Free tools
Free tools that check your book the way KDP will.
Each tool comes from my own publishing system, and each one is free for an email address.
KDP Pre-Flight checker
Five checks on your manuscript before you upload it: title and subtitle length the way Amazon counts it, page count with print cost and royalty, trim and margins, text hygiene, and back matter. Works on .docx, .md and .txt files.
Free, for an email
Send me the checker
Needs Python 3.8 or newer, which is free. The email shows you how to run it.
Title and subtitle
KDP counts the two together: 200 characters. A colon typed in the title field prints twice on the product page.
Manuscript shape
Words, chapters, headings, an estimated page count, the print cost and your royalty per copy, with a warning when you sit one cent under the $9.99 line.
Trim and margins
The page size to set, and KDP's minimum inside margin for your page count, for all 16 paperback trim sizes.
Text hygiene
Typewriter dashes, mixed quote marks, double spaces and mixed US and UK spelling: the small things that look amateur in print.
Back matter
The pages a finished book is expected to carry, such as a copyright page, contents and an honest request for feedback.
The free formatter app
Upload your Word file, pick one of five interior styles and any of KDP's 16 paperback trim sizes, and download a print-ready PDF. Black and white, 15 builds a month, free. Everyone on the email list hears the day it opens.
Print cost and royalty calculator
Page count, trim and ink to the exact print cost and your royalty per copy, from KDP's own tables.