How to Create a Kindle or ePub version of your Word document

First make sure your Word document is “clean.” Take out the tabs (^t) and manual line breaks (^). Remove the contents list. Use Word ellipses (^i) instead of sets of periods… (see Tips and Tricks with Word). Then…

Kindle Create

Download Kindle Create https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Create/b?ie=UTF8&node=18292298011

Install and Open the program.

Start a new project from a Word document, and upload your Word document.

Kindle Create will ask what sort of document – it’s a book.

It will create a contents list for you from your Word headings. Unselect anything you don’t want included.

And then it’s time to check how the document looks.

1. Are there images? Kindle might like you to give
   words to describe the image. Just click on the image and follow the
   instructions.
   1. If the image doesn’t appear, it probably wasn’t
      in the right format. Use Paint or some other free program to change the format.
      (File>SaveAs>choose the format just below the title of the image)
2. Are there poems? Remember that the page size and
   font size are NOT under your control when you release an ebook. If you really
   want the poem to appear exactly as you designed it, you might have to replace
   it with an image.
   1. If you just want the poem to mostly look right,
      look at the indentation and use the right-hand menu to change things
3. Sometimes headings don’t register as headings. Use
   the right-hand menu to fix them and select the box to include them in the
   contents.
4. Insert contents at the start, and whatever other
   front material you want. Likewise at the end.
5. Save and Publish. Then you’ll have a kpf file
   ready for upload to kindle.

Downbload Kindle Previwer https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Previewer/b?ie=UTF8&node=21381691011

Open your kpf file and read it. You’ll be amazed how many errors stand out now the formatting’s different.

ePub

kdp requires you to upload kpf or epub files only. Kindle Create doesn’t cope well with tables yet, so you may have to create an epub instead.

Download and install https://calibre-ebook.com/

1. Open calibre.
2. Use + to add a book, and add your doc or docx
3. Use the convert button to convert your book to
   epub.
4. Right click on your book in the calibre window
   and select open file location.
5. Copy the epub to where you want it to be and
   open it with kindle previewer to see how it looks.