My Kindle Ebook Keeps Showing Formatting Errors

You may have completed your enovel, uploaded it onto Amazon or Smashwords, and yet formatting errors appear out of nowhere. How does the writer rid of invisible ebook bugs for good? Here is a step by step guide, with images to help ewriters get to grips with formatting the ebook.
How Not to Upload a Kindle Ebook

I have encountered all sorts of bugs and formatting problems during my epublishing experience. Firstly, here is a list of what not to include in your ebook.

• Tables.
• Bullet points.
• Indents using the tab bar.
• Fancy fonts.
• Page numbers.
• Fancy graphics

Step by Step Demonstration on Debugging your Kindle Ebook.

Once you have completed your (perfect) novel minus the elements just mentioned, save a copy before debugging in case things go wrong on the original file. Purge the copy file of your novel by selecting all (ctrl + A) and then copying it into Notepad. Notepad can be found under ‘accessories’ after clicking ‘all programmes on the bottom right of your screen. Notepad will strip the file into the barest elements, getting rid of hidden tables and codes you don’t realise are there.

Select all again and then copy into a new Word document (not XML as this more modern version of Word is not supported by some epub viewers, but Word 1997-2003) This can be found by clicking on the graphic on the top left and then ‘save as.’ Paste the file onto this Word file.

Now select ‘change styles, as can be seen on the screenshot. This is not the same as ‘save as,’, as the style of the document is being changed, not the file type. I have found that using the style of ‘Word 2003’ causes my paragraphs to misbehave in previewers, so I use the style of ‘Word 2007 (remember, this is not altering the file type, only the look of the document.)

Next, get rid of hidden codes, such as superfluous spaces. Hidden codes can be made visible by pressing the ‘show/hide’ icon at the top of the Word screen. Back space superfluous spaces and tabs and never keep spacing to the bottom of the page to get a page break. Allow one line at the end of each chapter and then insert a page break in the proper way.

The Perfect Format for Ebooks

Select all again and then select ‘normal’ formatting as shown on the screenshot. This will ensure fonts will not change size erratically on the kindle previewer. The book’s fonts and spaces etc, will change. Select all and change the whole book to a commonly-used font and size (I use point 12, Times New Roman). Select ‘page layout’ and select 0pt before and after paragraphs.

See screenshot below to see how to indent all paragraphs by 0.3pt, usual for fiction books. Some fine tuning will obviously be necessary to ensure the book reaches the desired look.

Formatting Ebooks Made Simple

A more in depth guide to formatting Ebooks can be found in Mark Coker’s excellent book, ‘Smashwords Style Guide’ which is free. It is very detailed and requires a little taking in, but once read from cover to cover, your kindle Ebooks will format as required and minus the headaches.

See my other article which explains how files become corrupted if using the wrong Word document.

Once formatting errors have been eradicated, you can convert your book into the desired format (Epub or Mobi) by using Callibre, a free software that is great for book conversion.

I keep Getting Bad Reviews for my Novel

What does the writer do if the novel gets slated repeatedly by different reviewers?

Dealing with Bad Reviews, Advice for Authors

An isolated case of a one star review for a novel is a different matter to receiving a series of bad reviews. In the case of the latter, the writer may have to take notice. The bigger picture might be that the bad reviews form a small fraction of the overall feedback, perhaps representing one in ten or less. I have written a separate article to dealing with an isolated bad review. But if the negatives begin to outweigh the positives, the writer may take an objective view from the following:

Are the reviews addressing the novel itself, or an unrelated issue, such as customer service, a technical problem or a few typos? If the review relates to formatting problems on the kindle book, take a look at my article on how to format an ebook properly and take steps to have the review removed, for it could give a misleading impression of the novel’s quality. Furthermore, punctuation and spelling issues can be easily fixed with a good proofreader or a simple double-check.

Making Negative Book Reviews into a Positive

No author likes to get negative reviews. An isolated case can be put down to someone’s personal opinion or a minority view, but when the bad reviews keep coming, it is time to take notice. The following steps may be taken:

Read each bad review once, once only. Differentiate between unhelpful/non-objective/subjective views from meaningful critique. This might be: ‘the novel is too wordy,’ or ‘the characters are not authentic’ or ‘nothing ever happens for pages.’ Look for common themes. Is a particular issue mentioned more than once?

Don’t copy each review verbatim, record the issue raised in your own words, reflecting what has been said, but make it more palatable, such as ‘review 1 suggests I need to tighten the plot in the centre of the novel,’ or ‘review 2 suggests I need to do more research into the background history of my novel.’

