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KindleFormattingGuide 

ContentsIntroduction .................................................................................................................................... 2 

How about doing your own formatting? ........................................................................................ 2 

About the Kindle Format ................................................................................................................ 2 

What file formats can you submit to Kindle? ................................................................................. 2 

Stage 1 – Format Your Headings ......................................................................................................... 4 

What if Heading 2 or Heading 3 are missing from the ‘Styles’ Ribbon? ......................................... 5 

Adding these ‘Heading Styles’ to your eBook ................................................................................. 7 

Stage 2 – Formatting Line Spacing ...................................................................................................... 8 

Stage 3 – Adding Table of Contents .................................................................................................... 9 

Making Changes to the Table of Contents? .................................................................................. 11 

Check your Formatting With Kindle .................................................................................................. 13 

Last Word ...................................................................................................................................... 14 

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IntroductionTheeasiestmethodtoformatyourWorddocument(orsimilar)intoa‘Kindleready’formatistooutsourcethistaskthroughFiverr.

Ifyou’dprefertodothisthenjustgotoFiverranddoasearchfor‘KindleFormatting’,there’ssomereallygoodFiverrGigsthat’llsothisfor$5(well,$5.50nowwithFiverr’sadmincharge!).

Howaboutdoingyourownformatting?ThisisactuallyfairlystraightforwardbutreallydependsonhowwellyouknowyourWordProcessingsoftware.

Forthisguide,I’musingMicrosoftWord2010(otherversionsofWordwillbesimilar)asanexample.IfyouareusingadifferentWordProcessorthenyouwillneedtoconsultthedocumentationforthatsoftwarebuttheprincipleswillstillremainthesame.

AbouttheKindleFormatAmazonKindleusesitsownfileformatwhichis.AZW3

ThisfileformatsupportsHTML5featuresandthisisreallyattheheartofourformattingefforts,especiallywithproperlyformattedHeadingsthroughoutyoureBook.

WhatfileformatscanyousubmittoKindle?KindleacceptsthefollowingfileformatsforconversionthroughKindleDirectPublishing(viayourBookshelf):

Word(DOCorDOCX)

HTML(ZIP,HTMorHTML)

MOBI(MOBI)

Epub(EPUB)

RichTextFormat(RTF)

PlainText(TXT)

AdobePDF(PDF)

KindlePackageFormat(KPF)

I’llbeusinga.DOCfile(MicrosoftWord)formyexample,thereisreportsthat.DOCXhassomeweirdformattingproblemsandit’shighlyadvisabletoonly.DOC!

Ifyou’vealreadysavedyourworkunder.DOCXthenyoucanconvertittothepreferredfileextensionbysimply:

1. Clicking‘File’and‘SaveAs’2. Changeyour‘SaveasType’to.DOC

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Figure1‐ChangeFileType1

3. Thenchangeyour‘SaveasType’to.DOCandclick‘Save’

Figure2‐ChangeFileType2

Note:Youmightgetawindowpopuptellingyouaboutpossible‘CompatibilityIssues!’

Justacceptthisandhavealookthroughyourdocumentagain.I’veneverhadanybigissueswiththisbutit’sworthchecking.

Ithenformatmy.DOCfilein3stages:

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Stage1–FormatYourHeadingsYouneedtomakessurethatyouusetheHeading‘Styles’section(orRibbon!)inyourWordProcessor.

HeretheyareinMicrosoftWord2010(makesureyou’reonthe‘Home’tab):

Figure3‐HeadingStyles

BeforeyoustartusingtheseHeadingStyles,youneedtosetthemup!

FormatyourHeadingStyles:

1. FormyeBooksIonlyformat‘Heading2’and‘Heading3’.Ifyouwantabiggerheading(atthebeginningofyourbookforexample)Isuggestyoumanuallychangethesizeofthattext.

2. Sotoformat‘Heading2’right‐clickonthatheadingandselect‘Modify’

Figure4‐ModifyHeadingStep1

3. Thenchangethedetailsinthe‘Formatting’box.I’mhappywiththe‘FontType’and‘FontSize’buthavechangedthecolourofthefonttoaniceblue.SeemstoworkwellwiththeeBooks!

4. Makesureyouhave‘deselected’theBold,ItalicandUnderscoreoptions(B,I,U),unlessyouwantthemofcourse?

5. ThenClick‘OK’.

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Figure5‐ModifyHeadingStep2

Dothesamefor‘Heading3’butuseaslightlysmallerfontsize(Inormallyclickonthefontsizeandmanuallyputin‘13’.

WhatifHeading2orHeading3aremissingfromthe‘Styles’Ribbon?I’vejustnoticedthatmy‘Heading3’hasdisappearedfrommy‘Styles’Ribbon(seeFigure3).

Togetitback(andaddanyotherheadingthatyoumaywant)youhaveto:

1. Navigatetothe‘Options’fortheRibbon(Figure6showsthiswithMicrosoftWord2010).

2. Clickon‘Options’.

3. Clickonthedrop‐downarrowforHeading3.(Drop‐downappearswhenyouhoveroverheading3!)

4. Select‘AddtoQuickStyleGallery’

5. ‘Heading3’shouldnowbebackinyour‘Styles’Ribbon.

