Use Kindle Create to layout and design a book for Amazon's Kindle

A not so brief tutorial on how to use Kindle Create to design the layout of your book for Kindle.
CONTENTS:
0:00 Introduction
0:10 Preparing Document to import
0:55 Importing your document into Kindle Create
2:44 Tour of KC Features and Menus
9:00 Manually Creating a Table of Contents
15:58 Adding Front Matter
19:00 Formatting your content for publication
23:53 Indenting and Spacing
25:54 Drop Caps
26:54 Using Preview to proof your layout
29:14 Cascading changes across an element
34:45 Adding Images
37:49 Conclusion
MY BOOKS
www.amazon.com/dp/B09XK2F6XB?...
MY WEBSITE
www.sommerstone.com
SUBSTACK
jdgoffauthor.substack.com/
DOWNLOAD KINDLE CREATE
www.amazon.com/Kindle-Create/...
Check out Grzegorz Krysinski artwork
www.deviantart.com/czarnystefan

[@PatrickSipperly]

Very helpful, JD. Thanks for making this.

[@JamesMBrannan]

Beautiful guide through. So clear and useful. Thanks a lot!

[@sommerstone]

Glad it was helpful!

[@thekarmafarmer608]

Very thorough advice. Thank you.

[@TradingKiABCD]

Best tutorial on Kindle Create. Thank You!

[@sommerstone]

Thanks. I'm actually working on new video for the latest version of Kindle Create that came out in November. They've added a couple of really nice features, and I wanted to do a more thorough breakdown of the program. I've outlined it, now I just need to record it and edit the content. I'm hoping this will help a lot of people.

[@girtsabentraums3433]

Thank you very much for the explanation!

[@LR-ee2uu]

Thank you is not enough, but I promise you it is sincerely meant. Thank you so much for this video. Some people waffle, some people confuse.... "You teach." 🖖🥂

[@sommerstone]

Thanks. The others aren't as good as they're rushed and I didn't expect so many views. I made these videos for a friend who needed help. I am planning on redoing the other videos so that they're better. I'm glad you found it helpful.

[@sundayayobamik8243]

This is a Masterclass course on Kindle, thanks so much for giving it out free.

[@sommerstone]

Thank you. I'm glad you found it useful.

[@eleizesilvaferreira6471]

Muito bom. Obrigada!👏

[@LukeGreenheart]

Thank you for this video. I've just finished formatting my book thanks to you! I watched other videos on this but none as helpful as yours! Well done 🙏😁💚

[@sommerstone]

You're very welcome! I'm glad you found it useful. I'm going to put together some others when I have time (after August), so check back then.

[@raulm8950]

Excellent! Thanj you!

[@whatfoodsmenu]

This is a great tutorial. If you build this thing into a series please consider making a course in udemy . I was looking for this information and I could not find it.

[@sommerstone]

Thanks, I mostly made this to help a colleague who was using the program for the first time, so it's not scripted. I did edit it to remove a lot of non verbal pauses and to clean out the parts where I rambled on, and to add a few clarifying overlays. I hadn't considered Udemy as an option, but if I went that route I'd want to do it right. script it out and makes sure it's more comprehensive (I left some stuff out), but it's a good idea. Thanks for suggesting it.

[@notariesforalabama7253]

Extremely hepful!

[@totatjana]

Many thanks! I'm diving in :) PS for MAC users with pages => Convert pages to the doc. I tried to get in with the docx files, but they were not valid

[@KamleshMallick]

Thank you Mr Goff. I enjoyed your attention to detail. I will apply it to my book too. Now the question is - Every-time our Word Document is ready, do we have to come to Kindle Create and repeat this process of adding Chapters, Table of Contents, Change Formatting? I believe Microsoft Word and Apple Pages document formatting tools are far superior than what we have at Kindle Create. The only advantage Kindle Create offers is the ability to preview on a Tablet or on the Kindle eBook Reader. All of this feels like double work, dont u think? We spent lot of time formatting in Microsoft Word and Apple Pages and again spend lot of time in Kindle Create doing - formatting. Do you follow this process for every eBook you publish?

