How to Convert Your Manuscript to a Kindle eBook (for PC Users) |
NOTE FOR MAC USERS: Go directly to our How to Create an EPUB file page and follow our intructions for downloading and using Calibre to convert your book into both ePUB and Kindle (MOBI) file formats.
If you've reached this step, you must be a seriously motivated writer, or a Friday-nights-are-for-jailbreaking-my-iphone computer geek because the truth is that you can certainly upload your MS Word .doc to your Kindle account and call it a day.
You'll just end up with an ugly ebook.
According to Amazon's Kindle Publishing Guide, MSWord, ePUB, PDF file formats are all acceptable document formats for uploading your ebook content. What they don't tell you is that these formats are inconsistently transferred into the Kindle File format.
So you never know how a chapter break or even a little ol' comma in a MS Word or PDF file will look on the Kindle until you test it.
So... onto Plan B, right? Google it.
If you google, "How to convert your manuscript to a Kindle ebook," you'll get an 80 step process of how you need to set-up a Kindle email account within your Amazon account, and send yourself the file as an attachment, which will automatically convert the file into a Kindle formated file. Oh, and it helps if you know a little HTML, too.
Huh?
Exactly. In a word: lame-o.
Save yourself the consternation (and constipation), and focus on performing the conversion yourself from a MSWord (or PDF, or ePUB file) into a Kindle formatted file.
STEP 2-A. Prepare! for! the! Conversion!
Cleaning Up Your MS Word .doc Manuscript
Preparing! for! the! Conversion! is a lot less scary than it sounds, and you're only required to do a happy-dance after each succesful step in nine out of 48 Contintental US. States (and The Netherlands).
Even better, contrary to what you may read on those 80-step Google guides, italics, bold, and underline formatting in your MS Word .doc transfers perfectly fine to the Kindle file format. Transferring chapter headings and chapter breaks, on the other hand, will give you heartburn.
- The simplest way to start "cleaning" up your MS Word manuscript for the Kindle file format transfer is to strip out all the info. in your headers: page numbers, title/author name, and any other fancy-schmancy stuff you've listed there. That header info was required by the agents. Kindle readers won't need it, and it will simply gum-up your ebook layout.
- The next thing is to remove all those chapter breaks. Yes, remove them. Highlight your chapter titles in bold and underline. This will sufficiently call out a new chapter break on the Kindle. But all those extra breaks between chapters are no longer necessary, and again, will self-destruct your ultimate goal of a nice, clean ebook layout.
- While in MS Word, open your "cleaned" MS Word .doc and simply select "Save As". Then, change the "File Name" and change "Save as Type" to --->Web Page, Filtered (*HTML, *HTM) from the file format drop-down menu.
You have now saved your cleaned MS Word .doc as an HTML file. Congrats!
You will now be able to see how your HTML file will look on the Kindle by viewing it in MS Word. If there continues to be funky spaces between chapter breaks, go back into your original MSWord .doc, remove them, and resave over your web-filtered file.
Really, that's it? That's all the prep work? But that's too, too, too damn easy... something must be wrong here?
Yeah, it is easy. Unfortunately, it's the next step that's a lot harder.
STEP 2-B. Perform! the! Conversion!
Convert Your "Cleaned" Manuscript Web-Filtered .HTM File into a Kindle-Formatted File
Yes, indeed. It is time to Perform! the! Conversion!
In this next step, what we're offering you as our way to perform! the! conversion! is what we believe is the most user-friendly way. But it requires two things:
1. That you're a PC user (not using a Mac computer)
2. That you're willing and able to download one of two free conversion software choices: Mobipocket or Calibre.
Which is better: Mobipocket vs. Calibre? Well, Mobipocket is only for PC users who want to convert their book into Kindle Mobi file format. We think it's a bit more user-friendly than Calibre. That said, if you're looking to convert your book into both ePUB and Kindle file formats, Calibre does both conversion formats... so learning Calibre in the long-run will save you time.
If you're a Mac user, there's only one option for you: Calibre.
If you're interested in using Calibre for creating a Kindle file, simply follow our Calibre instructions. The process is the same in Calibre for creating an EPUB or Kindle MOBI file. You simply select a different file output with a button click.
If you're a PC user only interested in converting your book into Kindle's Mobi file format, then brace yourself and follow the below recipe.
And remember: Even your grandmother and her 99-year-old boyfriend can do this. And in fact, we're pretty sure we've already read their best-selling ebook, Love in the Time of Social Security Cut-Backs...
While in Mobipocket, follow these simple steps:
Import your file into Mobipocket:
1. Home -->Import from Existing File --> HTML document
2. Choose a file --> browse and select your Web filtered manuscript
3. Create publication in folder --> browse and select your desired folder
4. Click Import button
Create your Mobipocket eBook:
1. Click on "Cover Image" --> Add a cover image --> select a greyscale version of your eBook cover. Image size 900px x 1100px worked for us.
--> Update button
2. Click on "Meta Data" --> Be sure to list your eBook's title and your author name as you would like it to appear in the Kindle. Add other information (if desired).
3. Click on "Build" --> Standard Compression --> No encryption --> Build
4. Open folder containing eBook --> OK
Upload your Mobipocket file to your Amazon.com account
1. In the folder containing your eBook, find the .PRC version of your file.
2. Login to your Amazon.com Kindle Direct Publishing account --> Your Book: Book Basics --> Book Content file --> Select your .PRC file -->Upload Book button
3. Preview Book button --> This preview gives you the opportunity to review how your book looks on the Kindle (if you actually own a Kindle, we recommend transfer the file via your USB connection, and reviewing it on the device. Otherwise, we found that this preview tool is a decent substitute.)
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