Remember only take note of reviews that offer a meaningful critique, not ranting, offensive or rambling disparagement. Even then, not everything someone says need be taken as gospel. A trusted friend or literary consultant may be called upon to gain an objective view, failing that, the author may step back before considering the issues with a clear mind. Even constructive criticism served tactfully can be hard to receive, but such a critique can prove invaluable to the writer.

How to Get Rid of Bad Book Reviews

The option to unpublish might be considered if the novel has proved to have serious issues. A redraft may be necessary. My website giving clear advice on all matters of novel-writing from conceiving characters to writing dialogue as well as drafting the novel may help improve the story.

A reworked novel might benefit from a fresh start rather than republishing under the same ASIN/ISBN. This might entail giving the novel a new title, cover design and reworded synopsis. The novel can be published from scratch, where in the case of Kindle, a new ASIN is given, and in Createspace, a new ISBN. The novel cannot help but undergo improvement if the plot has been tightened, the background more fastidiously researched or the characters fleshed out. More positive reviews are (likely) to result. This is part of developing as a writer.

When to Ignore Bad Book Reviews

However, do not change the book if the negative reviews are plainly a subjective opinion. For instance:

• Too much bad language or violence (if this is integral to the plot or a sign of the times, such elements might be vital to the story).
• If the very thing complained about is the effect the author had intended.
• The moral of the story does not accord with someone’s belief system (eg, crime does pay).
• The fiction genre. For example, complaining a novel is too luvvv-duvvy if it is supposed to be romantic fiction.
• A complaint about the writing style. Each author has a different writing style. So long as the author has good command of English and avoids typos and grammos, clichés and lazy prose the writing style, is what defines the writer and is a matter of taste; another reader may love it.
• The characters are all horrible (if unsavoury characters are the point)

Advice for Novelists who get Bad Book Reviews

Never give up writing. Many respected writers get lots of bad reviews and the books keep selling. Never engage with those that gave the bad reviews, it would be unprofessional. Quality and passion will (in time) often win through. With improvements made, as suggested, good reviews are more likely in the future.

Helpful Links on Novel Writing

I’ve had my first bad review
Articles on novel writing.
Vital preparation for a book talk

How to Deal with Bad Reviews of your Book

How does the author deal with a bad book review? Every writer’s dread, spotting a one star review for a novel that took years to craft can be a stab in the heart. Before taking any action, the following advice might help.

What to do with Bad Book Reviews

Otherwise known as a ‘torpedo,’ a bad review may cause the writer to question whether all the hard work has been worth the effort. The following will hurt. Read the review (once is enough). Be objective. Firstly is the bad review valid? It is not if the following apply.

Establish whether the bad review is for the novel itself. I have seen countless bad reviews given for unsatisfactory Kindle service, for instance delay in delivery or damage to the book; text-to-speech perhaps doesn’t work properly. Bad formatting of the Ebook is another common issue. If the complaint is not directed at the quality of the story itself, the author may request that the review is removed for it could be misleading to potential readers.

Similarly, if the bad review is overtly slanderous, offensive, exhibits racist (or similar offensive views) or is a personal attack, the author may request the review be removed. This can be done by clicking on ‘report abuse’ next to the review. Such a review will be picked up by other readers and reported to Amazon, and if the complaint is persistent, Amazon will remove the review without any action from you.

Perhaps the reviewer does not like the genre of the book (it happens). No matter how well the book is written, a romantic story will not be received well by a hard-boiled crime buff. In such instances, the writer may take stock and consider whether the synopsis or book cover design represents the genre of the story. Similarly, the review is simply a personal opinion. Perhaps the reader does not like the political views implied within the book rather than the writing style itself.

Dealing with a Bad Book Review

Bad book reviews come in all shapes and sizes. I have taken a look. Some are one-liners, some rant on and on. Some are unclear as to what is wrong with the book. Such feedback as ‘thin plot, ‘cheesy romantic story,’ ‘unconvincing dialogue’ or simply ‘badly written’ might be the sort of phraseology found. Some reviews are succinct and to the point, others are vague, still others do not accord with the one star review, giving positive comments.

What to do With a Bad Book Review

The author’s initial reaction at the sight of a one star might be indignation, despair or try to ‘brush it off.’ The last one is hard to do as most writers care if their work is appreciated or not. Some bad reviews can be very helpful, giving constructive comments in a tactful way. More about this can be found on my next article, using feedback to improve your novel.

Sadly, too many bad reviews are simply unkind or unwarranted. But regardless of how harsh or unfair the review may be, never engage with the reviewer or try to make him/her change the rating. The result could merely be a sparring match which will only make the writer look very unprofessional.