[@sommerstone]

I'm glad you found the video helpful. The response and view, frankly, have surprised me. I only ever intended these videos for an audience of one, a friend I was helping to publish an anthology of her short stories because her publisher doesn't do anthologies. I never anticipated they'd receive the attention they have. To answer your question, about importing additional chapters into Kindle Create, the only way is to add a chapter page and then copy and paste from Word. I do not actually recommend using Kindle Create for formatting your books. As I mentioned, I made this video for an audience of one, and did it on Kindle Create because that's the program she was using. I don't recommend it as a first choice for a number of reasons. 1. While it is free and the newest version allows for the creation of epub files, it is still very much proprietary and can only create print books for Amazon. 2. It is hard to use and there is the extra work you mentioned. 3. The features for design and layout are limited. I much prefer Atticus, a program developed by the folks over at Kindlepreneur.com . It is a much easier program to use, allows for easy import of additional chapters, is highly configurable when it comes to the layout and design of both your ebooks and print books, for which it produces files (epub and pdf). It costs about $150 US, but I've found it worth the money as it saves me a lot of time. Unlike Kindle Create, you can write your book in it. I don't, but the option is there. It's not a perfect program, but it is impressive. Another alternative is Scrivener, for which I am currently creating a tutorial video. It is far more robust and produces both print and epub files for upload, as well as offering a variety of organizational tools for developing books, screenplays, et al.

[@boxhe4352]

Hey there! I just wanted to say I absolutely love your content and the way you present it - your explanation is so clear.! However, I did notice that your voice volume seems to be a bit low in some of your videos. Maybe you could try increasing it a little? Keep up the amazing work!

[@sommerstone]

Thanks for the feedback. To be honest, these videos were only ever intended for an audience of one. I had no idea they'd get so many views. If I had, I definitely would have done a better job. Frankly, it's a little embarrassing. I'm planning on doing more, and they'll be a higher quality.

[@liveforthenow]

Thank you for this, as a first time user of create found your video easy to follow, and my book definitely looks better because of it. Only issue is it wont let me save it, keeps saying technical fault. Am just praying i dont lose all ive done.

[@sommerstone]

You're very welcome!

[@cloudlessrainvisions3264]

Great video! This is the best tutorial I've seen on Kindle Create. Do you by chance know how to exclude the front matter from the table of contents?

[@jongoff7829]

Not really. Remember that for a kindle device the Table of Contents is a tool to help the reader to quickly navigate, so it isn't exactly like a conventional TOC you'd find in a print book.

[@cloudlessrainvisions3264]

@@jongoff7829 Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm using KC for a print book. I really like KC and it's supposed to work for print books but I'm starting to think I'll just move to doing it all in Word.

[@jongoff7829]

@@cloudlessrainvisions3264 Word has some desktop publishing features, but it's not great. It will get the job done, but if you're interested in creating a very polished and professional looking final product I'd recommend using Scribus. It's a professional grade typesetting program that will allow you to really create a top notch interior. You can also use it to design your cover. I made another video on Scribus, but it's not very good. I am planning on going back through it and doing it right. Like I said, I did both to help a friend publish a collection of short stories, so the videos aren't as good as they could be. www.scribus.net/

[@eleizesilvaferreira6471]

May I short the margin spaces?

[@creative-trauma]

A thousand thanks, JD. I am profoundly indebted and grateful for your great help with this video. Thanks for your time and effort as well. I really needed this. I was wondering if there is any way to check the finished result (on a Kindle device) before placing it online (I intend to use it for both Amazon Kindle eBook and paperback), perhaps using the EPUB version? Thanks so much!

[@sommerstone]

I'm very sorry for the late reply. These videos were only ever intended for an audience of one, as a review of things discussed on the phone as I helped a friend format her book. That they've been viewed as many times as they have is something I neither expected nor planned for. To answer your question, which you may have already done, you can use Amazon's eBook viewer, which will open both KPF files (books made with Kindle Create) and epub files. You can find the Kindle Previewer here: kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G202131170

[@creative-trauma]

@@sommerstone Thanks👍, already done

[@NeilCheesman]

Great video! I am new to using the software, so it is very helpful. But, how do I add page numbers?

[@sommerstone]

Page numbers are not relevant in an ebook. Ebooks are typically reflowable, meaning the text reflows depending on the reading device and user preferences. As such, page numbers do not apply. When creating a book for print, which Kindle Create does allow, the page number is determined by several factors. The size of the font, the size of the print book (6x9 will have fewer page numbers than a 5X8 book). the KPF (Kindle Print File) that is generted by Kindle Create is used by Amazon to create both the eBook and the print book. You can decide where you want the page numbers to appear in your book by using the PRINT SETTINGS in the upper right menu bar. This gives you eight options: • Bottom right & bottom left with author name and title on the top of the page on the left and right • Bottom center with author name and title centered on the top of the page • Bottom center with author name and title on the left and right • Bottom centered with nothing in the header (no author or title) • Top right and left with author and book title also on the left and right • Top right and left with the book title and chapter title also on the left and right • Top right and left with book & chapter tilte centered. • Top right and right with author name and book title centered These are the only options available in KIndle Create for numbering pages in your book, and the pagination will be done automatically by the software. If you are looking for something with more versitality for print copies, I recommend Scribus, a free open source Desk Top Publishing program, or Affinity, an inexpensive DTP program that will allow you to design every aspect of your print book. Both are more difficult to master (though I have videos for Scribus posted to help), but they provide absolute control over how your print book will look. They do not create ebook files. If you're interested, and have the budget for it, I highly recommend Atticus, which provides a high level of control over both the design of your eBooks and your print books. It also generates files for both, but it is more expnesive at $150. Both Draft2Digital and Reedsy do have online editors that will create print books and ebooks, but you are limited to their templates. I've included links to everything below. RECOMENDED: www.atticus.io/ Draft2Digital: draft2digital.com/ Reedsy: reedsy.com/ Desk Top Publishing Scribus (Free) www.scribus.net/ Affinity ( $69.99 with a fee 30 day trial) affinity.serif.com/en-us/publisher/

