How to format a novel for KDP on Windows without Vellum

Vellum has a good reputation for book formatting, but it runs only on a Mac. If you write on Windows, you can still produce a clean ebook and paperback for Kindle Direct Publishing. You need to understand a handful of settings, and a tool that does the layout for you. This guide covers the decisions in the order you will meet them. Figures come from KDP's own help pages, which we read on 25 October 2026. Amazon updates them from time to time, so check the links at the end before you upload.

Two files, two jobs

A novel on KDP usually needs two interior files. The ebook is a reflowable file: readers can change the font size, and the device decides where the pages break. The paperback is a fixed layout: every page is set at an exact size with exact margins, and what you upload is what gets printed.

For the ebook, KDP lists Word (DOC or DOCX), Kindle Package Format (KPF, made with Kindle Create) and EPUB among its recommended and most common formats. It also accepts HTML, RTF, plain text and PDF in some languages. EPUB is a sensible choice because the same file works on other stores too. KDP asks that EPUB files meet its Kindle publishing guidelines, so run the preview before you publish.

For the paperback, KDP accepts PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML or TXT when your book has no bleed, and converts them to PDF itself. If any page needs bleed, you must upload a PDF. In practice, a print-ready PDF is the safest route, because you see exactly what will be printed.

Step 1: pick a trim size

Trim size is the finished page size. Fiction paperbacks commonly use 5 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5 or 6 x 9 inches. KDP also allows custom sizes, with a width between 4 and 8.5 inches and a height between 6 and 11.69 inches. A trim is treated as large if it is wider than 6.12 inches or taller than 9 inches, and large trims have different printing costs, so check the cost calculator in your KDP dashboard before settling.

Smaller trims mean more pages for the same text, which raises the print cost. Larger trims mean fewer pages and a lower cost per page but a heavier-feeling book. For a typical novel, 5.5 x 8.5 or 6 x 9 is a comfortable choice. Pick one and stick with it, because changing trim later changes your page count and your margins.

Step 2: set margins that match your page count

KDP sets a minimum for the inside margin (the gutter) that grows with page count, because thicker books curve more toward the spine. Top, bottom and outside margins must be at least 0.25 inches without bleed, or 0.375 inches with bleed.

• 24 to 150 pages: inside margin at least 0.375 inches
• 151 to 300 pages: at least 0.5 inches
• 301 to 500 pages: at least 0.625 inches
• 501 to 700 pages: at least 0.75 inches
• 701 to 828 pages: at least 0.875 inches

These are minimums. Most novels look better with more generous margins than the minimum, both for readability and to give your thumbs somewhere to go. If your software has both an inside and a gutter field, KDP says to enter the same value in both. Remember that your page count can change as you revise, so recheck the band at the end.

Step 3: decide on bleed

Bleed lets images or backgrounds run to the edge of the page. It adds 0.125 inches on the top, bottom and outside edges, so a 6 x 9 inch book becomes 6.125 x 9.25 inches. If any page needs bleed, the whole interior must be set up with bleed. A plain text novel does not need it, and skipping bleed keeps things simpler. Covers are different: KDP says all covers require bleed.

Step 4: fonts, images and file hygiene

KDP asks you to embed all fonts and images in your file before you submit, and to flatten transparent objects and layers. The minimum font size is 7 points, though body text for fiction is usually set much larger. Images should be at least 300 DPI. The minimum page count for a paperback is 24, and KDP rounds page counts up to an even number. Files must be under 650 MB, which a text novel will never approach.

Most of these problems come from exporting a PDF from a word processor with fonts left unembedded or with stray layers. Use an exporter that produces a print PDF from a book layout rather than printing a Word document to PDF.

Step 5: choose a formatting tool that runs on Windows

You have several options. Microsoft Word can produce an acceptable interior if you set up page size, mirrored margins and section breaks carefully, but it takes patience. Kindle Create is Amazon's own tool for ebooks. Atticus runs on Windows and is sold for a one-time fee. Mythwrite is a browser-based writing workspace that includes publish-ready EPUB and print PDF export with themes and three trim sizes (5 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5 and 6 x 9), so you can draft, revise and produce both files without moving the manuscript between programs. Its print margins follow the same KDP page-count bands listed above. Mythwrite isn't affiliated with Vellum. It's a web app, so it runs in any browser on Windows, Mac, Linux or a Chromebook.

Whichever you choose, the test is the same: does it give you an EPUB that passes the preview and a PDF with embedded fonts and correct margins? A tool that does both and shows you the pages before you commit is worth more than one with a hundred decorative options.

A pre-upload checklist

1. Trim size chosen and set the same in your file and in the KDP paperback setup.
2. Inside margin meets the minimum for your final page count.
3. Top, bottom and outside margins are at least 0.25 inches (0.375 with bleed).
4. Fonts embedded, no transparency issues, images at 300 DPI or more.
5. Front matter, chapter openings and page numbers checked on every chapter start.
6. Ebook EPUB opened in KDP's previewer on phone, tablet and e-reader views.
7. Print PDF opened in the KDP previewer, checking the gutter on the busiest pages.
8. A printed proof copy ordered before you press publish.

That last step is worth the cost. A proof copy shows problems no preview does: a gutter that feels tight, text that sits too close to the trim, a font that is smaller on paper than it looked on screen.