Getting Started with Kindle Create
Getting Started with Kindle Create
Use
Kindle Create
(PC or Mac) to turn your completed manuscript, of any trim size, into a beautiful book. You can make three types of books with Kindle Create: reflowable, interactive print replica, and comics with Guided View.
Learn more about the book formats available in Kindle Create
.
Contents
Download Kindle Create
Requirements and supported features
Install Kindle Create
Get started with the Kindle Create tutorial
Choose your book type
Having trouble importing a file?
Having trouble exporting a file?
Pre-release features (beta)
Update books prepared with Kindle Create
Download Kindle Create
Download
(Windows 8 or later)
Download
(macOS 10.13 or later)
Requirements and supported features
System requirements
RAM - 8 GB recommended, 4 GB minimum
Processor - 1.2 GHz minimum, 2 GHz recommended
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) or later for PC (64-bit) running on Intel or AMD CPUs
macOS 10.13 (64-bit) or later for Mac
Supported languages
Kindle Create user interface is available in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
The tool supports eBooks written in Dutch, English, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Malayalam, Marathi, Portuguese, Spanish, and Tamil. Print books are not available in Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, or Tamil.
Supported features
This chart summarizes what Kindle Create does well and what we're working on to make the tool even better. Learn more about
book types
and
pre-release features
.
Book type
Supported
Unsupported
Pre-release (beta)
All
Built-in previewer that shows reading experience on tablets, phones, and E-readers
Publishing outside of Kindle
Cover formatting
Reflowable books
Four high-quality themes to customize your book's look and feel
Image features like bleed, chapter start, and full-page images
Automatic detection of chapters and simple table of contents creation
Insert, edit or delete hyperlinks
Typesetting for your book so it reads well on tablets, phones, or E-readers
Editing of tables, lists, footnotes, and certain paragraphs with complex formatting
Image captions
Insertion of images with bleed to eBooks based on a DOC(X) file
Preparation of a text-heavy eBook and paperback with the same manuscript file
Print Replica eBooks
Option to add
interactive content
, such as audio, video, images, and hyperlinks
Comic eBooks
Preparation of graphic books with Guided View panels from a PDF or multiple JPEG files
Automatic panel and mask color detection
Build a Table of Contents
Add, delete, reorganize, and replace pages
Set pages as facing pages so that readers can see them side by side when reading on landscape orientation on enabled devices
Install Kindle Create
Video: Installing Kindle Create on Windows
Windows
MacOS
Click the
Download Now
button. A confirmation box appears. Click
Save File
.
You will be prompted to save the installer to your
Downloads
folder, but you can change the location. Click
Save
.
Open your
Downloads
folder (or the location you saved the installer to) and double-click the installer file. The installation wizard opens. Review the License Agreement and click
I Agree
.
You will be prompted to install Kindle Create in a default location, but you can change the location. Click
Install
.
You will receive a success message when installation is complete. The
Run Kindle Create
box is checked by default, but you can change this. Click
Finish
.
Click the
Download Now
button. Download begins. Click the
Show Downloads
button.
Double-click the installer file. The installation wizard opens. Click
Continue
.
Review the License Agreement, click
Continue
, and then click
Agree
.
You will be prompted to install Kindle Create in a default location, but you can change the location. Click
Continue
and then click
Install
.
You will receive a success message when installation is complete. Click
Close
.
After installation, you can launch Kindle Create by selecting
Windows key > Amazon > Kindle Create
(Windows) or
Launchpad > Kindle Create
(Mac).
Get started with the Kindle Create tutorial
Test out Kindle Create on a sample file. See what you can do with the tool and how to use it to prepare your own eBooks.
Go to the tutorial
.
Choose your book type
This chart describes the book formats available in Kindle Create. Only one format can be used for each Kindle book.