[@davidfamilydoctor9430]

Hi - When I change the space before/after paragraph "Body Text', the changes do not cascade across the book. Consequently there is not enough space before and after paragraphs. Have you seen this issue?

[@sommerstone]

I have. While the changes to other Elements, like chapter title, do propagate across the book, you cannot apply a style to body text (aside from font and a few other minor things) to change. There are 9 elements (3 Page Elements, to adjust how pages appear, and 6 Standard Elements, to adjust specific things like quotes within the text). There is no element for body text, though you can apply some limited styles. The reason for this is because Kindle readers and apps allow the reader to adjust the spacing between lines of text on their device, as well as other things, to make the text easier to read on their device. Hope this helps answer your question

[@mokia63]

Thanks for the video..., I've been using Kindle Create and I really like it, but I have noticed that when I publish the ebook in the "product details" it shows Word Wise‏ : ‎ No active ... Why is this happening? What can I do? what am I missing in the process, is it only available in english books ?

[@sommerstone]

I'll have to do some research on that when I redo the video. If you have anything else you'd like to see or have questions on let me know in the comments.

[@mindoriworld]

Hey great video! The only question I have got: There is no option in Kindle Create to create an outline with hyperlinked Sections and subsections. Is there any way to fix it?

[@sommerstone]

I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to do. Are you talking about a standard outline, A, b, 1, i scenario? There is a way to create hyperlinks in KC, but you may want to create your work in a stand alone program like Scribus, and then use Kindle Create to make a print replica. The video covers how to create a free flow book like a novel, but for your purposes you'd want to use the option in the beginning to create a print replica, which takes an existing PDF and turns it into an interactive ebook. You'd have to create the hyperlinks in the PDF, which is possible, though not covered in my Scribus videos, and then when creating the Print Replica, choose the option to preserve the hyperlinks. Hope this helps. I am working on producing more videos now that I see that there is a need for this information. I've just finished with a convention tour, and was taking a break for the holidays, with the plan of starting the videos in the new year. If you have ideas of what you'd like to see videos on, you can let me know here, or over at my website: www.sommerstone.com/contact

[@GaryJones2012]

Totally awesome video! Too bad Kindle Create fails so badly some times.

[@sommerstone]

There are better tools out there, but there are few better FREE tools. I'm glad you found the video useful.

[@brillonscott]

I didn't see, but did you mention how to set indents? I didn't see it here. How do you set indents so that they all match? I've used KC wice now and both times inednts were all over the place.

[@sommerstone]

I'm planning on doing a more in-depth video in the next week or so, with topics and time stamps for easier navigation. I'll address indents there. In the meantime, you can create indents by going to the format tab, making sure you paragraph is set to "body text". Toward the bottom on the right side, you'll see a section for indents. Expand that and chose the option for first line indent. I don't believe I went over indents, but here's the time stamp where I dropped a note in showing their location. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZ3bi6Nnpr6kbK8

[@RaniaRania-gq3hq]

Bonjour pour mettre mon livre en format il faut le modifier sur Word mise en page, marge,taille après je vais sur Kindle créate?ça fait une semaine je regarde les vidéos et j'ai pas bien compris merci pour votre 6

[@sommerstone]

Bonjour, je ne parle pas français, donc j'utilise un traducteur pour répondre. J'espère que c'est clair. Kindle Create est un outil de mise en forme et vous n'avez pas besoin de faire de mise en forme dans Word. En fait, il est préférable de ne pas avoir de mise en forme dans Word lorsque vous importez. Tout ce que vous avez à faire, c'est d'importer votre document et d'utiliser Kindle Create pour formater votre livre comme vous le souhaitez.

[@InvisibleKiduk]

you might know this but you dont know KZbin, buy a mic, sound quality is key

[@globalconcern4995]

I'm sorry, I could hardly hear you.

[@jongoff7829]

The audio levels are set within the normal parameters, but your browser may be set with a lower volume or the volume in the player may have been set too low. No one else has had this issue. Try changing the volume setting in the player. Let me know if that doesn't resolve the issue.