How To Check Your Reflowable Ebook File

You did it! We did it! Your print file is ready to go and you may have already sent it off for a test print. Now there’s just one last file to check and/or upload—your reflowable ebook file.

At this point, you have two options:

1. Simply upload your .epub or .mobi file to the website(s) that will distribute it for you. (Often this is Amazon KDP or IngramSpark if you are self publishing.)

2. Open your ebook in an e-reader (an app on your computer, phone, or web browser) and review it before uploading it.

If you are going to review your ebook, how are you supposed to do that, and what are you supposed to watch for? Reviewing your ebook involves a certain level of tech savviness and an understanding of how reflowable ebooks work.

Your book has been adapted to ebook. It’s not been converted at the push of a button with some magical software. I partner with a developer, Luca Funari, to make your ebook file and to make sure it is coded in a way that will work on any and all e-readers. Visually, we try to keep some of the same “look” of your ebook to maintain your brand. But the way the body font looks, the way it flows on the screen, the way the text wraps around graphics—these kinds of things are different in an ebook.

If you are expecting that your ebook will look just like your print book, you will be confused and disappointed. This side-by-side comparison of a print book and an ebook may help you to understand how different an ebook is visually from a print book. And the information below should help you view your ebook accurately, if you want to check it over.

Review the content, but not the formatting

When you look over your ebook file, you are checking to be sure that all the basic content is there and correct. The chapter header should proceed the chapter body. The caption should be below or above an image, if there was a caption below or above it in the printed book. However, visual aspects of your book like fonts, where one page ends and another begins, are lost in an ebook. In fact, the ebook reader can dictate which font they want to read the book in, whether they want to read it on a light or dark background, what size the font should be, etc.

Review your ebook in the latest version of e-reader software

Warning: The previewer / viewer provided by Amazon KDP after you upload your file does not give you a reliable preview of your book. It shows you a mockup of the Kindle device but the settings from the actual device are not really reproduced accurately.

If you are reviewing a book for Kindle on your computer, you will need to do this using the latest version of the Kindle Previewer (preferably on a PC/Windows operating system, to have the most accurate results).

Another good option is to review the book on your phone using the official Kindle app, or on a Kindle device, as long as the phone or Kindle is running the latest version of the Kindle software.

If you are reviewing an epub file that is not for Amazon/Kindle, be sure to also use the latest version of the software you are using, no matter your device. But be aware that it may look a bit different on each device.

Review your ebook in several different e-readers or apps

If your ebook (epub file) is going to be distributed several different ways (ie: not just through one distributor), try to look at the file on several different devices. This may also help you to understand that your ebook will look slightly different on every device.

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Whew, that was technical, right? If you loved the look of your printed book, or don’t usually read ebooks, it may concern you out to see your book in the simpler format of ebook. But know this: people who read ebooks are not reading them for beauty, they are reading them for their functionality, ease of distribution or lower price point. They’re used to seeing ebooks, even if you are not, and have never seen your print book! Their expectations are low in terms of visuals in an ebook; they’re there for the content.

After reading this article and reviewing your ebook, if you think there is a “bug” in your ebook, let me know. Sending me a screenshot or photo, as well as letting me know which app or software you viewed it on, can be helpful!

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For more information about ebook adaptation, see the Ebook Adaptation section on my Articles page.

Side-By-Side Comparison of Print and Ebook

I was hired to create the book book interior layout for Space is Open for Business by Robert C. Jacobson and Luca Funari was contracted to create the ebook. The layout of this book was complex both for print and ebook formats because of the sheer length of this technical business book, but mostly because there were so many graphics, pull quotes, charts, columns, and other visuals and special formatting.

I thought this would be a good book to use as an illustration of how a print book and ebook look side by side. While the final ebook does not look exactly like the final print book, it maintains the general look and feel of the printed book, while having all the flexibility and accessibility of a reflowable ebook. Click on any image in this article inspect it more closely.

Many ereaders will show the cover in black and white, as seen below, although that is not always the case.

This gorgeous cover was designed by Richard Ljoenes.

The fonts in an ebook will look different than the fonts in the printed book. A lot of the “extras” that can be used in print book formatting are simplified for ebook format to ensure that it reads clean on any and every device. For example, drop caps (the big letter at the beginning of an opening paragraph) are not often used in ebooks, heading fonts may look different, and body fonts can be changed at the whim of the reader. A good ebook adaptation will try to carry a few of the visual elements (maybe the chapter numbers, or something like that) from the print book into the ebook to keep some visual similarity between them both, but overall, the way the fonts and spacing look in an ereader like a Kindle or Nook depends on the reader’s preferences, not the designer’s.

