Easy formatting (for me, anyway)

Lots of authors have trouble formatting their books.  They do the best they can, but when it's time to upload to KDP, the previewer shows all sorts of bad things happening.  This happened to me the first time I tried to upload Buddy.  In the previewer, one of the paragraphs was in a completely different font from the rest of the story.  I had to try again a few times before I got it right.

Now, though, I can get it right the first time, every time.  I simply follow a few simple rules.  My method isn't the end-all, be-all, of course.  Many people use a variety of different methods.  There's no "right" way or "wrong" way.  And if you've found a way that works for you, then you should probably stick with it, because change isn't always for the better.  But my way uses all free software--OpenOffice and Calibre--so if you're on a budget, then this might just be the info you were looking for.

So here we go...

1.)  Don't use Word.  Many people do and manage to upload error-free files, but the program is still a major source of frustration for a lot of folks.  I write in OpenOffice, but when I tried uploading Buddy that first time, I decided to copy the file into Word first in order to convert it to a .doc.  I erroneously thought the .doc from Word would play more nicely with KDP's converter than would a .doc from OpenOffice.  That was a mistake.  If you want to upload a .doc, then make that .doc in OpenOffice.  It's easy; just do a "save as" and then choose the .doc option.

See, Word inserts all kinds of junk html into the file, and that's what causes a lot of the problems authors experience with uploading.  By avoiding Word, you avoid that junk html entirely.  If you write in Word and are reluctant to give it up, then by all means, keep using it.  Then, when the book is done, you might want to try copying and pasting the whole thing into Notepad or something to strip out all the junk html.  Then copy it into OpenOffice and make that your permanent book file.  (Notepad will strip out your italics, though, and maybe some other things, so you'll need to manually re-insert that stuff.)  Then, when it's time to change the back matter or fix typos or something, you're doing it in OpenOffice where it's safe to do so without adding junk html.

2.)  Make the table of contents and do the other formatting stuff before you convert the file to some other format.  I do this in OpenOffice.  I add bookmarks (each chapter title) and hyperlinks (pointing to those bookmarks) in the .odt file.  This is also where I add the page breaks between chapters via the "add manual break" menu option.  I completely finish the book in .odt format first.  Then I convert.

3.)  Use Calibre to convert files.  (I no longer upload .doc files; I upload epubs to all retailers, including Amazon.)  After I've added in ToC and all the front matter and back matter and whatnot, I add the .odt file to my Calibre library.  Then I add the cover via the "edit metadata" button.  (KDP and D2D will prompt you for a cover image, but there's no harm in going ahead and adding one into the epub before uploading.  It simply gets replaced.)  After adding a cover image, I convert to epub.  I then run the epub through the online validator just to make sure it's good, but that's just a formality, really, because the file is always good so long as I stick to my method.

4.)  If you have more than 48 chapters in your book, then Calibre will cut off the remainder.  I don't know why it does this, and you should always double-check your ToC to make sure it's correct.  Nevertheless, this missing-chapters thing is an easy fix.  Just use the "Edit ToC" button to add in the missing chapters.  If you don't have that button in your Calibre's toolbar, then you'll need to add it.  Click "Preferences," and then "Toolbars and Menus," and select "The Main Toolbar."  Then you'll get a screen with two windows: the left one lists available buttons you can add, and the right one lists buttons that already appear.  Find the Edit Toc button in the left-hand window and use the arrow to move it to the right-hand window.  Once the button's activated, you'll be able to edit the epub's ToC right there in Calibre.  It really is an awesome program.

So there you go.  Nothing to it.  Good luck, and happy formatting.  :)