What KDP-ready means for a Shadow Writer book

The files you can download

On the export page of a finished paid book, three kinds of file are there when that book can have them.

• Kindle EPUB. An EPUB 3 file, reflowable, in English. It carries both contents lists KDP asks for: the older NCX list and an HTML contents page. When the book already has a JPEG cover, that image is inside the EPUB. KDP's ebook format page says “We support books in EPUB format that meet the specifications outlined in the Kindle Publishing Guidelines” and “We recommend validating the file with Kindle Previewer before you upload your book.” We build the EPUB. We do not run Kindle Previewer, and we do not run EPUBCheck, on the copy you download. Preview it yourself before you publish.
• Print interior PDF. One PDF of the inside of the book, at a trim size that type is offered, with the margins and gutter for its page count. KDP's manuscript page says “For the best results, we recommend that you convert your manuscript file to a PDF before uploading it to KDP.” The same page prefers PDF/X-1a. Our file is a PDF with the fonts embedded. It is not marked as PDF/X.
• Cover. A JPEG for the ebook detail page when the book has a Kindle edition, and a wrap PDF (back, spine and front) for paperback or, when the book is long enough, hardcover. The wrap needs that book's own cover art.

KDP also accepts Word (DOC/DOCX) and a Kindle Create package (KPF) for ebooks, and Word for a no-bleed print interior. Those are not files we build. Coloring books and puzzle books are print only: there is no Kindle EPUB for them. A free book can be read in the app. The EPUB, the interior PDF and the cover files come with a paid book.

The files also carry a hidden note that they were produced with Shadow Writer AI. Nothing on the page changes. That note does not answer KDP's form, and you cannot switch it off. KDP's print-file page says a submitted manuscript should not contain metadata, in the same list as crop marks and comments. The hidden note is metadata. KDP's review is what decides whether that matters for your upload.

Print size, paper, margins and bleed

You choose the binding, the trim and the paper on the export page, from a short list for that type of book. It is not every size in KDP's trim table. Paper on that page is white or cream.

• Novels and novellas, paperback: 5 × 8, 5.06 × 7.81, 5.25 × 8, 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, and 6.14 × 9.21 inches. The starting size is 5.5 × 8.5.
• Business books and the longer gaming books (world guide, homebrew RPG, game design, player craft): 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 7 × 10, and 8.5 × 11. The starting size is 6 × 9.
• Poetry: 5 × 8, 5.25 × 8, 5.5 × 8.5, and 6 × 9. The starting size is 5.5 × 8.5.
• Picture books: 8.25 × 8.25, 8.5 × 8.5, 8 × 10, and 7 × 10. The starting size is the square.
• Comics: 5 × 8, 5.5 × 8.5, 7 × 10, 8 × 10, and 8.5 × 11. The starting size is 7 × 10.
• Coloring books: 8.5 × 8.5 or 8.5 × 11.
• Puzzle books: 8.5 × 11, paperback only.

Hardcover is a smaller list, and only when the interior lands between 75 and 550 pages, which is KDP's hardcover range. A picture book in hardcover is not square: hardcover has no square trim, so the starting size is 7 × 10. A coloring book is shorter than 75 pages, so there is no hardcover file for it. Puzzle books stay paperback.

Interiors are built with bleed off. Pictures and type sit inside the page, not off the edge. KDP says “All book covers on KDP require bleed. However, you can choose whether your interior has bleed or not.” Choose no bleed for the interior. The cover wrap includes the bleed KDP requires on the cover. With no bleed, KDP's outside margins are at least 0.25 inches, and that is the floor our file uses. The inside margin (the gutter) follows KDP's bands for the page count, with a little extra space past the minimum. If the page count is odd, a blank page is added so the book ends even. KDP rounds a manuscript up to an even count as well.

Before the download, a preflight lists the binding, trim, paper, page count, gutter and margins for that file. At KDP, pick the same binding, trim and paper. On a paperback, KDP says books need at least 79 pages before the spine can carry text. A shorter paperback wrap, or a spine too narrow for readable type, leaves the spine blank. A blank spine is allowed. The barcode box on the back is left empty so KDP can print its barcode.

Covers, and the size of each one

KDP's ebook cover page says the ideal size is “2,560 pixels in height x 1,600 pixels in width,” as a JPEG or TIFF, with a height at least 1.6 times the width. For a novel, novella, business book, poetry book or gaming book, the cover we make is a JPEG at that 1,600 × 2,560 size. It goes in the EPUB when you have generated it, and you can also upload it on KDP as the ebook cover.