Below you can see how the same text can be read in three different fonts, just depending on the settings the reader chooses on his or her device.

The Table of Contents in an ebook looks quite different than in a printed book, and of course the “page numbers” are quite different because page numbers don’t really matter / exist in a reflowable ebook. The Table of Contents set up on an e-reader is based on the way the software works and is functional but not necessarily beautiful. It might not bear any resemblance to the printed books table of contents other than that the headings themselves are the same.

As you see below, the wider column and text wrap in the printed book give a different look than the ebook. With reflowable ebook layouts, there is not as much control for wrapping text around graphics, etc. The ebook will look slightly different on each device. So text and captions have to be formatted a bit differently (no text wrap, just on their own line).

One of the hardest things to view in an ereader is something like this two-page chart. In the printed book it is a lot easier to look at and read simply because I was able to use two pages at once and turn the graphic on its side to maximize the use of the space. In the ereader layout, this graphic is harder to read, although on most devices it’s possible to zoom in.

In an ebook, “pages” are seen one at a time and not in a spread like in a printed book. For example, the opening pages of each section will always be on their own page in the ebook and not seen next to the previous page.

For those who are really attached to the look of their printed book, it can be hard to accept that in some ways the format of the ebook has to be a bit simpler and more straightforward. But people who are accustomed to reading ebooks know that they look different than the printed editions of the books and usually, the visuals don’t matter so much to ebook readers. They have probably chosen the ebook edition for other reasons: accessibility, price point, etc.

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If you have a print book that needs to be converted to ebook, or just want to talk about your book project, schedule a free book consultation with me! I am happy to answer any further questions you may have.

Ebook Adaptation Information for Self-Publishers

When my clients need print books adapted to ebook format, I rely on the expertise of Luca Funari, an ebook coder who has been helping me make print books into lovely ebooks since 2017. I asked if he could answer some questions about the process of getting from manuscript to ebook or print book to ebook. It is super important to me that my clients are happy with both their print and ebook products, and Luca goes the extra mile to make sure his books look good and work right on Kindle or other ereader software. In this article Luca shares some answers to basic questions about ebook adaptations. (Check this post if you’re looking for a side-by-side visual comparison of a print book and an ebook.)

Photo by Fraenkly on Unsplash

I am getting my book designed for print. Should I make it available in ebook format as well?

This is a marketing decision, and there is no one answer that applies to all cases. See what authors, speakers or content creators in your genre and market do. But yes, most books are released in both formats. Digital ebooks can be sold at a lower price, and purchased from anywhere, which should increase book sales.

Can my print book designer create an ebook for me?

Usually print designers are unable to create ebooks, because ebooks require different procedures and different software than print books. Ebooks are basically like small websites that require an HTML/CSS knowledge rather than artistic skills. This is why Julie works with me, Luca, for ebook adaptations.

Can I create my ebook myself? 

It is possible to create your own ebook file, but the quality of the final result depends on: (1) the complexity of the ebook; (2) the quality of the software you use for the conversion; and (3) your own technical abilities. If you have never done coding or ebook conversion before, the time it will take to figure it out yourself is probably worth much more to you than the cost of paying someone who creates ebooks all the time to adapt your book to ebook format.

At what stage in the book writing process should I (a) contract an ebook designer and (b) send the ebook designer my book?

It’s a good idea to find and contract your ebook designer before you need him or her, to avoid long wait times for your ebook. But you should send the book only when you have the final version, corrected and proofread.

If your book has a print version, it is necessary that the print formatting be completed before starting ebook formatting. This saves you from having to pay double (both the print book designer and ebook designer) to fix any errors found in the book at the end of the project. There should be no more errors in the book by the time it comes to me. When you work with Julie, she quotes on ebook adaptation along with print layout, if desired.

What file formats do I need for my ebook? What are the standard ebook formats and for which platforms?

The standard, free/open ebook format is EPUB. All platforms accept and sell it, other than Amazon, which sells its own proprietary formats. The most common Amazon format is the MOBI format (but I used the plural "formats", because Amazon owns a lot of them—FK8, KPF, etc.) Technically all e-publishing platforms accept other kinds of documents too; most of them accept DOC files, HTML or plain text format TXT.

Self-publishers should submit MOBI or KPF when publishing on Amazon; all other platforms prefer the EPUB format. When I create ebook files for Julie, I always include both EPUB and MOBI ebook files.

What is the difference between “fixed” and “reflowable” format for my ebook? If I am offered both options, which should I choose?

