KDP formatting problems, counted: Q3 2026

From July to September 2026, authors asked 398 questions in the Formatting topic of KDP Community, Amazon's own forum for KDP. Here they are by problem: which came up most, why each one happens and what you can do about it. A new report follows every quarter.

The short answer

• The cover caused the most trouble: 77 of the 398 questions, nearly one in five.
• Next came the printed copy (37 questions), uploads failing on KDP's side (37), margins, bleed and page size (35), ebooks (33) and page layout (31).
• Uploads that failed or got stuck at “processing” peaked in July (18) and August (15), while authors were quoting KDP's own notices about publishing problems. In September there were 4.
• Of the 22 questions about fonts, 9 were about a Lucida font that KDP refused, one of them in a book set entirely in Amazon Endure, KDP's own font.
• A typical question got four replies, but only 18 of the 398 were marked as answered. Replies don't always mean the problem was solved.

All the problems, counted

Every question is in the file behind this table, with its category, its date and a link to the thread: CSV or JSON. You're free to reuse it with credit (CC BY 4.0).

Each problem, and what to do about it

The cover: 77 questions

Cover questions were about its size and spine, Cover Creator, the barcode and ISBN, the picture itself, and covers KDP refused without a clear reason, as in “Cover PDF keeps getting rejected”.

Why it happens. A paperback cover is one file: the back cover, the spine and the front cover side by side, with 0.125″ of bleed around the outside. The spine's width depends on your page count and your paper. So a cover made before the interior was finished, or for another paper, comes out the wrong size, and KDP won't approve it.

What to do. Finish the interior first and note its final page count. Work out the full cover size with our spine calculator, make the cover to that size, and check the finished PDF with the cover size checker before you upload. If your cover has no barcode of its own, keep the bottom right corner of the back cover empty, because KDP prints its barcode there. The KDP barcode: size, placement and what to keep clear gives the exact area.

The printed copy: 37 questions

These came after the book was printed: colors that shifted, pictures that came out too dark, pages cut crooked, and copies that differed from each other. One example: “Inconsistent print quality across identical hardcovers”. Several authors also asked which paper or ink to choose.

Why it happens. A screen shows color with light and paper shows it with ink, so a picture that looks right on screen can print darker and duller. Nothing on screen shows you this in advance.

What to do. Order a proof copy before the book goes on sale and look at it in daylight: the pictures, the cover colors and the margins. If one copy is badly printed but your file is right, that's a printing fault, so write to KDP's support with photos. Ordering a KDP proof copy, and what to check on it lists what to look at. On paper, KDP says white shows pictures with more contrast, and many publishers print novels on cream; Cream, white or groundwood paper on KDP compares the three.

Uploads failing on KDP's side: 37 questions

A file that uploaded and then stayed at “processing”, a previewer that never opened, a book refused with no reason given. 33 of the 37 came in July and August, while authors were quoting KDP's own notices, such as “We're aware of issues impacting publishing workflows”.

Why it happens. These came in a cluster, at the same time as KDP's notices about publishing problems, which points to KDP's side rather than to the books themselves.

What to do. First rule out your own file: if a simple test file fails as well, the fault isn't in your book. Then wait a while, try another browser, and if it still fails, write to KDP's support with the book's title and what you see. To check your file without uploading it anywhere, open it in our PDF checker, which reads it on your own computer.

Margins, bleed and page size: 35 questions

Bleed and margins brought 9 questions each, page size 8 and KDP's Word templates 6. Two authors quoted a notice from KDP's previewer, “We've removed non-printable markup”. The most read was “Keep getting the same bleed problems on pages even with changes”.

Why it happens. Three things have to agree: the page size of your file, the bleed setting you choose on KDP, and the margins for your final page count. When the file says one thing and KDP's setting another, the previewer flags page after page. The notice about non-printable markup refers to things in a PDF that don't print, such as links and comments, which KDP removes.

What to do. Make the page exactly the trim size, or the trim size plus bleed (0.125″ wider and 0.25″ taller), and choose the same on KDP. Use bleed only if pictures or color run to the edge. Then set the inside margin for your final page count: it grows from 0.375″ to 0.875″ as the book gets longer. Our margin calculator gives the numbers, KDP bleed or no bleed: which to choose explains the setup, and KDP says text is outside the margins helps when the previewer still complains.

