from time to time, so we re-check the live help pages on every project.
Our formatting process, step by step
- Final manuscript check. We confirm the text is edited and proofread, because changes after layout cost time. If it is not ready yet, our book editing and proofreading teams can take it first.
- Specs and style. We agree the formats (ebook, paperback, hardcover), trim size, paper, fonts and chapter-opening style.
- Layout. We build the print interior and the ebook as separate, purpose-made files.
- Your proof. You review a formatted proof and send corrections in one list.
- Validation and delivery. We check the files against KDP's requirements, then deliver upload-ready files and the final page count your cover designer needs.
Most formatting projects complete in 1–2 weeks after final manuscript approval.
Formatting, cover and upload: how the pieces connect
Formatting is where the rest of your production plan meets. The final page count sets the spine width on your paperback cover design, and the finished files go straight into Amazon KDP publishing. If you plan an audio edition, the clean manuscript also feeds audiobook production. Publishing on your own? Our guide on how to self-publish a book on Amazon KDP walks through the upload, and KDP's AI disclosure rules explains one question you will be asked at setup.