Instructions for publishing your e-book on Kindle
This is a composite article covering How to Submit Your Book to the Kindle E-Book Store and a Simplified Formatting Guide for Kindle.
Since I wrote my books Self Publishing for the Clueless® and E-Publishing for the Clueless® books, Amazon®, has changed and improved their system consequently the characteristics of the Kindle® system and how your book might look on the Kindle® reader might not loom like you want it to if you don’t follow the guidelines.
Here are some guidelines and things for you consider about putting your book on the Kindle® system
For the current answers to virtually all of your questions about the specifics of pricing, discounts, royalties, and other aspects of offering our materials on Amazon.com, visit their Kindle Direct publishing site at:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A36BYK5S7AJ2NQ
Kindle is Amazon.com’s eBook publishing platform available on the Kindle eBook reader, on computers, online, for Smartphones such as Android and iPhone, and for tablet devices such as the iPad.
Here’s the basic Kindle process so you can get an idea of what’s going to happen:
How the Kindle system works (Kinda but not accurately :) )
The Kindle system is a variation on the HTML format (the language of the web) where the text and graphics are actually two separate files with links from the text to the graphics.
To exemplify this, think about receiving an HTML e-mail message (Like a promotional piece from K-Mart) where the text appears and then you see little boxes with red x’s in them and them a moment later, the pictures appear where the little boxes with the red x’s were a moment earlier – that’s how Kindle works.
So, once the PRINTED version of the book is completed you’ll need to extract all of the images and set them up in a separate JPEG file.
The Word version MUST be reformatted to meet the Kindle requirements (see the instructions that follow) for spacing, tabulation, margins, and the like. Also, each graphic location will be reinserted using the specific commands as required by Kindle.
Once these functions are completed, both of these files will be sent to Kindle for conversion to their software format so that it plays on the Kindle reader and other similar systems.
The way the Kindle system works is similar to the HTML advertising I just described. It’s done this way so that the graphics, pages, etc. can be sized and shifted to meet the reader’s demands.
This also requires that the table of contents and the index be recreated because when Kindle allows the reader to re-size the pages, the pagination goes completely haywire so it MUST be formatted to meet their standards.
More details about the system
Anyone can publish a book through the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) system, (https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin) which then distributes the e-book via Amazon.com’s online network.
Self publishing? Formatting requirements vary for Print, Print on Demand (POD), PDF eBook, and Kindle eBook.
While each format has different requirements, and requirements for Kindle are far more stringent than just for print, there are some common denominators.
If you set up your book interior according to these common-denominator-basics, you’ll be able to move smoothly from one printer to another, and from one format to another. NOT following them can mean a whole lot of re-working down the road.
The following set up guidelines are from CreateSpace.com. CreateSpace is an Amazon’s utility for placing your book forsale on amazon.com, both as a printed book, and/or for sale as an eBook formatted as PDF or Kindle.
CreateSpace also offers print runs for ordering your own copies for your own methods of sale.
If you choose to use another printer, that’s fine, but you’ll still need CreateSpace if you want to sell on Amazon. CreateSpace’s specs are common to the industry, so follow these guidelines to set up your interior book file for the most versatility and compatibility, where ever you choose to have it printed.
I’ll start with the most common problems. These are extremely common CreateSpace no-nos :
• Margins are smaller than required (critical for POD)
• Spacing done with hard returns (critical for Kindle)
• Creating indents using the tab key (critical for Kindle)
• Creating PDFs that do not have embeded fonts (problematic for traditional print, POD, and PDF eBook)
Here are the basics to address those 4 problem areas. A lot more info is available on CreatSpace’s web site and other sites, visit the links provided for more detailed information.
• Margins. The 3 outside margins (top, bottom, and outside edge) must be AT LEAST .25″. Margins on the gutter side (the “inside” or binding edge) vary depending on page count. The more pages, the wider the gutter. For books with 150 – 400 pages, the minimum margin is .75″.