Ebooks: 33 questions

Most asked how to get from Word, LibreOffice or a PDF to a Kindle book. Others had a table of contents that didn't work, or weighed fixed layout against text that reflows. One asked about the box KDP shows on a book without DRM, the copy protection on an ebook.

Why it happens. An ebook has no fixed pages: the text flows to fit the reader's screen and type size. So a PDF, which is built on fixed pages, is a poor starting point, and the contents list has to come from real headings rather than typed page numbers.

What to do. Start from your Word file, with every chapter title in Word's Heading 1 style, because that's what the contents list is built from. If you make an EPUB for other stores, check it with EPUBCheck, the checker those stores use, before you upload. From Word to EPUB explains the steps and EPUBCheck errors, decoded explains its error codes. The box about DRM is explained in what changed with DRM in January 2026.

Page layout: 31 questions

Page numbers that were missing or wrong, chapters that started on a left-hand page, unexpected blank pages and running heads, the title at the top of each page. The most read question of the quarter, with 715 views, was simply “Orphans and widows”.

Why it happens. In Word, page numbers go missing or start again at 1 when a new section doesn't carry them over, and a chapter lands on a left-hand page when nothing makes it skip one. A widow or an orphan is a single line of a paragraph left alone at the top or the bottom of a page.

What to do. In Word, end each chapter with Layout → Breaks → Odd Page, and Word adds the blank page for you. Where page numbers vanish or restart, double-click the footer on that page and check whether Link to Previous is on. Then set Insert → Page Number → Format Page Numbers to Continue from previous section. A widow or an orphan is fixed by moving a line between pages, not by squeezing the spacing. Widows, orphans and rivers shows each fix with an example, and What goes at the front of a book covers the pages before chapter one.

Fonts: 22 questions

Nine were about a Lucida font that KDP refused. One book was set entirely in Amazon Endure, KDP's own font, in Apple Pages, and was still refused for “LucidaGrande”: “Rejecting Amazon Endure font”. The rest asked about type size or which font to choose.

Why it happens. When your font lacks a character, such as a tick, an arrow or a bullet, a word processor quietly sets it in another font. If that font is a Lucida, KDP refuses the file, even though you never chose it.

What to do. Find where the Lucida is, give those characters the font of your text, and export the PDF again. Our PDF checker names the font and the pages it's on. KDP says “Unsupported fonts are used in your file” shows how to replace it, and What font size should a book be? answers the question about size.

Trim size, page count, hardcover: 21 questions

Square and landscape books, books too long or too short for KDP, and moving a paperback to hardcover. The most read was “Page limits to publish”.

Why it happens. KDP prints paperbacks from 24 pages, and up to 828 on white paper at the usual sizes; the limits depend on the paper and the size. Hardcovers have limits of their own, from 75 to 550 pages.

What to do. Check your page count against your paper and trim size before you make the cover. A short book gains pages with a smaller trim size or larger type; a long one can move to white paper or become two volumes. KDP minimum page count, and when a spine can carry text has the limits for each paper, and How many pages will my book be? estimates your page count from your word count.

Kindle Create: 16 questions

Amazon's free formatting program refused files, froze and dropped emoji. One author found that it refused every DOCX file, even a new blank document: “Kindle Create says “Invalid Source File””.

Why it happens. When even a blank document is refused, the problem is in the program or the computer, not in the manuscript.

What to do. Find out first whether the fault is in your file or in the program: try a new, empty Word document. If that fails too, your manuscript isn't the cause. If only your manuscript fails, look at how its chapters and styles are set up; our structure review shows how a Word file's headings are read, right in your browser.

The rest: 62 questions

• Looking for help or a program (20). Authors looking for someone to format their book, or for a tool to make the PDF.
• Changing a published book (16). Fixing a typo, replacing a cover or getting the file back. Since February 2026 you can download the files you uploaded from your Bookshelf.
• Pictures (10). Resolution, color and placement. KDP image resolution: 300 DPI and how to check it explains what KDP asks for.
• Picture books, coloring books and journals (10). These are laid out page by page, mostly as pictures, and our guides don't cover them.
• Languages (6). Persian, Punjabi, Tigrinya, Marathi and right-to-left scripts. KDP lists the languages it publishes in Book Supported Languages.