Six pages on the parts of self-publishing that are technical rather than creative. Every number attributed to Amazon on these pages was read off Amazon’s own help pages on 2026-10-17, and the pages say so where it matters, because a specification quoted from memory is worth nothing, and Amazon changes these without notice.
A .docx and an EPUB are both zip files full of XML, which is why converting one to the other looks easy and why the results are so bad. The six steps that separate a converted file from a typeset one.
KDP accepts a Word file, and that is the problem: it will convert anything, so nothing tells you the result is poor. What to send instead, and what Amazon does with it.
Amazon's paperback specification, with the reason behind each number. The inside margin is the one that gets printed wrong, because it depends on how many pages the book turns out to have.
Every trim size KDP offers, what each one is conventionally used for, and how the choice changes your page count, your print cost and your margins.
Since June 2025 an ebook sold in the EU has accessibility obligations. Most of what that asks for is metadata an EPUB can carry, and most self-published files carry none of it.
Seven tools, including this one, with what each is genuinely good at and where each one stops. Including the cases where the answer is not this tool.
Or skip the reading
Most of what is on these pages, the tool does for you and then tells you about in the Check panel. The guides are here for when you want to know why.
Format a book →