Picture books, comics and coloring books use a print-sized master instead of that tall rectangle, at 300 dots per inch:

• A picture book is square, 2,475 × 2,475 pixels (8.25 inches).
• A comic is 2,100 × 3,000 pixels (7 × 10 inches). That ratio is under 1.6, so it is the print face, not KDP's ideal ebook cover.
• A coloring book is 2,550 × 2,550 (8.5 × 8.5) or 2,550 × 3,300 (8.5 × 11), matching the trim.

A square file does not meet KDP's 1.6 ebook-cover ratio. Coloring books and puzzle books have no Kindle edition, so they need the print wrap, not an ebook cover image. The print cover is a separate PDF: back, spine and front, sized from the settled page count and the paper you chose. Paperback and, when the page count allows, a hardcover case wrap. The back cover uses the book's own logline. It does not reuse the sales description you paste into KDP. The front already carries the title and author; we do not paint a second title on top.

Title page, copyright page and contents

The interior opens with a title page (title, subtitle when you saved one, and pen name) and a copyright page. The copyright page is always there. The notice is yours: the starting text is the title, your name, the year, and “All rights reserved.” You can rewrite it or clear it. Where the book is fiction, a short fiction disclaimer stays, so a character who resembles a real person is not a claim about that person.

An optional line, off unless you tick it, prints on that page: “Created with generative AI tools.” The same page is in the EPUB and the PDF. The line does not answer KDP's form. For KDP's purposes the book is still AI-generated.

Novels, novellas, business books, poetry and the longer gaming books get a table of contents. Picture books, comics, coloring books and puzzle books do not. A business book is written as practical advice and is not fact-checked, so it does not list sources at the back. Its copyright page says the book is not fact-checked, and that you should check every figure, name and claim before you rely on it. A puzzle book prints its solutions at the back.

Title, description and keywords

The export page keeps a block of sales copy you edit and then paste into KDP yourself. We do not fill KDP's fields. The limits on that block are the ones the page enforces: title plus subtitle up to 200 characters, description up to 4,000 characters, and up to seven keywords of 50 characters each. The subtitle you save is the one printed in the book.

Categories are yours to choose in KDP. We do not assign an ISBN. The description on the product page is this sales copy, not the logline on the back of the wrap, so read both before you upload and make them agree where KDP expects them to agree.

What you tell KDP about AI

KDP's content guidelines say:

“We require you to inform us of AI-generated content (text, images, or translations) when you publish a new book or make edits to and republish an existing book through KDP. AI-generated images include cover and interior images and artwork.”

The same section defines AI-generated as text, images or translations created by an AI tool, “even if you applied substantial edits afterwards.” AI-assisted, in KDP's words, is when you created the content yourself and used a tool only to edit, refine, error-check or brainstorm. That is not a book written here. The export page says the AI questions are on KDP's form, not in your book, and that we do not fill them.

For the form: text is AI-generated, and the tool name to give is Shadow Writer AI. Images are AI-generated when you use a cover we made, and also for a picture book, comic or coloring book, because those interiors are artwork we made. Translation is no. The book is English. The full walk-through, including what changes if you rewrite stretches by hand, is the KDP AI disclosure guide. KDP's own page is Content Guidelines, under Artificial intelligence (AI) content.

How long the book is, and which language

A free English novella is about 24,000 words, in 12 chapters. A paid narrative book is written at about 35,000 words across 18 chapters. Picture books, comics, coloring books and puzzle books are built to a page count for that type, not to a word target.

English today, with Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and German coming soon.

What you still do in KDP

The files stop at the download. In KDP you still:

1. Create the account and finish the tax interview.
2. Upload the EPUB as the Kindle manuscript, where the book has one, and the interior PDF as the paperback or hardcover manuscript.
3. Upload the ebook JPEG and the wrap PDF as the covers. For a square or comic print face, use a 1,600 × 2,560 JPEG if you are also publishing a Kindle ebook.
4. Pick the same trim, paper and binding the preflight names, and choose no bleed for the interior.
5. Preview. KDP recommends Kindle Previewer for the EPUB. Use KDP's print previewer for the PDF and the wrap.
6. Paste the title, subtitle, description and keywords. Choose the categories. Set the price. Add an ISBN if you are bringing your own.
7. Answer the AI-content questions. A Shadow Writer book is AI-generated.

Where this comes from

Checked 19 October 2026 against KDP's own help pages: ebook manuscript formats, saving the print manuscript, trim size, bleed and margins, ebook cover size, and AI content in the content guidelines. KDP changes these pages, so confirm them before you publish. Shadow Writer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon.

Last updated 19 October 2026.