• Spacing. When you’re setting up your file, it’s really tempting to add space where you want it by using the return key. DON’T DO IT! If you want to push something to the next page, do it by inserting a Page Break. Paragraph spacing should be done by using Word’s Paragraph Indents and Spacing settings. If you want the look of double spaced paragraphs, select 12 points for the “Spacing After” each paragraph. You can choose any amount of space you like, Just remember, DO NOT HIT THE RETURN KEY MORE THAN ONCE!
• Indents. It’s also really tempting to use the space bar or tab key to creating indents. Don’t do it! If you want your paragraphs to be indented, establish that in the Paragraph Indents and Spacing settings. If you want something centered, don’t use the space bar to push it over. Highlight it and choose “Center”.
• PDFs with fonts embedded. There are some variables here depending on how you create your PDFs, but a great easy to understand resource is:
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ir_information/70/
I found this link by googling “how to embed fonts when saving as PDF from Word”.
Follow the above steps for smooth printing and eBooking.
The KDP system is compatible with a variety of document files and requires you to include a cover image for your e-book that will be displayed on the Kindle store.
You will need:
Go to the KDP Web page on your computer and log in using your Amazon.com account details. If requested, read and agree to the KDP terms and conditions.
Step 2
Click the “Add a New Title” button in the upper-left corner of the KDP “Bookshelf” page.
Step 3
Enter the relevant details of your e-book in the “Book Basics” section, including a title, edition number and product description. The description is the synopsis people will see when browsing the Kindle store.
Step 4
Click the “Add Contributors” button and enter the details of the e-book’s author or authors. Click the “Save” button to finish adding contributors.
Step 5
Set the language of the e-book using the “Language” drop-down menu in the “Publishing Details” section and set a publication date using the calendar to determine when the e-book will go on sale. If you want it to go on sale immediately, leave this section blank.
Step 6
Click the “Add Categories” button in the “Browse and Search” section and select at least one relevant category for your e-book to be filed under.
Step 7
Click the “Browse for Image” button in the “Product Image” section and select the cover image from your computer. Click the “Upload Image” button to add the cover image to your e-book.
Step 8
Select your preferred option for adding copy protection to the e-book in the “Book Content” section using the two radio buttons. Click the “Browse for Book” button and select the e-book file on your computer followed by the “Open” button. Your e-book will now be uploaded to Amazon.com and its digital rights management (DRM) will be applied.
Step 9
Click the “Save and Continue” button and then select your preferred royalty option on the next page using the two radio buttons. Enter the price you want to sell your e-book for in the “List Price” box next to the royalty options.
Step 10
Tick the “Terms and Conditions” box at the bottom of the page followed by the “Save and Publish” button. Your e-book will appear for sale on the Amazon.com Kindle store within the next 24 hours.
Formatting you book for the Kindle®
I hadn’t really considered this to be a big deal since everything I publish for electronic distribution is converted to PDF format and when the reader looks at it, appears exactly like I wrote it.
Life would be a lot simpler if everything we read and write was set up on a standard format but unfortunately, it isn’t so if you want your book to look the way you want it to on the Kindler, you’re going to have to follow their guidelines for publishing.
Since most people use Microsoft Word, the following instructions show you how to go from whatever you’ve set up as you format to one that will display properly on the Kindle®.
Building your book
Word is a great tool to use because it’s extremely easy to format. We suggest writing your book in Word or converting an existing source file into Word (.doc) format before continuing.
Remember these important tips below to ensure an excellent eBook presentation.
By Mark Twain
-Insert Page Break Here-
To insert a page break in Word, click “Insert” at the top menu bar and select “Page Break.”
The remaining step is to insert a page break after the last sentence of each chapter in the book to prevent chapters from running together. Depending on the number of chapters you have, this may be a time-consuming process but the effort is worth the improved reading experience.
Paragraphs
Paragraph text displays with justified alignment by default. The first line of each paragraph is automatically indented.
To manually indent paragraphs in your content, do NOT use tab-spacing. This will not convert for the Kindle. Instead, use the Word-default Paragraph Formatting to indent paragraphs. There are two ways in which you can indent paragraphs:
1. Click on “Page Layout”, and specify the amount of indentation in the “Indent” option.
2. Use the ruler at the top of the page to change the indentation. If you don’t see a ruler in your Word document, click on “View” and check the Ruler option.