A Good Book Reviewer

Check the reviewer’s feedback score. This is the voting system found on Amazon that states whether the review was helpful to other customers or not. By clicking on the reviewer’s name, his/her other reviews will be displayed as well as the reviewer’s rank. If few people find the reviewer helpful, a low rank will be given. An unhelpful reviewer is likely to be disregarded.

In time, a bad, ill-conceived or overtly ‘nasty’ review will show itself up for what it is. Fortunately, Amazon’s ‘look inside’ feature enables the potential reader to sample the book and make independent judgments. Smashwords enable the reader to sample up to 20% of the book free. A well-written sample and story synopsis will sell itself.

Customers have been known to upload a book based on controversial or bad reviews to see if it was really that bad. Differing opinions are likely to spur a discussion and even raise the profile of your book.

Fair and Impartial Reviews of Your Book

There is a culture of people giving glowing reviews to a friend or relative’s novel on Amazon. This can be spotted if reams of five starred reviews followed by similarly-worded reviews are given for a book. This is because a genuine review is hard to come by. Readers by and large, simply want to read and not give feedback. Personally the sight of a book with a mish-mash of reviews appears more authentic than a book with lots of five-starred reviews. For this reason, a one star review will tell the customer that the writer does not vet his/her reviewers.

Advice for the Writer who has a Bad Book Review

I myself have had a ‘torpedo’ and was glad to find people still purchasing my book afterwards. Hard as this might be to do, try to rise above it. You are in good company. King, Rowling and Straub have all received one-starred reviews. Sometimes, the bad review is simply someone’s opinion. Read the review once only. Decide if it has anything of value (a separate article is dedicated to this, see below) and then move on. But never give up writing.

What to do if the negative reviews keep coming in.
Advice on improving your novel

Buy Suspense Novels by Charles J Harwood

Four suspense novels by Charles J Harwood are The Shuttered Room, Falling Awake, Nora and a Hard Lesson. All thrillers are professionally edited. These unforgettable thrillers hold nothing back, with sexual chemistry and taboo themes such as Stockholm Syndrome, voyeurism, insomnia and obsession. With vivid characters, twisty plots and above all, a very different read. Find overview of each thriller below. Purchase by clicking on the image. Reviews appreciated!

The Shuttered Room

Little do they know their captive holds a deadly secret.

Click to buy
from Amazon

Jess’s life would appear idyllic: privileges, money, a son and a devoted husband. But her life is shattered when she is taken hostage and confined in a bedroom by three thugs demanding a sizeable ransom from her wealthy father. A failed escape attempt spurs her captors to hire a borrowed baby to keep the police off the trail. In desperation, Jess cuts a hole in the bedroom floor with a cutlery knife from where she spies upon her captors downstairs. But as her pastime grow in obsession, Jess finds her sanity jeapardised by a sexual psychological game she finds herself playing with her captors.

Read more about The Shuttered Room on this blog or click image to purchase.

Falling Awake

Insomnia can have the most sinister causes.

Click to buy
from Amazon

Gemma's home is put under jeopardy after her husband Liam vanishes with an unexplained debt and a creepy-looking doodle. In desperation, she performs erotic routines 'Domestic Bliss' for insomniac, Luke who watches from across the courtyard. But Luke is fussy about what he likes to watch and an uneasy chemistry develops between them after she satirizes her performance. As the ugly truth surrounding Liam’s disappearance unravels, Gemma finds herself trapped into Luke’s obligation. Paranoia takes its grip as she fears the truth surrounding the cause of Luke’s insomnia. Voyeurism is only a part of what Luke likes to participate in.

Read more about Falling Awake on this blog or click image to purchase.

A Hard Lesson

Click to buy
from Amazon

A teacher takes on the pupil from hell only to learn what treachery means.

Tenacious teacher, Sarah takes on Josh, the worst pupil imaginable. Dyslexic and with behaviour problems, Josh seems intent only upon humiliating her in his well-honed way perfected upon countless teachers before her. But her problems are just beginning after she set Josh an assignment on erotic art. Her boyfriend Frank deserts her to his commitment to a criminal hub headed by psychopath, Kurt. Slowly, Sarah gets drawn into the dark secrets of Josh’s family as well as the inner workings of Kurt’s sinister clique. A tale of shame, betrayal and manipulation, Sarah must ultimately face her greatest fear.

Read more about A Hard Lesson on this blog or click image to purchase

Nora

Click to buy
from Amazon

Her harsh brand of rehab hides a bitter secret.

Nancy is hurled into the world of celebrity when she finds herself performing a shoot for handsome but odious playboy, Vince, as they walk from one of his nightclubs. The seduction of this other world sours after Nancy overhears Vince make a bet with his PA, Leon on the length of her fifteen minutes of fame.