If your book is
Use this type of source file
To build this type of eBook
Detailed instructions here
Text-heavy book, such as a novel, essay, or memoir
DOC or DOCX
Your DOC(x) file is converted into a "reflowable" eBook. Reflowable eBooks allow the reader to resize text and are available on all Kindle devices and free Kindle reading applications. You can also submit it as a print book and select the trim size on KDP. You can use Kindle Create to:
Format your text with styles and themes
Build a table of contents
Add or edit text
Add, delete, resize, and/or align images
Edit your eBook at a later date
Preview your eBook and create a file to publish to KDP
Publish on KDP as a print book of any trim size (print preview with headers and page numbering is available after uploading on KDP)
Prepare Reflowable Books with Kindle Create
Book with lots of images and complex formatting, such as a textbook, travel book, or cookbook
Your PDF is converted into a Print Replica eBook. Print Replica eBooks maintain the look of their print editions and offer many of the advantages of standard Kindle eBooks, but they do not allow the reader to resize text and are only
Fire Tablets
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9''
Kindle Fire HDX
Kindle Fire HD(2nd Generation)
Fire HDX 8.9 Tablet
Fire HD 7 Tablet
Fire HD 6 Tablet
Kindle Fire HD 8.9"
Kindle Fire HD(1st Generation)
Kindle Fire(2nd Generation)
Kindle Fire(1st Generation)
Fire HD 10
Fire HD 8
Fire
Free Kindle Reading Apps
Kindle for Android Phones
Kindle for Android Tablets
Kindle for iPhone
Kindle for iPod Touch
Kindle for iPad
Kindle for Mac
Kindle for PC
available on certain devices.
You can use Kindle Create to:
Build a table of contents
Add
interactive content
, such as audio, video, images, and hyperlinks
Edit your eBook at a later date
Preview your eBook and create a file to publish to KDP
Prepare Print Replica Books with Kindle Create
Comic or graphic novel of low complexity
Your PDF is converted into a comic eBook. Comic eBooks include Guided View, which animates panel-to-panel movement with each swipe to give a clear indication of how the story progresses across each page.You can use Kindle Create to:
Add Guided View panels
Build a Table of Contents
Add, delete, reorganize and replace pages
Set pages as facing pages so they appear side-by-side when reading in landscape orientation on enabled devices
Edit your eBook at a later date
Preview your eBook and create a file to publish to KDP
Prepare Comic eBooks with Kindle Create
Having trouble importing a file?
When you import a file into Kindle Create, you may see error messages that stop you before you start editing. Use the troubleshooting tips below.
Error message
Troubleshooting steps
Invalid source file
If you have a different version of the file that you can open, try importing that version. If you can open the file but Kindle Create cannot, please
contact us
.
Password-protected file
Make sure the file doesn't require a password to open it. In the editing software (e.g., Microsoft Word) you used to open the file, remove the password requirement from the file.
Empty file
The file you're trying to upload doesn't appear to have any content in it. Make sure you're uploading the complete version of your manuscript that's ready to prepare for publishing.
Corrupt file
Something happened to the file that makes it impossible for Kindle Create (and maybe other programs) to open it. Here is what we recommend so you can import your file:
Open your file in Microsoft Word.
Click the
File
tab.
Click
Save As
.
Choose a file location.
In the File name box, enter a new name for the file.
In the Save as type list, click the file format and Word 97-2003 (*.doc).
Save your file import it into Kindle Create.
If you still see an error message after following the troubleshooting above, please
contact us
.
Unsupported file format
The file you're attempting to open is not in a format Kindle Create supports. If you open your file in Microsoft Word and Adobe software, among others, you can save it in one of the formats that Kindle Create supports: DOC, DOCX, PDF.
Generic error
Refer to the information below for troubleshooting generic error messages.
When importing the file, Kindle Create had an error it couldn't solve. Try importing the file one more time or saving a different version and importing it again. If that doesn't work, contact us.
You might be importing your file from an external source such as a pen drive, an external hard disk, or a cloud drive. Here is what we recommend so you can import your file:
Download the file to your desktop.
If needed, rename the file so you can easily locate it.
Import the file from your desktop to Kindle Create.
If you still see an error message after following the troubleshooting above, please
contact us
.