You can also follow the guide here:http://www.ehow.com/how_4714418_indent-paragraphs-word-documents.html
Creating an Active Table of Contents
For digital books, page numbers don’t really apply. This is due to the fact that Kindle content is resizable, and the number of pages within the book changes as the text scales. It is highly recommended that your book has an active Table of Contents for easy navigation.
You can use Microsoft Word’s in-built Table of Contents creator to create an active TOC for your book. More information can be found here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/285059
Guide Items
Kindle has the option to “Go To” the cover image, beginning and the Table of Contents of your book, anywhere from the content. These are defined by what is known as “Guide Items.” To define the Guide Items, follow the below steps:
For the Cover Image:
Click on the cover image, then click on “Insert > Bookmark.” In the ‘Bookmark name:” field, type “cover” (without the quotes) and click “Add.”
For the Beginning:
Place the cursor where you want the book to start, click on “Insert > Bookmark.” In the “Bookmark name:” field, type “Start” (without the quotes) and click “Add.”
For the Table of Contents:
Place the cursor at the beginning of the first entry in the Table of Contents. Click on “Insert > Bookmark.” In the “Bookmark name:” field, type “TOC” (without the quotes) and click “Add.”
Creating Back Matter
Back matter consists of the last pages in your book which provides additional information the reader should know about, such as Bibliographies,
Appendices, Notes or Glossaries.
There isn’t a specific order which back matter should be presented in, so use your judgment and be sure to insert page breaks after each section. Indexes are not recommended at this time.
Saving as Filtered HTML
Once you have inserted your page breaks and are confident with the layout of your book, save your Word file to your Documents folder or Desktop in Web Page, Filtered (*HTM & *HTML) format. This format is required to build a successful eBook.
When saving the Word file as HTML, all the images (if any) in the Word file will be extracted, and will be stored in a separate folder. This folder will be saved in the same location where the HTML file is saved.
Once this is done, you’re ready to import your book using MobiPocket Creator.
Using MobiPocket Creator to Build Your Book
MobiPocket Creator is an application that will convert your Web Page, Filtered (*HTM & *HTML) file into an eBbook. It can be downloaded by clicking the link above or by going to mobipocket.com.
Once installed, follow these steps to create your eBook:
This PRC file is what you will upload into the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
Now that you have an eBook of your file, the next steps are to verify how it will read on a Kindle Device.
Use Kindlegen to Convert HTML to Mobi
The MobiPocket Creator application is compatible only on Windows based computers. If you used MobiPocket Creator to build your ebook, you can skip this step. MAC users can use the KindleGen application to convert the HTML file to a Kindle-compatible format (MOBI/AZW/PRC). Follow the below instructions:
1. Download the KindleGen.zip to your Mac in a location such as your home (~) directory. KindleGen can be downloaded fromhttp://www.amazon.com/kindlepublishing
2. Unzip it under “~/KindleGen” (you’ll have to create a new folder, and unzip the KindleGen application to this folder).
3. Open a command prompt and type “~/KindleGen/kindlegen.”
4. You will see instructions on how to run KindleGen.
5. To convert the HTML file, copy and paste the HTML file and the images folder in the same folder that KindleGen is extracted (the “KindleGen” folder).
6. In the command prompt, type “~/KindleGen/kindlegen filename.html” and if successful, you will see the converted file in the KindleGen folder. This file will be named as filename.mobi.
Using the Kindle Previewer to Read your eBook
Kindle Previewer is a tool which emulates how a book displays on the Kindle device and other Kindle enabled devices such as the iPad or iPod. Use it to view how your text will appear and to identify areas which may require further modification.
You can download a free Kindle® preview tool fromhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000234621
Once installed, open the application, click “File” and then “Open Book” to browse and select your eBook
If you determine further changes to your book are required, re-open your Web Page, Filtered (*HTM & *HTML) file to make edits. Then re-save your file and follow the steps in Using MobiPocket Creator to build your eBook to re-build your eBook.
