Formatting your book to prepare for publishing can be challenging. However, KDP has a number of tools and resources to help you format your manuscript. You’re welcome to use your own local software to create your book elements. For the purposes of this guide, however, we’re sharing the simplest way to approach each format type.
Download a Template
If you plan to publish your book in both eBook and print formats, we recommend starting with one of our manuscript templates. Even if you only plan to publish eBooks now, this will save you time if you decide to create print versions in the future.
To select a template, you’ll need to determine what trim size you want for your printed book. The trim size will be the final size of your physical printed book.
Jumpstart Tip
The most common trim size for books in the U.S. is 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm). If you're unsure which size to pick, find books with content similar to yours to get an idea of what readers expect.
Note: Printing costs will vary depending on your selected trim size.
You can find a complete list of the trim sizes available through KDP in
Print Options.
Once you’ve determined your trim size, visit
Paperback and Hardcover Manuscript Templates to download and customize your template.
Jumpstart Tip
Keep in mind, the information in your template (for example, the book title and author name) needs to exactly match the book details you’ll enter in
4 - Title Setup: Book Details, Content, & Pricing. This will later impact your book’s detail page on Amazon.
It’s very important to keep this information consistent.
Prepare Your Manuscript for Upload
How you’ll create your manuscript will differ based on your selected book format.
Select your format below to expand the KDP Jumpstart instructions for each:
eBook
What you’ll need:
- Your eBook manuscript in DOC/DOCX or PDF format
- Kindle Create
Download Kindle Create
Download and install
Kindle Create.
If you used one of our templates, you can load your customized template to Kindle Create.
For instructions on how to use Kindle Create, visit
Getting Started with Kindle Create.
Jumpstart Tip
After you upload your book, it will go through our content and quality review.
If it doesn't pass review, you'll need to edit your files, and resubmit them. We’ll cover quality review in
5 – Publishing & Review.
Need more help with Kindle Create? Visit our
Kindle Create Help Overview.
To format your eBook manually, visit
Format Your eBook for in-depth guidance.
Print book
What you’ll need:
- Your eBook manuscript in PDF, DOC/DOCX, RTF, HTML, or TXT format
- Your trim size and bleed preferences
- KDP Template in your preferred trim size
- Your ink and paper type preferences
Jumpstart Tip
If you want to make your print book available in both paperback and hardcover format, you can use the same interior manuscript for both formats. The guidance in this section applies to both. However,
paperback and hardcover cover formatting is not the same. You’ll be required to create separate cover files for your paperback and your hardcover. We’ll discuss this further in
3 – Prepare Your Cover.
When formatting an interior manuscript for print, you’ll need to consider three important concepts: Trim Size, Margins, and Bleed. Watch our video, or read about them on our help page
Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins.
Note: One of the most common reasons manuscripts don’t pass quality review is failure to account for bleed. Make sure to follow the guidance below to prevent publishing delays.
Jumpstart Tip
For the best results, we recommend you convert your interior manuscript file to a PDF before uploading to KDP. If your file is in any other format, visit
Create a PDF file.
If you plan to include bleed in your interior, your file must be in PDF format.
To format your interior, follow our in-depth formatting guidance, visit
Format Your Paperback or
Format Your Hardcover.
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