A complete book formatting checklist covers 35 items across six categories: document setup (trim size, margins, page count, bleed, color space), typography (font embedding, sizing, leading, widows/orphans), front matter, chapter formatting, back matter, and final PDF verification. Of these 35 items, six cause the vast majority of KDP file rejections: inside margins too narrow, page size mismatch, unembedded fonts, odd page count, content in margins, and low-resolution images.

Work through this checklist section by section before every upload — or use our interactive Formatting Checklist to track your progress automatically. Print it out, bookmark it, tape it to your wall — whatever keeps you from skipping steps when you’re tired and just want the book to be done.

Document Setup

These are the structural settings that determine whether KDP accepts or rejects your file. Get these wrong and nothing else matters.

  1. Trim size matches KDP selection. Your PDF page dimensions must exactly match the trim size you selected in KDP — not letter size, not A4, not “close enough.” This is the second most common cause of rejected PDFs. Open your PDF in any reader and check File > Properties.

  2. Inside margins (gutter) meet minimums for your page count. The inside margin depends on how thick the book is — more pages means more paper disappearing into the binding. See our book margins and gutter guide for recommended values beyond the minimums. KDP’s minimums: 0.375” for 24-150 pages, 0.5” for 151-300 pages, 0.625” for 301-500 pages, 0.75” for 501-700 pages, and 0.875” for 701-828 pages (full specs). Use the actual PDF page count, not your Word document page count. Use our KDP Book Calculator to see exact margin requirements for your page count and trim size.

  3. Outside margins are adequate. KDP’s minimum is 0.25” for top, bottom, and outside edges, but minimums produce cramped, uncomfortable books. Professional interiors use at least 0.5” outside, 0.6” top, and 0.7” bottom. The bottom margin should be slightly larger than the top.

  4. Page count is even. Books are printed on sheets of paper with two sides. An odd page count is physically impossible, and KDP will reject it. If your book ends on an odd page, add a blank page at the end. Formatting tools like Cambric handle this automatically, but verify it in your final PDF.

  5. Bleed settings are correct. If nothing extends to the page edge, you don’t need bleed — and you shouldn’t enable it, because it changes the required page dimensions. If you do have full-bleed elements, you need 0.125” bleed on all three outside edges. Most novels don’t need bleed. See our book bleed settings guide for specifics.

  6. Color space matches your interior type. Black-and-white interiors should be exported in grayscale. Color interiors need CMYK or sRGB. If you export a black-and-white novel in CMYK, you may get charged the higher color printing rate (roughly $0.07/page vs. $0.012/page for B&W on KDP). If you export in RGB when CMYK is expected — particularly for IngramSpark uploads — colors will shift or the file may be rejected. For a detailed comparison of platform requirements, see KDP vs IngramSpark.

Typography

Typography is what separates “someone formatted this in Word” from “this looks like a real book.” Readers may not be able to articulate why a book feels amateurish, but bad typography is almost always the reason.

  1. Body font is a professional serif, embedded in the PDF. Garamond, Caslon, Palatino, Minion, Source Serif — these are book fonts. Times New Roman is a newspaper font. Calibri is a screen font. Whatever you chose, it must be embedded in the PDF. Check in Acrobat: File > Properties > Fonts. Every font should show “(Embedded)” or “(Embedded Subset).”

  2. Body text is 10-12pt. Smaller than 10pt is uncomfortable for sustained reading. Larger than 12pt looks like a large-print edition. For a 5.5” x 8.5” book, 11pt is the sweet spot; for a compact 5” x 8”, 10-10.5pt works better. If you’re unsure, pull a traditionally published book off your shelf in the same genre and compare.

  3. Line spacing (leading) is 1.3-1.5x the font size. Too tight and the lines blur together. Too loose and the page looks like a double-spaced manuscript. For 11pt body text, line spacing of 14.5-16pt is typical. This one has an outsized impact on readability — get it right and your book feels effortless to read.

  4. No widows or orphans. A widow is a single line stranded at the top of a page. An orphan is a single line stranded at the bottom. Both break the reader’s flow and make the page look unfinished. Most layout tools have automatic widow/orphan control. Turn it on, then visually verify — automatic fixes sometimes create other problems.

  5. Paragraph spacing is consistent. Either use first-line indentation (standard for fiction — typically 0.2” to 0.3”) or space between paragraphs (common in non-fiction). Never both. And never neither — a wall of text with no paragraph differentiation is unreadable.