Save the new PRC file and then re-open it with the Kindle Previewer to confirm the changes.
Uploading Your eBook For Sale on Amazon
Once you’re satisfied with the quality and presentation of your book, upload the PRC file to KDP. Your book will appear for sale on the Kindle Store approximately 24 hours after clicking “Save and Publish.”
Within 48 to 72 hours, all other book features should be available on the detail page, such as the product description and links to related physical editions.
Since I wrote my books Self Publishing for the Clueless® and E-Publishing for the Clueless® books, Amazon®, has changed and improved their system consequently the characteristics of the Kindle® system and how your book might look on the Kindle® reader might not loom like you want it to if you don’t follow the guidelines.
Here are some guidelines and things for you consider about putting your book on the Kindle® system
For the current answers to virtually all of your questions about the specifics of pricing, discounts, royalties, and other aspects of offering our materials on Amazon.com, visit their Kindle Direct publishing site at:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A36BYK5S7AJ2NQ
Kindle is Amazon.com’s eBook publishing platform available on the Kindle eBook reader, on computers, online, for Smartphones such as Android and iPhone, and for tablet devices such as the iPad.
- Not all E-Book readers are Kindles®. In fact, less than 10% of the pad, tablet, or e-book readers are actually a Kindle®.
- Because of Amazon’s advertising and promotion campaigns, Kindle® has become a branded term for e-book readers just like Sony’s Walkman® became the branded term for portable cassette players even though every other major electronics manufacturer made a portable tape player.
- Remember that the Kindle® reader was designed to display textbooks. Period! Anybody who tells you otherwise is uninformed and if you follow their advice, you’ll end up with a crappy looking display of your work.
- Kindle uses E-Ink®, a black and white display system that‘s made up of very small marble type dots that are black on one side and white on the other.
- Kindle’s® computer causes the marbles to flip over and create either black or white dots.
- With all of its features, there are pros and cons to the Kindle® system:
- Since the display is a passive device, there isn’t a big power drain on the battery to light it up so you’ll get 30-45 days on a charge
- Since there is no backlight, the unit works great in bright sunlight
- Since there’s no light, it doesn’t work in dim lighting or dark rooms
- Since it only displays black and white images, color photos and those that depend on half-tones of grey look weird and even abysmal
Here’s the basic Kindle process so you can get an idea of what’s going to happen:
How the Kindle system works (Kinda but not accurately :) )
The Kindle system is a variation on the HTML format (the language of the web) where the text and graphics are actually two separate files with links from the text to the graphics.
To exemplify this, think about receiving an HTML e-mail message (Like a promotional piece from K-Mart) where the text appears and then you see little boxes with red x’s in them and them a moment later, the pictures appear where the little boxes with the red x’s were a moment earlier – that’s how Kindle works.
So, once the PRINTED version of the book is completed you’ll need to extract all of the images and set them up in a separate JPEG file.
The Word version MUST be reformatted to meet the Kindle requirements (see the instructions that follow) for spacing, tabulation, margins, and the like. Also, each graphic location will be reinserted using the specific commands as required by Kindle.
Once these functions are completed, both of these files will be sent to Kindle for conversion to their software format so that it plays on the Kindle reader and other similar systems.
The way the Kindle system works is similar to the HTML advertising I just described. It’s done this way so that the graphics, pages, etc. can be sized and shifted to meet the reader’s demands.
This also requires that the table of contents and the index be recreated because when Kindle allows the reader to re-size the pages, the pagination goes completely haywire so it MUST be formatted to meet their standards.
More details about the system
Anyone can publish a book through the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) system, (https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin) which then distributes the e-book via Amazon.com’s online network.
Self publishing? Formatting requirements vary for Print, Print on Demand (POD), PDF eBook, and Kindle eBook.
While each format has different requirements, and requirements for Kindle are far more stringent than just for print, there are some common denominators.
If you set up your book interior according to these common-denominator-basics, you’ll be able to move smoothly from one printer to another, and from one format to another. NOT following them can mean a whole lot of re-working down the road.
