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Step 1: Fill in your book details and cover image
Before generating an ebook file, open the Export screen (⌘E on macOS, Ctrl+E on Windows and Linux, or click Export book on your book's page) and check the book-details readiness card at the top. Storefronts and e-readers read these fields directly from the EPUB package metadata.
- If anything is missing, the Book details card shows how many fields are missing and lets you fill them in right there (when everything is complete it shows a summary with Edit book details; All book settings → opens the rest):
- Author (saved for the whole project)
- Language
- Description / blurb and Subjects / tags (written as
<dc:description>and<dc:subject>entries inside the EPUB) - Series name and Series position (written as
belongs-to-collectionandgroup-positionso e-readers can group your series in order)
- Under Cover image, click Choose cover… and pick a
.jpgor.pngfile. InkSpine copies the image into your book folder (cover.jpgorcover.png) and embeds it in the EPUB with both the EPUB 3cover-imagemanifest property and an EPUB 2<meta name="cover">pointer for older readers.
Step 2: Select and adjust the Ebook for KDP preset
Under What's this export for?, locate the Ebook for KDP card and click Adjust (labelled Preview on InkSpine Free, where the file itself is locked) to inspect the settings for this edition:
- Contents: Tick or untick individual front-matter pages (dedication, epigraph), parts, chapters, and back-matter pages (acknowledgements, about the author). Chapters marked
cutare listed but greyed out ("cut · never exported"), so trimmed scenes never slip into the file. - Chapter openings: Choose whether a chapter heading shows the number and title, the title only, or the number only, and whether the number is a numeral or spelled out (spelled-out numbers are English only for now).
- Text and scene breaks: Under Text, leave the font to the reader or embed Newsreader, and choose indented paragraphs or space between them. Under Scene breaks, pick the divider (
* * *, ⁂, ❦, —, or a blank line). Readers can change fonts on their own device, while your headings, paragraph style and scene breaks carry through. - Edition metadata: If you assign a separate ISBN or publication date to your ebook edition, enter the ISBN and Publication date under the preset's Edition section so the EPUB carries its own identifier distinct from your paperback or hardcover.
If you want to keep a copy of your customised settings for a specific storefront or pen name, choose Save as new… in the preset editor to save a reusable custom preset for the project.
Step 3: Preview the book at e-reader sizes
With Ebook for KDP open, use the live preview pane on the right to read through your book before writing the file:
- Switch the device size selector at the top of the preview between Phone, Kindle, Tablet, and Large text to see how chapter titles, epigraphs, block quotes, and scene breaks reflow across screen widths.
- Use the ‹ and › buttons (or the ← and → arrow keys) to flip through your front matter, table of contents, part title pages, and chapters.
- Check any chapters that contain footnotes (
[^1]) or in-text figures. InkSpine turns Markdown footnotes into linked EPUB 3epub:type="noteref"andepub:type="footnote"elements—the standard markup that reading systems can show as pop-up notes—and bundles every referenced figure into the EPUB container.
Step 4: Run preflight and export the .epub file
When the preview looks right, click Export in the preset editor's header (or directly on the Ebook for KDP card):
- Preflight check: InkSpine checks the book before writing the file. If any included chapter is still marked
planned,draftorrevising, InkSpine lists the warnings and asks you to Export anyway or Cancel. If a chapter points to a figure file that is missing fromfigures/, the export is blocked until you find the file or choose Leave out for that figure; a figure you leave out is flagged on every export while it stays missing. - Save the file: Choose where to save the
.epubfile. Once written, the row offers Open (to inspect it in an e-reader app or Kindle Previewer) and Show in folder (to find the file for uploading it to your store).
For more detail on what goes into the generated package, see EPUB for KDP, InkSpine vs Vellum, and Pricing.
In InkSpine
- ⌘E / Ctrl+E → Export
- Opens the Export screen for the current book from anywhere in the app.
- Export → Ebook for KDP
- Built-in EPUB 3 preset for ebook stores such as Amazon KDP.
- Adjust → Contents, Edition
- Chooses included chapters, chapter heading style, scene breaks, and per-edition ISBN and publication date.
- Export → Quick export…
- Writes the whole book (or the open chapter) as Markdown (.zip) or HTML on every plan, including Free.
Questions
Is exporting an EPUB included in InkSpine Free?
Adjusting presets and paging through the live device preview are included in InkSpine Free, along with Quick export… to Markdown (.zip) and HTML. Exporting an .epub, .docx, or .pdf file requires InkSpine Core or an active free trial.
Is the exported EPUB checked against the EPUB 3 standard?
InkSpine builds an EPUB 3 package with a table of contents, linked footnotes and an EPUB 2 cover tag for older Kindle devices, and checks the structure of the EPUB 3 file with epubcheck as part of how it is built and tested. No tool can promise that a particular store will accept a file, so preview it here and look at the result in the store's own previewer before you publish.
What happens to chapters marked Cut, Planned, Draft or Revising when I export?
Chapters with status Cut are listed in the Contents section but greyed out as "cut · never exported", so they are left out of the ebook. If any included chapter is still marked Planned, Draft or Revising, InkSpine warns you before writing the file.