How do you format an ebook for Kindle?

Start from a clean manuscript file

Most Kindle formatting disasters are pasted-in formatting: Google Docs exports, web copy with inline styles, and double-spaced Word files from 2019. Strip the manuscript to plain semantic structure first — real Heading 1/Heading 2 styles, body text, lists — before you style anything.

One font, one body size, chapter breaks as real breaks rather than stacked empty paragraphs. The converter rewards boring files and punishes clever ones.

Build navigation that actually navigates

Kindle readers jump — between chapters, back to a checklist, forward to the resources page. That only works when your TOC is generated from heading styles, not typed by hand. Verify every chapter starts on its heading and appears in the logical TOC after conversion.

Front matter order matters too: cover, title page, copyright, contents, then chapter one. Our format comparison explains why the DOCX stays your source file even when you also ship PDF.

Cover and images that survive compression

Upload the largest cover Amazon allows — a 2560-pixel JPEG at 1.6:1 ratio — with title text readable at thumbnail size, because thumbnails are where covers sell. Inside the book, keep images simple, captioned, and centered; complex floating layouts reflow unpredictably on e-ink.

Test every image at the smallest preview size, not full screen. If a diagram is unreadable small, split it or cut it — Kindle readers won't pinch-to-zoom your workbook.

The pre-upload checklist

Preview on KDP's own online previewer across phone, tablet, and e-ink views. Click every TOC entry. Check chapter openings, image placement, and that no stray blank pages survived. Then answer the AI disclosure questions honestly — our disclosure explainer walks through them.

Honest-scope note: this checklist covers standard reflowable nonfiction — guides, lead magnets, workbooks. Fixed-layout books, translations, and audiobook production are separate crafts this post doesn't cover.

• Convert and click-test the full TOC on all three preview devices.
• Confirm cover renders legibly at thumbnail size.
• Complete disclosure answers before submitting.