How To Fix Common Kindle Book Formatting Errors?

The majority of formatting problems that arise with eBooks arise from conflicts between an eBook’s CSS styles and the eBook reader’s default styles. Open your EPUB in an editor (such as the built-in editor in Calibre), open the eBook’s CSS file and simplify it by removing all declarations with ‘!important’ from them. Set the body margin to zero. Define a solid font-family stack. Make sure all your measurements are set up in ‘em’ or ‘%’ rather than fixed ‘px’. Because a Kindle book is read off of screens of varying sizes, using relative units to measure rather than fixed pixels is key to fix formatting issues such as having every other paragraph centered for no apparent reason as I encountered in my last upload.

As someone who has done a lot of formatting of book pages for manuscripts and print ready PDFs, I can say that there is nothing more annoying than a wonky margin, a line of text that splits to a new page unexpectedly, or a font that just doesn’t look right. Most of these problems are simple to fix if you check the basic settings first. So, check the size of the pages you are using. Are you using 6×9 for trade paperbacks, or A4 for your docs? Also, check for ‘keep lines together’, ‘prevent widow orphan pages’ and similar options in your word processor. These are often found in the paragraph formatting options for Word and Google Docs, and can be toggled on and off to test their effect. There are times, however, where more serious reformatting is called for. This can include troubleshooting consistent font display or unGhosted hyperlinks. It’s rare that I’ve had to convert a file to a ‘clean’ format in order to allow reformatting from scratch, but such has been the case with both Word .doc and Google Doc files. Once in plain text (.txt) these can be reimported into almost any program. For eBook reformatting, however, I use the wonderful free software, Calibre, which also allows for reformatting of EPUB errors. For print, it’s worth noting that InDesign’s ‘package’ feature creates a zip file including all used fonts and linked graphics – which is very handy when distribution to printers/copy shops etc. It’s also very simple to have a second pair of eyes scan a test print for subtle errors such as: over running headers to the bottom of the page; and images bleeding into the gutter. It’s a little puzzle, but ultimately very rewarding when sorted.

Follow the steps in this order to go through the troubleshooting systematically: 1) restart your Kindle; 2) Make sure Wi-Fi is on and not in Airplane Mode; 3) Make sure there is enough space on your device; 4) Delete and then re-download single book; 5) Try reading a different book; 6) Deregister and then re-register your Kindle; 7) Update your Kindle’s software manually; 8) Contact Kindle Support. It’s okay to contact support first and have them walk you through the steps, but doing them first can save you a lot of time on hold. They’re going to make you go through all of these steps anyway, so having a list of steps to go through can turn your frustration into an orderly process.

I get asked by family and friends a lot about how to add books to their Kindle. My answer to them is now use the email method as it’s the least complicated way for non-techy people to add books to their Kindle. I then just have to remote into their computer and use Calibre to add the books to their Kindle if they end up with a huge file or very weirdly formatted file from some shady website but usually it works 90% of the time or so. Using the email method first is just less of a barrier to entry as it seems like magic when it does work as it usually does.

For extremely academic content with lots of citations and a bibliography, proper formatting is crucial. Inline citations ([1,2]) have to be rendered as superscript and the bibliography has to be complete and not messed up by the converter. You can use ‘Extra CSS’ to style common citation patterns. For example, will style all tags with the class “citation”. Also, make sure the converter recognizes the bibliography as a separate section and not as just more paragraphs. You can help the converter by marking the bibliography’s heading tag (e.g. ) as a major division in the ‘Structure Detection’ settings. This will then also ensure proper page breaks before the bibliography.

It’s also worth noting that the source file may need some tuning before side loading, as I found out with some poorly converted EPUBs leading to wonky spacing. Using ebook-convert from Calibre (on the PC) to reformat the book to a Kobo Clara optimized ebook (in EPUB format) sorted the spacing out completely. This also cleans up the CSS and reflows the content, stripping out any numbers of render snagging formatting tags. Some older ebooks contain font-size tags that the Clara’s relatively simple ebook reader interprets strangely. And then make sure to safely eject the device from your computer, to avoid writing metadata that messes up how your ebooks appear to read. A soft reset (hold the power button for 20 seconds or so) usually will fix up newly added ebooks too. Note, though, that the ultimate reset to resolve such persistent problems and get your Kobo back to full, factory-default operation is also to perform a full factory reset. (Yes, a real pain, but there it is.)

A hardware fault could also be at play here, especially with older devices. The Wi-Fi antenna is usually a pretty weak point, so if you’ve had your device for a while it could be worth checking if it’s failing in some way. If Wi-Fi connections are never coming up or dropping straight away and you have a cellular model then this could be a physical repair issue. Perhaps an upgrade or a look into your warranty is in order.

I just make the text larger in the original document before creating a PDF or printing it. If it's a Word document or a web page, I view it at 150% on my computer before printing or saving it to PDF. The resulting file has larger text on the physical page, which then becomes smaller when viewed on the Kindle screen, but is still readable. This method is simple, requires access to the original document, but does not introduce any conversion artifacts or change any of the original formatting. The text is simply larger from the start.

First, check that the Amazon-approved email address for your Amazon account is correct in Calibre. Then check your Amazon account settings under 'Manage Your Content and Devices' for approved senders. Sometimes an error will occur because the file is too large or is in an unsupported file type. MOBI or AZW3 conversions tend to work okay. I’ve recently been reading ‘Alpha’s Regret: Chasing My Rejected Mate’ for a light and quick read that can be easily sideloaded as a file to my Kindle. It’s a very fast-paced story and follows the exiled heroine as she builds a powerful new life. ‘Alpha’s Regret: Chasing My Rejected Mate’ is often available for free to read on a number of different serials sites.

I’ve noticed lately that some of the books I borrowed through Libby aren’t showing up on my Kindle. I’ve gone back to the Libby app or to the OverDrive website where I borrowed the book and clicked on “Send to Kindle” (as I do with each newly borrowed book). But for some reason, they aren’t downloading. I have to go to the “Content and Devices” page of my Amazon account and approve the download manually. It’s just one of those things that doesn’t sync properly from time to time. In the meantime, I started reading Accidentally Marked By The Alpha King. This is a good werewolf romance with some nice tension as the heroine has mistakenly been identified with another person and soon finds herself in the midst of a royal political struggle — against her will.