How to format a book for Amazon KDP — the simple, cheap way

Formatting is the step that quietly separates a self-published book that looks self-published from one that looks like it came out of a publishing house. The good news: you don't need InDesign, a $250 app, or a designer. Here's everything Amazon KDP actually needs, in plain English.

KDP wants two different things

A book on KDP is really two separate products, and they're formatted differently:

• The ebook (Kindle) — a reflowable file. Text flows to fit any screen and any font size the reader chooses, so there are no fixed "pages". You upload an EPUB. (KDP accepts EPUB directly now and converts it to Kindle format on their end — you do not need a special Kindle file.)
• The paperback/hardcover — a fixed-layout PDF at an exact physical size, with proper margins so nothing gets swallowed by the spine.

Your cover is uploaded separately in both cases, so don't worry about embedding it into the interior file.

Print: pick a trim size first

Trim size is the finished page size. The safe, popular default for most fiction and non-fiction is 6 × 9 inches. Smaller, "novel-feeling" books often use 5 × 8 or 5.25 × 8; mass-market is 4.25 × 6.87. Children's and workbooks go larger or square. Pick one and design to it from the start.

Margins and the gutter

Print needs an inside margin (the gutter) that's a little wider than the outside, because some of the inner edge disappears into the binding. As a rough starting point at 6 × 9: inside ~0.8", outside ~0.5", top/bottom ~0.6–0.75". KDP also enforces a minimum gutter that grows with page count — longer books need more.

Bleed (only if you need it)

If any image or colour runs all the way to the edge of the page, you need bleed: extend the artwork ~0.125" past the trim on every side so there's no white sliver after cutting. If your interior is just text, you don't need bleed at all.

Ebook: think reflow, not pages

For the Kindle file, forget page numbers and fixed layout. What matters is clean structure:

• Use a real Heading 1 style for each chapter title — that's how a working table of contents and chapter breaks get built.
• Let the text reflow; don't force line breaks or page breaks by hand.
• Embed your fonts in the EPUB so it looks the same on every device.
• Include a cover image and proper navigation. A valid EPUB sails through KDP; a messy one gets bounced.

One clean EPUB works on Kindle and Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play and Nook. You don't need a different file per store.

The pre-upload checklist

1. Chapters use Heading 1; sub-sections use Heading 2.
2. Front matter in order: half-title, title page, copyright, dedication, then your contents.
3. Print PDF is at your exact trim size with a gutter; bleed only if you have edge-to-edge images.
4. EPUB has an embedded cover, embedded fonts, and a table of contents.
5. Preview the ebook in Amazon's free Kindle Previewer, and run the EPUB through the free EPUBCheck before uploading.

You only really need to get the structure right once. Use proper headings, choose a trim size, mind the gutter, and let a tool handle the EPUB plumbing — and your book will look every bit as professional as the big-house titles next to it on the shelf.