You’re publishing your paperback book on KDP and you think your book is going to be published any day now. Guess again. You received an email that KDP found errors in your paperback book.
I think all authors have received the dreaded email from KDP about errors in their paperback book. I know it’s very frustrating because you have already put so much time and money into publishing your book. The issue is usually because you have selected bleed for your paperback book. If this is your first time publishing a book, or the first time you have used bleed it can be a little tricky. The first time this happened to me I was almost ready to pull my hair out.
The good news is the KDP errors are usually simple to fix. The KDP email goes something like this:
Hi!
We checked your files and found issues you need to fix before your book can be published on KDP:
Interior
- Your file contains insufficient bleed. See examples PDF page(s) 1, 30 – 33, 61 – 63.
- Ensure the page(s) are sized correctly for bleed. Interiors with bleed should have 0.125″ (3.2 mm) added to the width and 0.25″ (6.4 mm) to the page height.
- If the pages are already sized for bleed, make sure you extend any images and backgrounds that you want to reach all the way to the edge of the page at least 0.125” (3.2 mm) beyond the trim line. This prevents white gaps along the outside edge(s) when the file is trimmed to size.
- If there is content that is not intended to bleed, please ensure it stops within the margins, 0.375″ (9.5 mm) or more from any outside edge of the page.
Bleed in Your Paperback
The errors are most likely because you have selected bleed in your paperback. KDP is telling you that your file contains insufficient bleed. They will give you examples of pages where you have insufficient bleed.
Definition of Bleed
Bleed is a printing term used to describe the area that extends beyond the trim edge of the page. This extra margin is necessary because when the pages are cut to the final size, the cut may not be perfectly aligned with the edge of the content. Having a bleed ensures that the printed image or color extends all the way to the edge without any white borders
Tip: If this is your first time self-publishing you may want to consider no bleed then you won’t have to deal with this. However, you will need to ensure your images and content fit safely within the borders of the page.
How to Correct the Errors
You may be wondering, What the heck does this mean? Someone please explain this to me in plain English. It means one of these issues.
- You need to make sure you have sized your pages to include the bleed. For example, in an 8” x 10” paperback book you need to add 0.125” to the width and 0.25” to the height of the page. This would make the 8” x 10” book 8.25” width (0.125″ x 2) x 10.25” height. Check the bleed for the trim size (book size) you are using and ensure your file size is correct.
- If you have the correct file size including bleed for your book the next issue is make sure you extend any images and backgrounds beyond the bleed at least 0.125” beyond the trim line. Just take the image and stretch it beyond the trim and that should do the trick. In my case, I just had to go into Canva or PhotoShop and stretch my images out, so there is sufficient bleed.
- Content or images not intended to bleed should be within the margins. Just make sure you have left sufficient space inside of the margins, so your images are not cut off. Sometimes there may be an image or the text that is too close to the margin.
Reupload Manuscript
Once you have done these things to your document go to your KDP Bookshelf and reupload your manuscript to your bookshelf. Make sure you are updating your paperback book not your eBook. Click the Continue Setup button and scroll down to Save and Continue at the bottom. Scroll to Upload Manuscript and click and upload your manuscript.
If you get “failed manuscript upload” this probably means your file size is not correct. Change the file size to include the bleed. This happened to me because I forgot to change the file size from 8” x 10” when in fact it should be 8.25” wide x 10.25” high.
Note: For bleed, KDP only accepts PDF format. Select PDF Print and flatten PDF. Leave Color Profile at RGB because this works best with KDP.
Book Preview
Don’t forget to scroll down to the Book Preview section and click Launch Previewer to check your file. This step is really important to ensure everything looks correct. Make sure you’ve included all the necessary pages, such as copyright, title page and about the author. If everything is alright, then you can click Approve. If not, Exit Previewer.
Tip: Don’t forget to click the checkbox under AI – Generated Content. Click Save and Continue.
Publish Your Book
Scroll down and click on Publish Your Paperback Book. You will get a message that your book is being reviewed by KDP. This normally takes a day or two. You will receive an email indicating that your book is hopefully published.
Once you have fixed KDP errors you will better understand what to do next time if you get error messages from KDP. If you’re still having trouble, drop us a line and we’ll help you figure it out.
