Back in the spring, Amazon launched a beta test of a new conversion tool that aimed to be “push of a button” easy when it comes to generating a polished, formatted ebook. Called Kindle Create, it works much in the same way that Microsoft Word does, offering authors a comfortable, familiar system for adding touches like formatting themes and tables of contents.
Now, Kindle Create is out of beta and available to all authors. The design lets you work straight from your Word doc and preview the finished product without having to go through the conversion process.
According to the announcement, “Kindle Create is a free software application that makes it fast and easy to create beautiful Kindle eBooks. With Kindle Create, you can apply professional looking formatting like drop caps and chapter headings and automatically create an interactive table of contents. Kindle Create also allows you to transform PDF files into interactive Print Replica eBooks. You can preview your book’s appearance on a range of Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps using the embedded Previewer. Kindle Create is available for Mac and PC.”
Rather than a process or dashboard for your publishing needs, this software works on your desktop and lets you manipulate your file as much as you need to before the upload process. Once you take the finished document to the KDP dashboard, you’ll still have the ability to convert it to a MOBI file. Even better, Kindle Create lets you format a “print replica” ebook for a professional look and feel.
The beta period worked out some adjustments that users reported back on, and the software is now available for PC and Mac for free.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.