How to prepare a manuscript for ebook publication

Ebooks are the most accessible way to publish, but a poorly formatted ebook earns bad reviews quickly: broken chapter breaks, odd fonts, missing tables of contents. Ebooks behave differently from print books, and preparing for that difference avoids most problems.

Understand how ebooks work

Most ebooks are reflowable: the reader chooses the font, size and screen, and the text rearranges itself. That means:

• There are no fixed page numbers.
• Your font choice is often overridden by the reader's settings.
• Complex layouts, text boxes and manual spacing break easily.
• Clean, consistent structure matters far more than visual decoration.

Finish the text first

Formatting should be the last step, after editing and proofreading. Every change after formatting risks introducing new errors. Lock the text before you start.

Clean up the manuscript

• Use real chapter headings, not just bold text, so the table of contents can be generated.
• Remove manual spacing: no tabs or repeated spaces for indents, no empty lines to push text onto a new page.
• Use consistent scene breaks, such as a centred ***.
• Avoid unusual fonts, colours and text boxes.
• Check special characters: curly quotes, apostrophes, ellipses and dashes should be consistent.

Prepare front and back matter

Ebook front matter should be brief, because readers often see the first pages as a free sample. A typical order:

1. Title page
2. Copyright page
3. Dedication or epigraph (optional)
4. Table of contents
5. The story

Back matter is valuable real estate in an ebook: it is where readers go when they have just enjoyed your book. Consider:

• An "About the Author" page.
• Acknowledgements.
• A sneak peek of the next book.
• A list of your other books, and how to follow you.

Create the ebook file

The standard ebook format is EPUB. Many stores accept EPUB uploads directly, and some also accept DOCX and convert it. Generating your own EPUB gives you more control over how the book looks. See DOCX vs EPUB: which format do authors need? for the differences.

Check it on real devices

Always preview the ebook before publishing:

• Use the store's previewer if it offers one.
• Open the EPUB on a phone, a tablet and an e-reader if you can.
• Check the table of contents links, chapter starts, scene breaks and images.
• Change the font size to make sure nothing breaks.

Prepare your metadata

Your listing matters as much as the file:

• Title and subtitle, with the series name and number if relevant.
• Book description: a compelling hook, the central conflict and the stakes, without spoilers.
• Keywords: specific phrases readers search for, such as "enemies to lovers werewolf romance".
• Categories: the most specific relevant categories.
• Price: in line with similar books in your genre.

How Gold Prints helps

In Gold Prints Publishing Studio, front and back matter (dedication, epigraph, "About the Author", a sneak peek and more) can be generated and edited alongside your chapters. The Formatting Studio exports your manuscript as EPUB, DOCX, PDF or plain text, and a publishing kit prepares a book description, long-tail keywords, categories, a suggested price and a cover brief for platforms including Amazon KDP, Apple Books, Kobo Writing Life and Google Play Books. You publish through each platform's own account and keep your rights.