Home/Publishing/Amazon KDP/KDP Paperback
A KDP paperback needs an interior PDF and a wrap built from their calculator after the pages are final. The minimum margins are a floor. A thick book needs a wider gutter. We order a proof before the listing is the one customers see.
The paperback spec
Trim, paper color, and bleed are chosen first. Bleed is for art that runs off the edge. A novel with no art should not be a bleed file. The cover calculator then gives a wrap for that count and that paper. Cream and white do not share a spine width. Spine text comes off if the book is too thin. If we embed a barcode, it has to be the right ISBN, in the quiet zone their template leaves. If we let KDP add the barcode, we leave that zone empty.
The interior needs embedded fonts and page numbers that are not in the gutter. KDP minimum inside margin is not enough for a long book. We widen it. Then we upload, order a proof, and read the proof for the bind and the hinge. Going live because the previewer looked fine is how the first buyer becomes the proofreader.
Order of the work
The listing beside the file
A trim selected on the form that does not match the file is a rejection, or a book that looks scaled.
What we upload
Change the interior later and the cover is invalid. We regenerate the template rather than stretch the old spine.
Decisions
Fine if this paperback will only live on Amazon. You cannot reuse it at Ingram.
If you may also print elsewhere. The barcode and the KDP field use that number.
Always, for a first edition. Author copies of a live book are not a proof. They are stock of a book customers can already buy.
House rule
A front cover and a Word document are not the pair they print.
Before the calculator
KDP will tell you on the template once the count is in. Below their minimum, we leave the spine blank. Squashed lettering is worse than none.
Yes. If the page count changes, the cover is rebuilt. If it does not, we replace the interior and check the preview again.
You do. Interior, cover, and the template notes.
When the text is frozen
We will tell you if that trim can hold the page count. Call (833) 688-4166 or write [email protected].
The shelf
Our team has helped write, publish and market thousands of books over the past decade. Our books are well-written and finished to perfection. Have a look at some of our ghostwriters’ best works and clients’ bestsellers.
Geeks Ghostwriting’s helped me from idea refinement to publishing. I wanted a script on thriller-romance that had multiple twists and turns. I am directing a movie on the story now and our crew has fallen in love with the story!
Having a drama ghostwritten led me to gain the recognition I was seeking. I had an incomplete manuscript and Geeks Ghostwriting helped me complete it. I marketed it and it sold better than I had expected.
I thought that an illustrative self-help book was not possible! As an established designer, I have always wanted struggling designers and students to learn from my mistakes and achievements. The journey that I thought would be arduous turned out to be enjoyable and simple enough. Thank you, Geeks Ghostwriting!
Chat with an Expert