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How to Format a Word File for Kindle
by Katelyn Kelley, Demand Media

If you're thinking of publishing a book or shorter work created in Microsoft Word on

Amazon.com for the Kindle device, careful formatting is essential for a polished product. Kindle
format is based on HTML, which Word offers has a save format for all documents. Word's
filtered web page format removes any proprietary HTML tags from the Word file that could
cause a problem on the Kindle. All Kindle works also require a table of contents with hyperlinks
to the different chapters or sections. Word helps you generate this easily through the use of
heading styles and bookmarks.

Fix Text Formatting

Step 1

Open the Word document you want to format for a Kindle.

Step 2

Check for headers and footers in the document, including page numbers. If you find any, they
must be deleted. To remove a header or footer, double-click that area of the document to open
the header or footer editing window. Select the information and press the "Delete" key.

Related Reading: How to Change the Format of a Works File

Step 3

Click the "Close" button on the Header and Footer Tools tab to exit the header/footer area and
return to your document.

Step 4

Remove any tabs or spaces used to indent paragraphs. To locate them in your document click the
"Replace" button on the Editing panel of the Home tab. Enter "^t" in the "Find What" box to
search for tabs, or enter the number of spaces you used for your indents to search for those.
Leave the "Replace With" field blank and Word will delete the found item instead of replacing it
with something else.

Step 5
Click "Replace All" to process your entire document quickly.

Step 6

Indent paragraphs using the Paragraph dialog box instead of tabs or spaces. Select the paragraphs
that need indenting, then click the bottom right corner of the Paragraph panel on the Home tab to
access the settings dialog box. Select "First Line" from the Special drop-down box and enter ".5"
for the value in the "By" field.

Step 7

Add extra space between your paragraphs for better readability. With the Paragraph dialog box
still open, enter "10pt" into the "After" box under the Spacing category. This adds approximately
one line of extra space between each paragraph. Click "OK" to exit.

Step 8

Verify that you have manual page breaks between each chapter or major section of your
document. Click the "Show/Hide Marks" button on the Home tab that looks like a backwards "P"
to view invisible page breaks. They appear as dark dotted lines across the page with a label in the
middle that says "Page Break."

Step 9

Use the "Page Break" button on the Insert tab if you need to add additional page breaks to your
document.

Create a Table of Contents and Convert to HTML

Step 1

Prepare your document for an auto-generated table of contents. Highlight a chapter heading and
select "Heading 1" from the Styles panel on the Home tab. Repeat for all the chapter headings in
your document. If you have subheadings in the document you want included in the table of
contents, change their style to "Heading 2."

Step 2

Navigate to the top of your document and type "Table of Contents" followed by a line break.

Step 3

Click the "Table of Contents" button on the References tab and select "Insert Table of
Contents…" from the drop-down menu.

Step 4
Uncheck the box "Show Page Numbers." Kindle doesn't use them in its table of contents.

Step 5

Change the "Show Levels" value to "1" if you only have "Heading 1" styles in your document or
"2" if you have subheadings as well.

Step 6

Click "OK" to create the table of contents automatically. Word places it where your cursor last
was, which should be the line after your Table of Contents title.

Step 7

Click before the words "Table of Contents" and select "Bookmark" from the Insert tab. Enter
"toc" for the bookmark name. Click the "Add" button to save the changes. This creates a jump-to
link in the finished Kindle product to bring readers back to the table of contents when needed.

Step 8

Select "Save As" from the File tab. Choose "Web Page, Filtered" from the list of file formats.
Click the "Save" button to save this document in HTML format. Click "Yes" when Word warns
you that filtered format will remove any Microsoft-specific tags from the HTML. You now have
a .HTM file to upload at Amazon.com for Kindle users.

Tips

 MS Word's heading styles include font, type size and color specifications that may not
match the design you had in mind for your publication. If you wish to change a heading
style, right-click the button for it on the Home tab, select "Modify" from the pop-up
menu, make changes to the font, color, size in the dialog box, and then click to check the
box next to "Automatically Update." Click the "OK" button to apply the changes you just
made to all the headings in your document that are designated that style.
 After you add the table of contents, insert a page break below the table to start a new
page for the book's front matter. Front matter includes your title page, copyright notice,
dedication and any disclaimers you wish to add.

Warnings

 Do not put your book cover in the Word document. The Kindle upload process will ask
for the cover as a separate file and join it with the content from your Word document
automatically.
 Always preview your work in your Kindle Publishing Direct account to check for any
formatting problems before you publish it to the Amazon.com site.

References (5)
Resources (2)

About the Author

Katelyn Kelley worked in information technology as a computing and communications

consultant and web manager for 15 years before becoming a freelance writer in 2003. She
specializes in instructional and technical writing in the areas of computers, gaming and crafts.
Kelley holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and computer science from Boston College.