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Figure6‐MissingHeadingStylesStep1

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Figure7‐MissingHeadingStylesStep2

Addingthese‘HeadingStyles’toyoureBookYou’veactuallydonethehardworknow!InyoureBookallyouneedtodois:

1. Highlighttheheadingthatyouneedtoapplyaheadingstyletoo.

2. Clickontheheadingstylethatyouwant.

Figure8‐AddingHeadingStyles

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Stage2–FormattingLineSpacingIfyoudon’tchangethelinespacingwithinyoureBook,whenit’sconvertedbyKindleit’lllookamesswitheverythingappearingtooclosetoeachother.

Tochangethelinespacing:

1. Press‘Ctrl’and‘A’togetheronyourkeyboardtoselectthewholedocument.

2. Clickonthe‘LineandParagraphSpacing’option.

Figure9‐KindleFriendlyLineSpacingStep1

3. Thenselect‘2.0’(double!)linespacing.

Figure10‐KindleFriendlyLineSpacingStep2

Thelinespacingshouldlookperfectnowwhenit’sconvertedintotheKindleformat.

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Stage3–AddingTableofContentsStage3isassumingthatyou’vegonethroughyourwholeeBookandproperlyformattedyourmainchapterheadings(Heading2)andanysub‐headingwithinthosechapters(Heading3).

Don’tdothisstepuntilyouaresatisfiedthishasbeendone!

ToaddaTableofContentsthatwilllookgoodinKindle(againMicrosoftWord):

1. PlaceyourcursorwhereyouwantyourTableofContentstobedisplayed(rightatthebeginningwouldbemychoice,don’tforgetthatyourBookCoverisuploadedseparatelyintoKindleandwillthenbebeforeyourContentspage).

2. Clickonthe‘References’tab.

3. Clickon‘TableofContents’.

4. Thenclickon‘InsertTableofContents’

Figure11‐TableofContentsStep1

5. Clickon‘Options’

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6. Figure12‐TableofContentsStep2

7. Delete‘TOCLevel1’(thisgetsridoftheHeading1whichwearenotusing)

8. ClickOKtoacceptthe‘TableofContentsOptions’

9. ClickOKtoacceptthe‘TableofContents’mainpage

10. YourTableofContentswillnowbedisplayedinyoureBook.

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Figure13‐TableofContentsStep3

MakingChangestotheTableofContents?Again,it’squitestraight‐forwardto‘update’yourTOCifyouaddchapters,changetitlesetc.

TorefreshyourTableofContents:

1. Right‐clickonyourTableofContents

2. Select‘UpdateField’

Figure14‐InsertTableofContentsStep1

3. Select‘UpdateEntireTable

4. ClickOK

Figure15‐InsertTableofContentsStep2

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YourTableofContentswillthenbeupdatedandprovidingyou’veformattedtheheadingsproperly,thesecontentswillbeatruereflectionofwhat’sinyourbookandwillformatwellinKindle.

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Stage4–AddingPageBreaksI’ve found that if you want to guarantee a clean break between chapters then you need to add a 

‘Page Break’ when a chapter finishes. 

You can do this by: 

1. Placing your cursor at the end of a chapter 

2. Clicking on the ‘Insert’ tab 

3. Then Clicking on ‘Page Break’ 

4. Your next chapter will now start on a new page! 

 

 

Figure16‐AddingaPageBreak

Note: 

If you start adding page breaks after you have written your chapters you should go through your 

document and check for blank pages! 

This sometimes happens when the ‘Return’ key has been used (depending on what Word Processing 

software you’ve been using) to get to the next page instead of using a page break.

Just go to that blank page and hit the ‘Delete’ key a few times until that page disappears!

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Stage5–CheckyourFormattingWithKindleYoucanusetheOnlineKindlePreviewerwhichImentionedinthemaineBookbutthereisalsoanothertrickwhichyoumightfindquitehandy?

IfyoualreadyhaveaKindledevice(orKindleonIpadetc.)thenyouwillhaveaKindleemailaccountassociatedwiththatdevice.

It’lllooksomethinglike:yourkindlename@kindle.com

YoucanfindthisemailaddressbylookingthroughyourKindleprogramsettingsonyourdeviceorbygoingtothe‘ManageYourKindle’pagethroughyourAmazonaccount.

Onceyouhavethisemailaddress:

1. EmailyourWorddocument(.DOC)orsimilartoyourKindleemailaddress

2. You’llgetareplybackfromKindlesayingthey’vereceivedit!

3. WithinafewminutesyourdocumentwouldhavebeenconvertedandsenttoyourKindledeviceassociatedwiththatemailaddress.

YoucanthenreviewyoureBookinthisKindleformat,ifitlooksgood,great!Ifnot,makewhateverchangesyouneedto,emailittoyourselfagainanddoanotherreview.

LastWordIhopeyou’vefoundthisKindleformattingguideuseful.

I’veusedallofthesestepsaboveandthey’vecontinuedtogivemeverygoodresultswhenKindleconvertsmydocument.

Thanksforreading.

Toyoursuccess

JonCrimes