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What eBook Creation Actually Covers

End-to-end ebook creation is four jobs at once: format (turning your manuscript into valid EPUB3 markup), structure (semantic chapters, navigation, landmarks, page-list, footnotes that work on every reader), metadata (title, author, ISBN, language, accessibility schema, cover, keywords), and per-store delivery (the same master file, validated and tweaked for Kindle, Apple, Kobo, Google, and Nook). The deliverable is a publication-ready EPUB3 plus the store-specific variants and a passing EPUBCheck report.

This is not the same as “format conversion,” which is a one-shot file-to-file export and almost always produces broken navigation and orphaned styles. It is also not the same as “ebook formatting,” which only addresses interior styling. eBook creation owns the full path from raw manuscript to live retailer listing, including the choices below.

Reflowable vs fixed-layout: pick the right format

• Reflowable EPUB3 — text adapts to screen size, reader font choice, line spacing, and accessibility tools like VoiceOver and TalkBack. Correct for novels, memoirs, business books, self-help, and most non-fiction. File sizes stay small and the book reads well from a 6-inch Kindle to a 13-inch iPad.
• Fixed-layout EPUB3 — every page is a locked image-plus-text composition with absolute positioning. Correct for children’s picture books, comics and graphic novels, illustrated cookbooks, photography books, and any title where the designer’s page composition is the product. Bigger file size, slower reader rendering, no font resizing, but the spread looks identical to the print edition.
• KF8/KFX vs EPUB3 — Kindle no longer accepts MOBI. KDP ingests EPUB3 and converts it server-side to KFX (the modern Kindle format). KF8 is the legacy fallback for older devices. You deliver one EPUB3; Amazon handles the rest.

The source matters more than the destination

What we accept: Word DOCX (cleanest, especially with proper paragraph styles applied), Google Docs (export to DOCX first — never copy-paste), InDesign IDML or INX (best for fixed-layout and design-heavy non-fiction), Apple Pages, Scrivener compile output, and plain manuscript PDF. Scanned books need OCR first, which is a $99 add-on and adds a proofing pass. The cleaner the source styles, the cleaner the EPUB: a Word file with proper Heading 1, Heading 2, and paragraph styles produces semantic EPUB markup with almost no rework. A direct-formatted Word file — where the author bolded each chapter title by hand and pressed Enter twice between paragraphs — produces messy EPUB that fails accessibility checks and requires structural rebuilding.

Per-store delivery, decoded

Kindle (KDP): upload EPUB3, KDP converts to KFX server-side. Apple Books: EPUB3 with strict accessibility metadata (schema:accessibilityFeature, schema:accessibilityHazard) or the book is rejected. Kobo Writing Life: EPUB3, but Kobo strips most custom CSS and renders with its own stylesheet — design with that in mind. Google Play Books: EPUB3 with strict requirements on embedded image DPI (300 DPI minimum for illustrated work) and a clean EPUBCheck pass. Nook: EPUB3 via B&N Press, with its own preview render. Same master file, five different validation surfaces.

Why Authors Choose Professional eBook Creation

• One master file, every store — deliver to Kindle, Apple, Kobo, Google, and Nook from a single validated EPUB3 instead of maintaining five drifting versions.
• Accessibility compliance built in — Apple Books and the EU Accessibility Act both require structured metadata; we ship it by default.
• Clean EPUBCheck pass — zero errors, zero warnings, which is what KDP, Apple, and Google use to gate ingestion.
• Working navigation, footnotes, and TOC — semantic NCX and nav documents, popup footnotes on Kindle, anchored cross-references that actually jump.
• Format chosen for the book, not the template — reflowable for prose, fixed-layout for visual books, with the technical reasons documented in writing.

The eBook side branches a few ways. Image-heavy manuscripts (children’s, photo books, cookbooks) need fixed-layout EPUB. KDP-bound files clear validation with the KDP upload step. Interior composition for paperbacks and hardcovers comes from professional typesetting. Wider distribution beyond Amazon typically goes through Apple Books and Draft2Digital.

Frequently Asked Questions About eBook Creation

Do I need separate files for Kindle and the other stores?
No. EPUB3 is the universal master. KDP converts it to KFX on upload; Apple, Kobo, Google, and Nook all consume EPUB3 directly. We deliver the master plus any per-store variants required by validation differences.

What’s the difference between reflowable and fixed-layout, in plain terms?
Reflowable books rewrap text to fit any screen and let the reader change font size. Fixed-layout books lock every page like a PDF, so the designer’s spread is preserved. Picture books, comics, and illustrated cookbooks need fixed-layout; almost everything else should be reflowable.

Can you work from a scanned book or printed copy?
Yes. We run OCR on the scan, proof the recovered text against the source, then build the EPUB3 from clean copy. OCR is a $99 add-on and extends turnaround by a few days depending on length and scan quality.

Does my Word file need to be styled a certain way?
Cleaner is better. A Word file using built-in Heading 1, Heading 2, and paragraph styles converts to semantic EPUB markup with almost no rework. A file where headings were faked with bold and larger font size will work, but requires manual restructuring before the EPUB is built.

Will the ebook pass Apple Books and Google Play validation?
Yes. Every deliverable runs through EPUBCheck with zero errors and zero warnings, includes the accessibility metadata Apple requires, and meets Google Play’s image DPI and structural rules. If a store rejects the file for any technical reason, we fix it at no charge.