A “fixed” layout ebook is basically a “what you see is what you get” way of converting an ebook. It is used for books where images are the main conveyer of the message and not words (children’s picture books, photo books or comic books).  The fixed ebook layout has been created to adapt these kinds of books to digital devices, although it has its limitations. These books will virtually look exactly the same on any and every device: no surprises, but also no ability to make the text, margins or spacing bigger or smaller if you are reading on a bigger or smaller device. Imagine a full pdf page of your book shrunk down to fit on your cell phone screen: at some point fixed layout ebooks are impractical and illegible.

"Reflowable" ebooks are more like a website, which your phone, e-reader, or computer reads and adapts to your preferred settings, screen size, etc. For example, in the image below you see the same reflowable book being read at different settings: the reader on the left chose to make the font and line spacing bigger, the reader on the right preferred to keep it small.

As far as which is better—fixed or reflowble—the raison d'être for ebook technology and digital reading is adaptability, readability and accessibility for those ideas. Ebooks must offer accessibility and readability to as many people as possible, including people with physical disabilities. They should be adaptable to as many devices as possible, to reach as many people as possible. For this reason, I believe that a digital ebook should be readable on many devices and must offer some crucial features: character resizing, image magnification, table magnification, font interchangeability, audio, dictionary, different background colours, and more. Most of these features are only possible in a reflowable text ebook like an EPUB or MOBI file. When the reader changes the character size all the text flows and it becomes readable and accessible to more persons. For this reason an ebook should be reflowable if at all possible. Even books with complex layouts should be adapted to the reflowable format for more accessibility, if at all possible. (If it weren't for these aspects, the PDF format which your print designer can easily export from InDesign would work perfectly for ebooks.)

In this graphic, you can see how a reflowable ebook read on an ereader gives the reader the option to pick the font that he or she prefers—this is obviously a perk of reading an ebook verses a printed book.

I love the look of the fonts in my printed book. Can my ebook look exactly the same?

For the ebooks I create, I recommend that we allow the reader to specify the fonts on his or her reading device or app, and not worry about matching them exactly to the printed book. This saves time and money. But yes, the font licences can be purchased and embedded in the ebook if the author really wants the look of the book to carry through on all devices.

How much should I budget for ebook adaptation?

Prices vary depending on the complexity of content and the type of layout: fixed or reflowable. For a “fixed” layout ebook, the price is usually per page. The price may go down if there are many pages. "Reflowable" ebooks are more difficult because there are many elements that affect the production time. For example: the length of the text; and the number of complex time-consuming elements in the layout.

Pricing also varies with the quality of the work and experience of the ebook coder. For example, you might find someone online who says they will do a “quick and dirty” conversion of your novel using a software like Calibre. If you want a quick conversion, do not expect any attention to detail or service if you are not happy with the conversion. An ebook adaptation (not conversion) with attention to detail, layout re-adaptation to digital format, image optimization to reduce the file size, attention to platforms requirements (what does Kobo require that Amazon does not, etc?), with various final formats (MOBI, EPUB, etc.) or ebook tweaking to satisfy different platform requirements creates a high-quality final product but costs more.

What kinds of elements are harder to convert to ebook format?

All the elements in your book layout that are not "plain" text increase the production time. A few of the more time-consuming elements in an ebook adaptation are: lists, footnotes, endnotes, boxes, hyperlinks, tables, images, fonts, or multi-column layouts.

These elements add extra time to the ebook coding process because they cannot be handled by some kind of automatic conversion software, and even if the ebook coder starts the conversion process using software, he or she usually has to edit the code to fix different issues that come up when viewing the ebook in different devices or apps.

How long does ebook adaptation take?

Here again, there is great difference in time investment between an automatic conversion of a text-only novel without any attention to detail, which can require one hour, and a good adaptation for a technical book, with great attention to detail, which can require some weeks of dedication. I once had a complex ebook adaptation take me 86 hours!

For this reason, when Julie and I collaborate on an ebook adaptation, we say that it takes somewhere between one and three weeks. A faster conversion might be available for a rush fee, but usually the ebook adaptation is done while the print book is going to press, which means the ebook and print book can be ready to release around the same time.

Can you upload my final ebook files to Amazon or other platforms for me?

In 99% of cases I say “no”.  I prefer not to have your password or have access to your self-publishing account, for liability reasons. This is mainly because the behind-the-scenes area in your Amazon, IngramSpark, Book Baby, etc. account shows your payment information, and allows me to make any change I want to your print or ebook. I always suggest that my clients learn to upload their ebook files themselves.

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Many thanks to Luca for sharing the inside story for self-publishers wanting their books converted to ebook. If you’re looking for book interior layout for print and/or ebook, book a free consultation with me here to get started.