  6. No double spaces after periods. This is a typewriter convention that has no place in typeset text. A single space after a period is correct. Do a find-and-replace for double spaces before you export. Some readers won’t notice. Typographers will wince.

Front Matter

Front matter tells readers (and retailers) that this is a professionally produced book. Missing or disordered front matter is one of the fastest ways to signal “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

  1. Half title page is present. This is a page with just the book title — no author name, no subtitle. It’s the first page of the book. It exists as a visual buffer between the cover and the full title page. Omitting it won’t get your file rejected, but it’s the difference between “formatted” and “professionally formatted.”

  2. Title page includes title, subtitle, and author name. Center-aligned, with the title in a display size, author name below. Optionally include your publisher or imprint name. This page always falls on a recto (right-hand, odd-numbered) page.

  3. Copyright page is complete. At minimum: copyright notice, “All rights reserved” statement, ISBN (if you have one — purchase from Bowker in the US), edition number, and the fiction disclaimer. If you’re using a template, make sure you’ve replaced the placeholder text with your actual information.

  4. Dedication page (if included) is its own page. A dedication is 1-3 lines, centered, on its own recto page. Don’t cram it onto the copyright page. Don’t write a multi-paragraph dedication (that’s an acknowledgments section). Keep it short.

  5. Table of contents is formatted correctly (non-fiction) or intentionally omitted (fiction). Non-fiction readers expect a TOC with accurate page numbers. Fiction readers generally don’t need one, but if you include it, make sure the page numbers match the final PDF — not the page numbers from your Word document before reformatting.

  6. Front matter page order is correct. The standard order: half title, title page, copyright, dedication, epigraph, table of contents. Each major element starts on a recto page. This isn’t arbitrary — it’s a convention that readers (and reviewers, and bookstore buyers) have internalized over decades. Our guide to front matter and back matter covers every element and its correct placement.

Chapter Formatting

Chapter openings are the single biggest visual differentiator between an amateur and professional interior. Every reader sees them. Every reader forms an opinion. For design ideas and examples, see our guide to chapter heading design.

  1. Chapter headings are consistent throughout. If Chapter 1 uses “Chapter One” in small caps with a rule underneath, every chapter should use the same treatment. Inconsistency suggests you formatted the book in pieces and never reviewed it as a whole.

  2. Chapter sink (white space above heading) is adequate. The “sink” — the blank space above the chapter heading — should be roughly 1/3 to 1/2 of the page height. This breathing room signals a new chapter before the reader even processes the heading text. Too little feels cramped; too much feels like a mistake.

  3. Drop caps are consistent (if used). If your first chapter has a three-line drop cap in Garamond, every chapter should have a three-line drop cap in Garamond. The drop cap should be followed by small caps on the first few words of the opening line — this is the standard typographic convention and it looks awkward without it. For styling options and implementation details, see our drop caps guide.

  4. Scene breaks use a visible marker. A blank line between paragraphs is not a scene break. If that blank line falls at the top or bottom of a page, it becomes invisible — the reader has no idea a scene break occurred. Use centered asterisks (* * *), an ornamental glyph, or a small rule. Whatever you choose, use the same one throughout the book. See our scene break formatting guide for the full range of options.

  5. First paragraph after a heading or scene break has no indent. The first paragraph of a chapter and the first after a scene break should be flush left. Every subsequent paragraph gets the indent. The heading or break already signals a new section, so the indent is redundant.

  6. Chapter opening pages start on recto (right-hand) pages. This is standard for traditionally published fiction. It means some pages will be blank — that’s intentional. You can start chapters on any page to save on page count, but know that it’s a visible departure from convention.

Back Matter

Back matter is working real estate. These pages sell your other books, build your author brand, and give readers somewhere to go next. Don’t skip them.

  1. About the Author page is present and current. Keep it to 100-150 words in third person. Include where you live (region, not address), what you write, and optionally a photo. This page is a reader’s introduction to you as a person.

  2. Also By page lists your other books. This page is free advertising placed in front of a reader who just finished your book — and print books still account for roughly 65% of fiction unit sales. Organize by series, include the series name and book order. For a backlist of 10+ books, this page meaningfully affects sell-through.

  3. Preview chapter of the next book (for series). If this book is part of a series and the next book is available (or coming soon), include the first chapter. This is the most powerful sell-through tool available to you. A reader who finishes your book, flips the page, and starts reading the next one is a reader who’s going to buy it.

  4. Acknowledgments (if included) are placed appropriately. Acknowledgments go in the back matter, after the story ends. Placing them in the front matter forces every reader to page past them to reach Chapter 1. The people you’re thanking will find them. Everyone else shouldn’t have to.