The following set up guidelines are from CreateSpace.com. CreateSpace is an Amazon’s utility for placing your book forsale on amazon.com, both as a printed book, and/or for sale as an eBook formatted as PDF or Kindle.
CreateSpace also offers print runs for ordering your own copies for your own methods of sale.
If you choose to use another printer, that’s fine, but you’ll still need CreateSpace if you want to sell on Amazon. CreateSpace’s specs are common to the industry, so follow these guidelines to set up your interior book file for the most versatility and compatibility, where ever you choose to have it printed.
I’ll start with the most common problems. These are extremely common CreateSpace no-nos :
• Margins are smaller than required (critical for POD)
• Spacing done with hard returns (critical for Kindle)
• Creating indents using the tab key (critical for Kindle)
• Creating PDFs that do not have embeded fonts (problematic for traditional print, POD, and PDF eBook)
Here are the basics to address those 4 problem areas. A lot more info is available on CreatSpace’s web site and other sites, visit the links provided for more detailed information.
• Margins. The 3 outside margins (top, bottom, and outside edge) must be AT LEAST .25″. Margins on the gutter side (the “inside” or binding edge) vary depending on page count. The more pages, the wider the gutter. For books with 150 – 400 pages, the minimum margin is .75″.
• Spacing. When you’re setting up your file, it’s really tempting to add space where you want it by using the return key. DON’T DO IT! If you want to push something to the next page, do it by inserting a Page Break. Paragraph spacing should be done by using Word’s Paragraph Indents and Spacing settings. If you want the look of double spaced paragraphs, select 12 points for the “Spacing After” each paragraph. You can choose any amount of space you like, Just remember, DO NOT HIT THE RETURN KEY MORE THAN ONCE!
• Indents. It’s also really tempting to use the space bar or tab key to creating indents. Don’t do it! If you want your paragraphs to be indented, establish that in the Paragraph Indents and Spacing settings. If you want something centered, don’t use the space bar to push it over. Highlight it and choose “Center”.
• PDFs with fonts embedded. There are some variables here depending on how you create your PDFs, but a great easy to understand resource is:
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ir_information/70/
I found this link by googling “how to embed fonts when saving as PDF from Word”.
Follow the above steps for smooth printing and eBooking.
The KDP system is compatible with a variety of document files and requires you to include a cover image for your e-book that will be displayed on the Kindle store.
You will need:
- Amazon.com account
- KDP-compatible e-book file
- E-book cover image
Go to the KDP Web page on your computer and log in using your Amazon.com account details. If requested, read and agree to the KDP terms and conditions.
Step 2
Click the “Add a New Title” button in the upper-left corner of the KDP “Bookshelf” page.
Step 3
Enter the relevant details of your e-book in the “Book Basics” section, including a title, edition number and product description. The description is the synopsis people will see when browsing the Kindle store.
Step 4
Click the “Add Contributors” button and enter the details of the e-book’s author or authors. Click the “Save” button to finish adding contributors.
Step 5
Set the language of the e-book using the “Language” drop-down menu in the “Publishing Details” section and set a publication date using the calendar to determine when the e-book will go on sale. If you want it to go on sale immediately, leave this section blank.
Step 6
Click the “Add Categories” button in the “Browse and Search” section and select at least one relevant category for your e-book to be filed under.
Step 7
Click the “Browse for Image” button in the “Product Image” section and select the cover image from your computer. Click the “Upload Image” button to add the cover image to your e-book.
Step 8
Select your preferred option for adding copy protection to the e-book in the “Book Content” section using the two radio buttons. Click the “Browse for Book” button and select the e-book file on your computer followed by the “Open” button. Your e-book will now be uploaded to Amazon.com and its digital rights management (DRM) will be applied.
Step 9
Click the “Save and Continue” button and then select your preferred royalty option on the next page using the two radio buttons. Enter the price you want to sell your e-book for in the “List Price” box next to the royalty options.
