Format and export print-ready files
Set trim size, theme and front matter, pass the preflight checks, and export a print PDF, wrap cover, EPUB, DOCX or Markdown from Format & export.
In this guide
Format & export turns the manuscript into files you can upload to a store or send to a printer. The step opens once the book has at least one written chapter and a title and blurb in Metadata & cover. Markdown works on every plan, DOCX on Plus and above, and the print PDF, wrap cover and EPUB on Pro and above.
Step 1: Choose the trim size and paper
Trim size sets the printed page: 5 × 8, 5.25 × 8, 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 7 × 10, 8 × 10, 8.5 × 8.5 or 8.5 × 11 inches. Most novels use 5 × 8 to 6 × 9, and 6 × 9 is the default. For Paper, cream suits fiction, and white suits non-fiction and books with color.
Step 2: Pick a theme
Choose one of five themes: Classic, Modern, Romance, Fantasy or Minimal. Each sets the heading and body fonts and the scene-break ornament. Fine-tune with Body font, the text size and the leading (line spacing).
The sample page beside the settings updates as you change them, using the opening paragraphs of your first written chapter at the real proportions of your trim size.
Step 3: Set the page details
Switch these on or off:
- Indented paragraphs (book style)
- Drop cap at chapter openings
- Running heads (author / title)
- Page numbers
- Chapters start on a right-hand page
Step 4: Add front and back matter
Under Front & back matter, select what the book should include: title page, copyright page, dedication, table of contents, acknowledgments, about the author, and a list of other books by the author. Fields appear for the parts that need text. Leave Copyright page empty to use standard wording built from your name, the year, your ISBNs and the publisher from Metadata. About the author is also printed on the back cover.
Step 5: Check the paperback numbers
Paperback numbers shows the page count — an estimate until you export a print PDF, then exact — and the spine width for your paper. It also says whether the spine can carry text; KDP prints spine text only on books of more than 79 pages.
Step 6: Choose your files
Under Export, select the files you need:
- Print PDF — the interior for a paperback or hardcover
- Wrap cover PDF — back, spine and front in one file, with bleed
- EPUB — the ebook for Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo
- DOCX — a Word document for editors
- Markdown — plain text, on every plan
Step 7: Clear the preflight checks
Problems appear under the list of files. Errors, in red, must be fixed before you can export — for example “The book has no author name.” or “A wrap cover needs a front cover image.” Warnings, in amber, are your call: empty chapters that will be left out, a cover below the recommended resolution, an ISBN with an invalid check digit. Each has a Fix link to the step where you can sort it out.
Step 8: Export
Press Export N files. The first export of a print PDF, wrap cover or EPUB costs 200 credits for the book, shown in the line under the button. After that, the line reads “Formatting unlocked for this book — re-exports are free.” DOCX and Markdown don’t need the unlock. A banner shows progress while the files are typeset, and if the job fails, the credits come back.
Step 9: Download and keep files current
Finished files appear under Your files with their date and page count. Press Download to save each one. When you edit the book later, older files are marked “out of date” — export again for free, so you never upload a stale version.
Tips
- Export the print PDF before the wrap cover. The spine is sized from the exact page count of the current interior; without it, the cover uses an estimate and warns you.
- KDP paperbacks need at least 24 pages, and you’ll get a warning if the interior is shorter.
- Check the PDF at full size before uploading, especially chapter openings, the table of contents and the copyright page.