KDP Rejected My Book: How to Fix the 9 Most Common File Errors

An email from KDP saying your book "needs attention", or a Print Previewer that won't let you click Approve, feels like a door slammed in your face. It almost never is. Nearly every rejected paperback comes down to a handful of file problems that KDP lists in its own help pages, and each one has a clear fix. Below are the nine interior errors behind most failed uploads, then the cover problems that trip people up, and a short checklist so the next upload goes through first time.

Key takeaways#

• Most KDP rejections are file problems, not content problems: page size, margins, bleed, fonts, image resolution and mismatched book details.
• Always fix the original file (Word, InDesign, Affinity), then export a brand-new PDF. Patching the old PDF or renaming it rarely works.
• Your inside margin and your cover's spine width both depend on your final page count, so lock the page count before you finish the cover.
• Spine text is only allowed on books of at least 79 pages, and it needs 0.0625 in (1.6 mm) of clear space on each side.
• Run every file through KDP's Print Previewer and read the page it points to before you resubmit.

Why did my KDP manuscript upload fail?#

KDP checks your book twice. First, when you upload, the Print Previewer scans your interior and cover for problems with margins, page size, cover size and fonts. If it finds one, it tells you what's wrong and lets you jump to the page. Second, after you press Publish, a person at KDP checks the files by hand. If they spot something, you get an email with links to the problem pages.

The Previewer reads the structure of your file, not just what you see on screen. That's why it sometimes flags a page that looks perfectly fine to you. A stray space, a hidden text box or an italic letter that pokes past its box all count as content in the wrong place.

The golden rule, straight from KDP: go back to your original file, make the change there, and export a fresh PDF. Don't save over the old PDF, and don't try to edit the PDF directly.

The 9 most common KDP file errors (and how to fix each one)#

1. Your page size doesn't match your trim size

You chose 6 x 9 in on KDP, but your file is A4, or 5.5 x 8.5 in, or 6 x 9 in without the extra bleed. KDP won't scale your book for you without changing how it looks.

Fix: set the document's page size to your exact trim size. If anything on your pages runs to the edge (a photo or a coloured background), add 0.125 in (3.2 mm) to the width and 0.25 in (6.4 mm) to the height. A 6 x 9 in book with bleed becomes 6.125 x 9.25 in. Changing page size will reflow your text and change the page count, so check your margins again afterwards. Not settled on a size yet? Our guide to choosing a book trim size helps.

2. Text sits outside the margins (even when you can't see it)

This is the error that confuses authors most. Your words look safely inside the page, but the Previewer says otherwise. KDP's own examples explain why: italic characters can lean slightly outside their text box, and lines padded with spaces can stretch invisibly to the page edge.

Fix: in Word, click the ¶ button on the Home tab to show hidden characters, then delete runs of spaces, empty text boxes and leftover objects. In a layout program, select everything on the flagged page to reveal what's really there. Setting margins a little wider than the minimum gives italics some breathing room.

3. The inside margin (gutter) is too narrow for your page count

The thicker the book, the more of each page disappears into the binding. KDP's inside margin minimum grows with page count, so a margin that was fine at 140 pages fails at 320.

Fix: check your final page count and set the inside margin from the table below. In Word, use Mirror margins and type the full allowance into the Inside box. Our post on KDP margins and gutter has exact settings for every trim size.

4. Bleed is set up wrong

There are two ways to get this wrong. Either your images run to the edge but you told KDP "No bleed", or you chose "Bleed" but your images stop just short of the bleed edge. KDP needs edge-to-edge content to extend 0.125 in (3.2 mm) past the trim line on the top, bottom and outside edges, never the gutter. If your pages have a coloured background and the Previewer shows a margin error, KDP's first suggestion is to switch the setting to Bleed.

Fix: decide per book: either everything stays inside the margins, or anything that touches an edge goes all the way past it. A picture that stops a millimetre short fails, because the Previewer only sees the box around the image. Remember that a bleed interior must be uploaded as a PDF; Word files are only accepted for books without bleed.

5. Fonts aren't embedded

If KDP can't embed a font, it can't print it, and it will reject the file. Sometimes the font is embedded in your source file but still fails, which usually means its licence doesn't allow commercial use.

Fix: in Word, go to File, Options, Save and tick "Embed fonts in the file". Untick "Embed only the characters used in the document" and "Do not embed common system fonts". Then save as PDF. KDP recommends embedding fonts fully rather than as subsets. If one font keeps failing, swap it for one licensed for commercial print.

6. Images are below 300 DPI

Photos copied from a website or stretched to fill a page print blurry, and KDP flags them. KDP's minimum for interior and cover images is 300 DPI.

Fix: insert images from the original file rather than pasting them, and don't enlarge them after inserting. Turn off Word's compression (File, Options, Advanced, "Do not compress images in file"). To check an image, divide its pixels by its printed size: 1200 x 1800 pixels printed at 4 x 6 in is exactly 300 DPI.