When importing the file, Kindle Create had an error it couldn't solve. Try importing the file one more time or saving a different version and importing it again. If that doesn't work, contact us.
If you file contains special characters on the name you will receive this message. To resolve this issue please rename the file without special characters.Special characters can be quotes, exclamation marks, pound symbols, percent symbols, asterisk, parenthesis, brackets, questions marks, and more.
When importing the file, Kindle Create had an error it couldn't solve. Try importing the file one more time or saving a different version and importing it again. If that doesn't work, contact us.
You might be using styles. Styles in Microsoft Word are the ones used as "Heading 1,” "Heading 2,” "Heading 3," instead of "Normal." Here is what we recommend so you can import your file:
On your file, go to the page where you applied the styles. From the Home tab, under Styles, select
Normal
.
Then go to the Insert tab, and under the Text section, select
Drop Cap
.
From the dropdown menu, select
Drop Cap Options
.
Click
Dropped
, choose your font, lines to drop, and the distance from the text.
Click
Ok
.
Save your file and try again to import it into Kindle Create.
If you still see an error message after following the troubleshooting above, please
contact us
.
When importing the file, Kindle Create had an error it couldn't solve. Try importing the file one more time or saving a different version and importing it again. If that doesn't work, contact us.
Your file might have a table embedded on it. Tables, lists, and footnotes cannot be edited in Kindle Create.Here is what we recommend so you can import your file:
Open your file in Microsoft Word.
Press F5 on your keyboard. A dialog box will open, from the Go to tab select
Table
. Click
Previous
or
Next
, appropriately.
If you see a symbol with four arrows, this means that a table is on your document.
Now, you need to replace the table with a text box. So first, right click on the four arrow symbol and click on
Delete Table
. Then go to the Insert tab and click on
Text box
.
Save your file and import it into Kindle Create.
If you still see an error message after following the troubleshooting above, please
contact us
.
If you try to download the tool and your computer flags it as harmful, check your anti-virus software or firewall settings. You may need to add kdp.amazon.com to your list of trusted sites. Or, if your web browser displays a security warning, set it to allow downloads from kdp.amazon.com. Make sure your anti-virus and spyware software are up to date.
Note:
All KDP tools and software downloads go through a review process that includes virus and spyware scanning. If your download is flagged as harmful, you may need to contact your anti-virus software publisher to report the issue. In this case, we would also appreciate more information about where you saw this message so we can investigate.
Contact us
and tell us the operating system and anti-virus software you're using.
Having trouble exporting a file?
When you export a file from Kindle Create, you may see error messages that will not allow you to save your file. Use the troubleshooting tips below.
Create a new folder on your desktop, you can name this folder "Book" for example.
Open the KCB file in Kindle Create, and from the File tab click on
Save Project As
and save the book with a different file name, for example "Booktest" into the folder created in step 1.
Now click the
Generate
button and again change the file name to “Booktest" and save it into the folder created in step 1.
Pre-release features (beta)
With Early Access, you can choose to try pre-release (beta) features and provide feedback. Our current pre-release features are:
Preparing eBooks in Indian languages (Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, or Gujarati)
To try pre-release features, select
Help > Settings > Early Access
(Windows) or
Kindle Create > Preferences > Early Access
(Mac) and then check the
Enable Beta Features
box. Kindle Create restarts to complete the process.To contact us about your experience with this beta, select
Help > Provide Feedback
.
Update books prepared with Kindle Create
When you save your project, Kindle Create stores a work file (in KCB format) and other resources in the folder you choose. We recommend saving and backing up this folder (including the KCB file), which you need to update to your book.To update your book, open Kindle Create and click
Open an Existing File
and choose the relevant KCB file. You can also select the file from the
Recents
column or from
File > Open Recent
.When you click
Generate
, Kindle Create produces a publishable file (KPF) you can submit to KDP. The KPF file is only used for publishing. The KCB file is used for updates.
Did this page answer your question?
Yes
|
No
The survey is hosted by Qualtrics, so you'll visit their site to fill it out.