Step 10
Tick the “Terms and Conditions” box at the bottom of the page followed by the “Save and Publish” button. Your e-book will appear for sale on the Amazon.com Kindle store within the next 24 hours.
Formatting you book for the Kindle®
I hadn’t really considered this to be a big deal since everything I publish for electronic distribution is converted to PDF format and when the reader looks at it, appears exactly like I wrote it.
Life would be a lot simpler if everything we read and write was set up on a standard format but unfortunately, it isn’t so if you want your book to look the way you want it to on the Kindler, you’re going to have to follow their guidelines for publishing.
Since most people use Microsoft Word, the following instructions show you how to go from whatever you’ve set up as you format to one that will display properly on the Kindle®.
Building your book
Word is a great tool to use because it’s extremely easy to format. We suggest writing your book in Word or converting an existing source file into Word (.doc) format before continuing.
Remember these important tips below to ensure an excellent eBook presentation.
- File Format: Save your content in DOC (or .doc) format, not RTF (.rtf) or DOCX (.docx) as the latter do not translate well to Kindle. Save your work periodically as you make changes to ensure all changes are recorded.
- Layout: Use indentations, bold characters, italics and headings, as they will translate into your Kindle book. However, bullet points, special fonts, headers, and footers will not be transferred, so be sure to avoid those.
- Page Breaks: Enter a page break at the end of every chapter to prevent the text from running together. To insert a page break in MS Word, click “Insert” at the top menu bar and select “Page Break.”
- Image Placement: Images should be inserted in JPEG (or .jpeg) format with center alignment (don’t copy and paste from another source). Select “Insert” > “Picture” > then locate and select the file. If your book has a lot of images, it can be viewed in color by readers using our free Kindle apps for PC, MAC, iPad, iPhone, and Android. Otherwise, remember that images on Kindle are displayed in 16 shades of gray for great contrast and clarity.
- Spellcheck and Grammar: This tool is always your friend to ensure a professional presentation free of typos. Use this tool, but also manually proofread your file to ensure no errors are missed by the automated checker.
- Creating Front Matter
- Title Page: The title page should be centered with the title on top and Author Name underneath, like in the example below. Insert a page break.
By Mark Twain
-Insert Page Break Here-
To insert a page break in Word, click “Insert” at the top menu bar and select “Page Break.”
- Copyright Page: This page normally follows the Title Page. Insert a page break after the Copyright details.
- Dedication: If you have a customized Dedication, it should follow the Copyright page. Be sure to Insert a page break.
- Preface: If you have a Preface, it should follow the Dedication. Be sure to Insert a page break.
- Prologue: If your book includes a Prologue, it should follow the Preface. Be sure to insert a page break.
- Formatting Text
The remaining step is to insert a page break after the last sentence of each chapter in the book to prevent chapters from running together. Depending on the number of chapters you have, this may be a time-consuming process but the effort is worth the improved reading experience.
Paragraphs
Paragraph text displays with justified alignment by default. The first line of each paragraph is automatically indented.
To manually indent paragraphs in your content, do NOT use tab-spacing. This will not convert for the Kindle. Instead, use the Word-default Paragraph Formatting to indent paragraphs. There are two ways in which you can indent paragraphs:
1. Click on “Page Layout”, and specify the amount of indentation in the “Indent” option.
2. Use the ruler at the top of the page to change the indentation. If you don’t see a ruler in your Word document, click on “View” and check the Ruler option.
You can also follow the guide here:http://www.ehow.com/how_4714418_indent-paragraphs-word-documents.html
Creating an Active Table of Contents
For digital books, page numbers don’t really apply. This is due to the fact that Kindle content is resizable, and the number of pages within the book changes as the text scales. It is highly recommended that your book has an active Table of Contents for easy navigation.
You can use Microsoft Word’s in-built Table of Contents creator to create an active TOC for your book. More information can be found here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/285059
Guide Items
Kindle has the option to “Go To” the cover image, beginning and the Table of Contents of your book, anywhere from the content. These are defined by what is known as “Guide Items.” To define the Guide Items, follow the below steps:
For the Cover Image:
Click on the cover image, then click on “Insert > Bookmark.” In the ‘Bookmark name:” field, type “cover” (without the quotes) and click “Add.”