7. Your book details don't match your files

This one is caught in the manual review. The title, author name, edition, language or ISBN in your files must exactly match what you typed into KDP's book setup. KDP's own example: "John T. Smith" in the details but "J.T. Smith" on the title page is enough to fail.

Fix: check every place the details appear: the title page, the copyright page, running headers and footers, the front cover, the back cover and the spine. Then correct either the file or the KDP details so they match letter for letter.

8. Too many blank pages, or page numbers out of order

KDP allows no more than 4 blank pages in a row at the beginning or middle of your book, and no more than 10 in a row at the end. Page numbers must run in order, with even numbers on left-hand pages and odd numbers on the right. A jump in numbering looks to KDP like a missing page.

Fix: delete extra blank pages (often caused by stacked page breaks before each chapter). Use Next Page section breaks so numbering starts at Chapter One, and untick "Link to Previous" so the front matter stays unnumbered. Our step-by-step guide to formatting a book in Word walks through it.

9. Leftover template text, marks or comments

KDP's free templates are handy, but "Insert chapter one text here" or "Author name" left on a page will get the book bounced. So will crop marks, comments, annotations, bookmarks, a locked or password-protected PDF, and text smaller than 7 point.

Fix: search the file for the placeholder phrases, and read the front matter, headers and footers line by line. When you export, turn printer's marks off, don't add security, and flatten any transparent objects and layers (a common trap with designed pages).

Why is my KDP cover getting rejected?#

Covers fail for their own reasons, and most of them come back to one number: page count.

• The cover is the wrong size. A paperback cover is one PDF page holding the back cover, spine and front cover, plus 0.125 in (3.2 mm) bleed on every outside edge. Its width is bleed + back + spine + front + bleed, and the spine depends on your page count and paper. If the interior grew by 20 pages after the cover was made, the cover no longer fits.
• There's text on a spine that's too thin. You need at least 79 pages for spine text (80 if you use KDP's Cover Creator). Below that, remove it.
• Spine text is too close to the edge. Keep at least 0.0625 in (1.6 mm) of space on each side, or it can wrap onto the front or back.
• Text sits too close to the trim. Front and back cover text must stay at least 0.125 in (3.2 mm) inside the trim lines and out of the spine area.
• There's white space or a thin border. The background must run past the trim on every outside edge. KDP advises against borders, and any border must be at least 0.25 in (6.4 mm) inside the trim line.
• The cover file has more than one page, or still has template guides or crop marks on it.

Here's the spine maths for black-and-white books. White paper is page count x 0.002252 in (0.0572 mm). Cream paper is page count x 0.0025 in (0.0635 mm). So a 300-page novel on cream paper has a 0.75 in spine, and a 6 x 9 in cover for it is 13 in wide and 9.25 in tall, including bleed. Our free KDP cover size calculator does this for you, and our guide to book cover size for Amazon KDP covers ebook pixel sizes and hardcovers too.

How to fix a rejected file and resubmit#

1. 1Read the Previewer message or KDP's email and note the exact page numbers it flags.
2. 2Open your original file, not the PDF, and fix the cause on those pages. Then scan the rest of the book for the same problem.
3. 3If the page count changed, recheck your inside margin and recalculate your cover's spine width.
4. 4Export a new PDF with a new file name. KDP warns that saving over old versions can compound file corruption.
5. 5Upload it, open the Previewer, and look at every flagged page before you approve.

Fixing an ebook instead? Kindle conversion errors are a different beast. They're usually about language settings, fonts that aren't Unicode, or a connection timeout during upload. If you're uploading an EPUB, run it through our free EPUB validator first, and see our Kindle formatting guide for the basics.

A five-minute check before you upload#

• Page size equals trim size (plus bleed only if you need it).
• Margins match your final page count.
• Fonts embedded, images at 300 DPI, no text under 7 point.
• Title, author and ISBN identical everywhere.
• No template text, comments, crop marks or passwords.
• Cover built from the final page count, with spine text only at 79 pages or more.

Our KDP upload walkthrough covers the upload screens themselves, and if your book is already live, here's how to update a published book on KDP. Publishing with IngramSpark as well? Its rules differ a little, so see formatting a book for IngramSpark.

When it's worth handing the file over#

Most authors can fix one or two of these errors themselves in an afternoon. If you're on your third rejection, or the fix keeps breaking something else, it may be quicker to let a typesetter rebuild the file. Our book formatting team sets every book by hand in Adobe InDesign and delivers a print-ready PDF and an EPUB prepared for KDP and IngramSpark. Packages start at £197 ($249) for books up to 20,000 words, with an exact fixed quote for longer books within one business day. If KDP or IngramSpark flags a formatting issue caused by our file, we fix it free without using one of your revision rounds. That promise covers formatting only, not content, metadata, rights or platform-policy issues. You can see your first chapter formatted free before you decide.