Amazon has a free formatting tool called Kindle Create that you can use to convert your document into an eBook. Use Kindle Create to prepare your book for publication. This tool can be used to format a cookbook, a novel, a travel guide, a children’s book, and a comic book. Use this formatting tool to create professionally designed eBooks. In today’s blog post, I will show you how to use Kindle Create to format your document into a beautifully crafted eBook.
Step 1: Download Kindle Create.
Go to https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Create/b?ie=UTF8&node=18292298011 to download and install this free formatting tool. There are download instructions for both PC and Mac. When the installation is complete, you should see the Kindle Create icon on your desktop.
Step 2: Import your Word document into Kindle Create.
Open Kindle Create and click Create New at the top right of the page and then click Choose at the bottom of the page. Click Choose File (.doc, .docx). Your file has to be a Word document. Find your manuscript on your computer and click Open. Kindle Create will import the file. This may take a couple of minutes.
When the import is complete, a message will appear at the top of the page saying, ‘Import Successful’. Click Continue.
Step 3: Select Chapter Titles for the Table of Contents
Click on the Get Started button. Kindle Create will start by creating a Table of Contents and will automatically find and apply chapter titles.
Check the chapter titles that Kindle Create found and make sure that they are correct. If you are satisfied with the results, click Accept Selected. The chapter titles will be formatted and added to the table of contents.
Save your Kindle Create file to your computer. This will be saved as a work file (in KCB format) that you can open later to update your book.
If, however, your book does not contain a Table of Contents page, you can create one in Kindle Create. To add a Table of Contents (TOC) page, click on the first chapter in the Contents pane and click Insert located above the Contents pane. Select Table of Contents. A list of chapter titles will appear. If you are satisfied with the way it looks click OK.
Kindle Create will generate the TOC page and will be added to your book’s front matter. Kindle Create automatically updates the TOC page when you add or remove chapter titles.
Step 4: Add Front Matter Pages to Your EBook
Add Front Matter pages to your manuscript in Kindle Create. Front matter pages include a book title page, copyright page, dedication, etc. In the Contents pane on the left side of the page, scroll up to the top until you see the Front Matter section.
Click on the plus (+) sign next to Front Matter and select Title Page. Enter the Book Title, Subtitle, Author Name, and Publisher. Any fields left blank will not be added to the title page. The Book Title is required but all the other fields are optional.
It is also optional if you want to upload a Publisher logo. Click Select Image, choose an image from your computer and click Open. The size of your image should be about width 450 pixels x height 473 pixels.
Then click Create Page. Kindle Create will generate a book title page.
Step 5: Apply Drop Caps to the First Paragraph
To add drop caps to your chapter title pages, click on a chapter title in the Body section of the Contents pane. Click next to the first word in the first paragraph below the chapter title.
On the Text Properties pane on the right side of the page, click on the Chapter First Paragraph button. It is the third button in the Elements on Page section.
Step 6: Format the Body Text
If you click on the Formatting tab in the Text Properties pane, you can also format the body text by adding indents, spacing, font face, and font size. Simply highlight the body text and choose how you want to format it.
You can also add a separator in between sections of a chapter. Click the area where you want to place the separator. Under the Elements tab in the Text Properties pane, select the Separator button. You can see how the sections have been separated in the image below.
Step 7: Apply a Theme to Your Book
You can apply a theme to your book to change the way it looks. In Kindle Create, click on Theme on the top right side of the page and select a theme. There are four themes to choose from – Modern, Classic, Modern, and Amour.
Each theme changes the style of the chapter titles. When you have chosen your theme, click Select.
Step 8: Insert Images into Your Book
Kindle Create allows you to insert images into the body text of your book. To insert an image, click on the area where you want to place the image. Right-click in that same area and select Insert Image. Choose the image from your computer and click Open. The image will be inserted into your book.
To change the size of the image, first, click on the image. In the Image Properties pane, select the size: Small, Medium, Large, or Full.
To change the position of the image, click on the image, and in the Image Properties pane, select the position icon. The image can be moved to the left with text wrapped around it (left position icon), to the right with text wrapped around it (right position icon), or in the center of the page with text above and below it (center position icon).
Step 9: Add External References to Your Book
If you want to add external references such as a link to your blog, you can make this happen by inserting hyperlinks. Highlight the word or phrase, and right-click on it. Select Insert Hyperlink. A dialogue box will appear. It shows the text you highlighted under Display Text. Enter the URL under Address and click Insert Hyperlink.
If you wish to edit or remove the hyperlink, highlight the hyperlinked word or phrase, right-click on it and select Edit Hyperlink or Remove Hyperlink.
Step 10: Add Back Matter Pages to Your Book
You can add Back Matter to your book in Kindle Create such as ‘About the Author’, ‘More Books by this Author’, or Acknowledgements. To add Back Matter, e.g. More Books by this Author’, on the Contents pane, scroll down to the bottom until you see the Back Matter section. Click on the plus (+) sign next to Back Matter and select ‘Books by this Author’. A dialogue box will open.
First, enter the number of books you want to include on the page. For each book you want to add, fill in the Book Title, Amazon Store Link (optional,) and the Description. When you have completed each section click, Create Page. Kindle Create will generate the page with the book titles and a link to the Amazon marketplace where you can purchase these books. You can edit the page by clicking on the Edit Page button on the Page Properties pane.
Step 11: Preview Your EBook
When you are finished formatting your book and are satisfied with the way it looks, you can preview it in Kindle Create so that you will have an idea of how it will look on computers, tablets, E-readers, and mobile phones. Click the Preview button on the top right side of Kindle Create to preview your eBook.
Step 12: Export Your File
If you’re happy with the way your eBook looks in Preview, you can now export your file. Click on the Generate button on the top right side of the page. This will create a file in KPF format which you can then upload to be published on KDP.