For the Beginning:
Place the cursor where you want the book to start, click on “Insert > Bookmark.” In the “Bookmark name:” field, type “Start” (without the quotes) and click “Add.”
For the Table of Contents:
Place the cursor at the beginning of the first entry in the Table of Contents. Click on “Insert > Bookmark.” In the “Bookmark name:” field, type “TOC” (without the quotes) and click “Add.”
Creating Back Matter
Back matter consists of the last pages in your book which provides additional information the reader should know about, such as Bibliographies,
Appendices, Notes or Glossaries.
There isn’t a specific order which back matter should be presented in, so use your judgment and be sure to insert page breaks after each section. Indexes are not recommended at this time.
Saving as Filtered HTML
Once you have inserted your page breaks and are confident with the layout of your book, save your Word file to your Documents folder or Desktop in Web Page, Filtered (*HTM & *HTML) format. This format is required to build a successful eBook.
When saving the Word file as HTML, all the images (if any) in the Word file will be extracted, and will be stored in a separate folder. This folder will be saved in the same location where the HTML file is saved.
Once this is done, you’re ready to import your book using MobiPocket Creator.
Using MobiPocket Creator to Build Your Book
MobiPocket Creator is an application that will convert your Web Page, Filtered (*HTM & *HTML) file into an eBbook. It can be downloaded by clicking the link above or by going to mobipocket.com.
Once installed, follow these steps to create your eBook:
- Open Mobipocket Creator.
- Select “HTML Document” from the section “Import from an Existing File”.
- Browse to the HTML file and press “Import”.
- This will open the book editing function. Click on “Cover Image.”
- Click “Add a Cover Image” and browse your files to locate the book cover.
- Select your book cover and click “Update” to save your cover.
- Select “Build” from the Menu.
- On the Build page, click “Build.”
This PRC file is what you will upload into the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
Now that you have an eBook of your file, the next steps are to verify how it will read on a Kindle Device.
Use Kindlegen to Convert HTML to Mobi
The MobiPocket Creator application is compatible only on Windows based computers. If you used MobiPocket Creator to build your ebook, you can skip this step. MAC users can use the KindleGen application to convert the HTML file to a Kindle-compatible format (MOBI/AZW/PRC). Follow the below instructions:
1. Download the KindleGen.zip to your Mac in a location such as your home (~) directory. KindleGen can be downloaded fromhttp://www.amazon.com/kindlepublishing
2. Unzip it under “~/KindleGen” (you’ll have to create a new folder, and unzip the KindleGen application to this folder).
3. Open a command prompt and type “~/KindleGen/kindlegen.”
4. You will see instructions on how to run KindleGen.
5. To convert the HTML file, copy and paste the HTML file and the images folder in the same folder that KindleGen is extracted (the “KindleGen” folder).
6. In the command prompt, type “~/KindleGen/kindlegen filename.html” and if successful, you will see the converted file in the KindleGen folder. This file will be named as filename.mobi.
Using the Kindle Previewer to Read your eBook
Kindle Previewer is a tool which emulates how a book displays on the Kindle device and other Kindle enabled devices such as the iPad or iPod. Use it to view how your text will appear and to identify areas which may require further modification.
You can download a free Kindle® preview tool fromhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000234621
Once installed, open the application, click “File” and then “Open Book” to browse and select your eBook
If you determine further changes to your book are required, re-open your Web Page, Filtered (*HTM & *HTML) file to make edits. Then re-save your file and follow the steps in Using MobiPocket Creator to build your eBook to re-build your eBook.
Save the new PRC file and then re-open it with the Kindle Previewer to confirm the changes.
Uploading Your eBook For Sale on Amazon
Once you’re satisfied with the quality and presentation of your book, upload the PRC file to KDP. Your book will appear for sale on the Kindle Store approximately 24 hours after clicking “Save and Publish.”
Within 48 to 72 hours, all other book features should be available on the detail page, such as the product description and links to related physical editions.