Kindle Formatting Guide — How to Make Your Ebook Look Right on Every Device

KDP Will Accept Almost Anything (But That Doesn't Mean It'll Look Good)

Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing accepts DOCX, EPUB, PDF, and even plain HTML. It'll convert whatever you upload into their internal format and publish it. The problem? Automatic conversion is unpredictable. A perfectly formatted Word document can turn into a mess on Kindle — orphaned paragraphs, broken image placement, phantom page breaks.

The authors who complain about "Kindle ruining my formatting" almost always uploaded a file that wasn't formatted for reflowable ebooks. Here's how to get it right.

Rule #1: Forget Page Layouts

Kindle readers choose their own font, font size, line spacing, and margins. Your beautifully crafted page layout will be ignored. The reader on a Kindle Paperwhite at font size 5 sees a completely different "page" than a reader on a Kindle Fire at font size 2.

This means:

• Don't use hard page breaks except for chapter breaks


• Don't force line breaks with Shift+Enter (they persist and create weird short lines)


• Don't use tabs for paragraph indents — use paragraph formatting


• Don't set specific font sizes — use relative sizing


• Don't rely on images being a specific size relative to text

The Cover

Requirement	Spec
Minimum size	625 × 1000 pixels
Recommended size	2560 × 1600 pixels
Aspect ratio	1.6:1
File format	JPG or TIFF
Max file size	50 MB
Color space	RGB (not CMYK)

The cover is the single most important marketing asset. It appears as a thumbnail at roughly 80×120 pixels in search results. If the title isn't legible at that size, redesign it.

Optimize your cover image with MyPDF's Compress Image — keep it under 5 MB for fastest upload.

Interior Formatting

Paragraphs

Use one of two standard styles:

1. Block paragraphs: No indent, space between paragraphs (non-fiction standard)
2. Indented paragraphs: 0.3-0.5" first-line indent, no space between (fiction standard)

Never use both. Pick one and apply it consistently via paragraph styles (not by hitting Tab or Enter twice).

Chapter Headings

Use Heading 1 style for chapter titles. This generates the table of contents automatically. If you use bold-large-text instead of an actual heading style, there's no navigable TOC — and readers will hate you for it.

Images

• Inline images only (no floating, no text wrapping)
• JPEG at 300 DPI if possible
• Center-aligned
• Max width 2500 pixels on the longest side
• Total ebook file must stay under 650 MB (KDP limit)

Tables

Kindle handles simple tables acceptably. Complex tables with merged cells, nested tables, or 10+ columns will break. For data-heavy non-fiction, consider converting tables to images.

The Table of Contents

Two types of TOC matter for Kindle:

1. Navigational TOC (required): Generated from heading styles, appears in the Kindle's "Go To" menu. KDP generates this automatically if you use proper headings.

1. HTML/inline TOC (recommended): A regular page at the front of your book with clickable chapter links. KDP requires this for books over 50 pages.

File Preparation Workflow

For Fiction (Simple Formatting)

1. Write in Word or Google Docs with paragraph styles
2. Apply Heading 1 to chapter titles
3. Add a front matter section (title page, copyright, dedication)
4. Export as DOCX
5. Upload directly to KDP

For Non-Fiction (Complex Formatting)

1. Write and format in Word
2. Export as EPUB using a desktop ebook manager (gives you more control than DOCX upload)
3. Preview in Kindle Previewer (free download from Amazon)
4. Fix formatting issues in the EPUB
5. Upload the polished EPUB to KDP

If you have a PDF manuscript, convert to EPUB first using MyPDF's PDF to EPUB as a starting point, then refine the formatting.

Common KDP Rejection Reasons

Reason	Fix
Cover doesn't meet specs	2560 × 1600 minimum, RGB, JPG
Interior quality too low	No blurry images, no formatting errors
Content already published	If on other platforms, confirm you have distribution rights
No navigational TOC	Use heading styles for automatic generation
Excessive blank pages	Remove hard page breaks that create empty pages

Testing Before Publishing

Kindle Previewer (free, desktop app from Amazon): Upload your DOCX or EPUB and preview exactly how it will look on every Kindle device — Paperwhite, Fire, iPhone Kindle app, etc. Find formatting issues before your readers do.

Check:

• Chapter breaks and TOC links work


• Images display at reasonable sizes


• No orphaned lines or widow paragraphs


• Front matter pages appear correctly


• Text is readable at various font sizes

Related Tools

• PDF to EPUB — Convert manuscripts for ebook publishing
• Compress Image — Optimize cover and interior images
• Word to PDF — Create print-ready PDF version
• EPUB to MOBI — Convert for older Kindle devices