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Kindle Create Tutorial: A Beginner's Guide to Amazon's Formatting Tool
You’ve written your book and are ready to publish on Amazon KDP. Now, you need to format your manuscript into a professional-looking ebook and paperback. While you can hire a professional, Amazon provides a free and powerful tool to help you do it yourself: Kindle Create.
Kindle Create is a downloadable desktop application that allows authors to transform a finished Word document into a beautifully formatted file ready for KDP. It simplifies the process of creating a clickable table of contents, applying professional chapter styles, and preparing your book for both digital and print. This tutorial will walk you through the essential steps to get started.
Key Takeaways & Summary
Amazon’s Free Formatting Software: Kindle Create is a free tool provided by Amazon to help authors format their ebooks and paperbacks for KDP.
It Starts with a Clean Word Doc: The software works best when you import a clean, well-structured Microsoft Word (.docx) file.
Two Projects, One Tool: You can use Kindle Create to create both a reflowable Kindle ebook and a print-ready PDF for your paperback.
The Goal is a Professional Interior: Kindle Create helps you apply professional design elements (like chapter themes and drop caps) with just a few clicks.
Step 1: Prepare Your Manuscript in Microsoft Word
Before you even open Kindle Create, your success depends on the quality of your source file. The software is smart, but it’s not a mind reader.
The Golden Rule: Use Styles: Your manuscript must be formatted using Word’s built-in styles.
Chapter Titles: Apply the “Heading 1” style to all your chapter titles (e.g., “Chapter 1,” “Prologue,” “About the Author”).
Subheadings: Use “Heading 2” for any subheadings within your chapters.
Remove Manual Formatting: Make sure your document is clean. Remove any manual page breaks, tabs used for indentation, or multiple empty paragraph returns used to create space.
Finalize Your Text: Kindle Create is a formatting tool, not a word processor. Your manuscript should be completely edited and proofread before you import it. Our book editing services should be completed before this stage.
Step 2: Download and Install Kindle Create
You can download the latest version for PC or Mac for free directly from Amazon’s Kindle Create page.
Follow the on-screen instructions to install the application on your computer.
Step 3: Start a New Project and Import Your Manuscript
Open Kindle Create. You will be prompted to “Create a New Project.”
Choose your project type. For most novels and non-fiction books, you will select the “Reflowable” option.
Click the “Choose File” button and select the .docx file of your prepared manuscript.
Kindle Create will import and analyze your file. This may take a few minutes.
Step 4: Confirm Your Chapter Titles
Once the import is complete, Kindle Create’s most powerful feature will appear.
It will present you with a list of all the text in your manuscript that you formatted with the “Heading 1” style.
Your job is to simply review this list and confirm that these are indeed your chapter titles by clicking the “Accept Selected” button.
By doing this, you are automatically building your book’s interactive Table of Contents.
Step 5: Format and Style Your Book’s Interior
Now you can use Kindle Create’s intuitive interface to style your book.
Apply a Theme: In the “Theme” panel, you can choose from a handful of professional design themes. This will instantly apply a consistent and elegant style to your chapter titles and headings.
Add Elements: You can highlight text in the “Editor” panel and use the “Text Properties” panel to apply elements like drop caps for the first letter of a chapter, or block quotes.
Add Front/Back Matter: The tool makes it easy to add standard pages like a title page, copyright page, and author bio.
Step 6: Preview and Export Your Final Files
This is the final and most important step.
Preview: Use the “Preview” button to see exactly how your book will look on a tablet, Kindle e-reader, and smartphone. This is crucial for catching any formatting errors.
Export: When you are satisfied, click the “Export” button. Kindle Create will generate a .kpf file. This is the only file you will need.
Uploading to KDP: When you are setting up your book on the KDP platform, you will upload this single .kpf file in the manuscript section for both your ebook and your paperback. KDP will use this file to automatically generate the correct final files for each format.
Short FAQ
Q: Is Kindle Create a replacement for professional formatting?
A: Kindle Create is a fantastic tool for authors on a budget who are willing to learn the process. It produces a very clean and professional-looking result. However, it offers limited design customization compared to a professional formatter using industry-standard software like Adobe InDesign, a topic often discussed by professional groups like the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA).
Q: Can I edit my book’s text in Kindle Create?
A: You can make minor text corrections, but it is not a word processor. All major editing and proofreading must be done in your Word document before you import it. If you find a major error, the best practice is to fix it in your source Word file and re-import it.
Q: What is a “.kpf” file?
A: A KPF (Kindle Package Format) file is the special project file created by Kindle Create. It contains all the information, text, and images needed for KDP to generate your ebook and paperback. You upload this file directly to your KDP Bookshelf.