Headers and Page Numbers

Running headers and page numbers are small details that readers never consciously notice — unless they’re wrong. Then they’re all the reader sees.

  1. Running headers are present and correct. Conventional layout: author name on verso (left) pages, book title (or chapter title) on recto (right) pages. What doesn’t work: no headers at all, or inconsistent headers that show the wrong chapter title. For a complete breakdown of conventions, see our running headers and footers guide.

  2. No running header on chapter opening pages. Chapter opening pages should have no running header and no page number. The chapter heading itself is the visual anchor — a running header above it is redundant and cluttered. Most formatting tools handle this automatically, but it’s easy to miss if you’re working manually.

  3. Page numbers are in a consistent position. Bottom center or bottom outside corner are the two standard positions. Pick one and use it throughout. Page numbers that jump between positions, or that appear on some pages but not others (except chapter openers), look broken.

  4. Front matter uses Roman numerals (or no page numbers). Arabic page numbers (1, 2, 3) should start with Chapter 1, not the half title page. Front matter either gets lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv) or no page numbers at all. “Page 1” should be the start of the text. Our page numbering rules guide covers the full set of conventions.

Final PDF Check

You’ve checked everything above in your formatting tool. Now check the actual exported PDF — the file you’re about to upload. The PDF is what KDP sees and what the printer prints. If you want to run through these final items quickly, our Formatting Checklist has a dedicated PDF verification section.

  1. All fonts are embedded. Open the PDF in Acrobat Reader, go to File > Properties > Fonts. Every font must say “(Embedded)” or “(Embedded Subset).” If any font is missing, KDP may reject the file or silently substitute a different font — destroying your layout. This is the third most common reason for the “Your interior file does not meet our requirements” rejection.

  2. No content extends into the minimum margin area. Scroll through the entire PDF. Check running headers, page numbers, body text near the gutter, and any pages with images or decorative elements. A single line pushed into the margin zone on any page will cause rejection.

  3. Images are 300+ DPI at print size. If your book contains images — maps, illustrations, author photos — each one needs to be at least 300 DPI at the size it appears in the layout. A small 2” x 2” author photo needs at least 600 x 600 pixels. A full-page map needs to be 1650 x 2550 pixels minimum for a 5.5” x 8.5” page. Low-resolution images are flagged by both KDP and IngramSpark, and will result in blurry printing even if they squeak past validation.

The items that cause the most KDP rejections

If you’re short on time and need to prioritize, these are the checklist items that actually cause file rejections (not just ugly books):

  • Inside margins too narrow (item 2) — the #1 cause of rejected PDFs
  • Page size doesn’t match trim size (item 1) — the #2 cause
  • Fonts not embedded (item 33) — the #3 cause
  • Odd page count (item 4) — instant rejection
  • Content in margins (item 34) — often caused by running headers or page numbers
  • Low-resolution images (item 35) — only applies if you have images

These six items account for the vast majority of KDP rejections. If you’ve read our guide on how to format a book for KDP, you’ll recognize them — they’re the same technical requirements, just distilled into checkable items.

For a narrative walkthrough of the most common problems, see our guide to common formatting mistakes in self-publishing. The other 29 items won’t cause rejection. They’ll just produce a book that looks like it was formatted by someone who didn’t know what they were doing. Readers notice. Reviewers mention it. And once you’ve printed 500 copies, you can’t un-print them.

Make it systematic

The difference between a checklist you use and a checklist you bookmark and forget is friction. If checking 35 items feels like too much work, you won’t do it — and you’ll upload a PDF with a problem you would have caught.

Run through our interactive Formatting Checklist to check these items systematically. It walks you through each section, flags the items most likely to cause problems for your specific book, and gives you a pass/fail status before you upload.

If you’re using Cambric to format your book, most of this checklist is handled automatically. Cambric’s built-in preflight check validates margins, page count, font embedding, and image resolution before you export. The typography and structural items — consistent headings, proper front matter order, scene break visibility — are enforced by the template system.

But even with automated tools, a final manual review of your PDF is worth the twenty minutes. Open it. Scroll through every page. Look at the chapter openings. Check the front matter order. Read the copyright page and make sure you didn’t leave placeholder text. This is your book. It should look like you meant every detail.

Once your formatting passes this checklist, you’re ready to move on to the rest of the publishing process. Our self-publishing checklist covers everything from ISBNs to distribution to launch.