Her world falls apart after Vince’s limo crashes, propelling Nancy into a nightmare world where her alter ego Nora is born.

Vince’s playboy lifestyle is about to be turned upside down. Hers will never be the same.

Read more about Nora on this blog or click image to purchase.

Want to read this thriller?
The Shuttered Room
(Charles J Harwood)

All novels are professionally edited and formatted for Kindle, Nook, Sony, Apple, paperback and large print.

Note: Three of these books are available within an anthology, entitled, Gone Too Far (3 Psychological Thrillers about Taboo), which is a little cheaper than purchasing the 3 novels singly.

Related links to my author website

Great themes in literary fiction
Stories with taboo themes

Falling Awake by Charles J Harwood: A Psychological Thriller

Falling Awake is a psychological thriller about a woman who takes a late night commission performing for a mysterious client for urgent cash. But she begins to question the nature of who she is performing for. Paranoia soon sets in.

A Psychological Thriller

Get Kindle version

Falling Awake, previously titled Domestic Bliss tells the story of Gemma who is faced with the prospect of repossession after her husband Liam vanishes under mysterious circumstances with only a weird doodle as a clue to why. Gemma is in for a nasty shock about her husband.

But her problems are only just beginning when in desperation Gemma takes up an evening job performing routines with Charlene for an insomniac voyeur, Luke, who watches from across the courtyard in his apartment.

Suspense Thriller

Buy from Audible

But her client is rather particular about what he likes to watch and Gemma is anything but a natural performer. An uneasy chemistry develops between them that is not good for her state of mind or the erotic scenarios devised by theatre director, Phil, which he calls ‘Domestic Bliss.’ The negative feedback Gemma gets for her efforts becomes the least of her worries when she suspects Luke is not what he seems.

As the horrifying truth about Liam’s disappearance unfurls, Gemma finds herself obligated to Luke. Gemma begins to suspect her worst fears lie behind the causes of Luke’s insomnia.

Have listen to an audio sample of this dark psychological thriller that centres on paranoia.

Idea behind Falling Awake

A Creepy Psychological Thriller
Charles J Harwood

I had originally written Falling Awake as a screenplay and then decided to flesh out the characters and add a tense subplot, namely the circumstances surrounding Liam’s disappearance. But the story really centres upon the relationship between Gemma and Luke and how her paranoia about him builds.

I wanted to pose the question what it would be like to feel obligated to someone who you fear most, and worse, to become psychologically compromised.

Falling Awake is my third novel after The Shuttered Room and A Hard Lesson.
Read an excerpt from Falling Awake or read an overview of Charles J Harwood novels.
Falling Awake is available in audio, Kindle and paperback.

Note: since publishing this article, this novel can also be found within Eclipse Quartet: Four Psychological Thrillers.

Related links to my author website

Stories with taboo themes
Great themes in literary fiction

I Can't Get my Kindle Novel to Format how I Want

Publishing an enovel on Kindle is quick and easy if you know how. Here are some hints and tips on epublishing that I picked up when publishing my novels on Amazon’s Kindle store and Smashwords.

Epublishing a Novel Made Easy

First of all, make sure the novel is exactly how you want. And this means no typos, no grammatical errors, no flabby paragraphs and no stereotypical characters. The main body of the novel is the most important aspect of epublishing. The first three chapters are even more crucial, as Kindle enables the shopper to upload the first ten percent of the book free. If this fails to grab the reader, then the Amazon customer is unlikely to buy the kindle book.

Formatting the Novel for Kindle

With a shiny, perfect masterpiece at your disposal, it is time to share it with the world, and how exciting is that! But first, here are some tips to take the headache out of formatting a Kindle novel.

Save the novel on Word. It is a good all-round format that can easily be translated by most devices. It must be noted that there are different formats you can save you novel on, but when it comes to Word, there are really two types: Word 2003 XML and Word 1997-2003. Other formats such as PDF file, HTML and a formatting tool known as Mobipocket are available to be used, but from my own personal experience, I have found that none of these format well on the Kindle and I have experienced bugs and all sorts of problems with them (forgive me if you haven’t had this experience.)

Publishing a Kindle Novel

As previously mentioned, there are really two types of word, one more advanced than the other. The XML version has more add-ons and therefore supersedes the other, but Amazon recommends saving the document as the earlier version. Doing this is easy. If you open the document where you novel is saved and click on the “office button” graphic on the upper left of your screen, a drop down menu gives you the option of how to save your novel. Click on save as “Word 1997-2003” and the system will save this version as an additional file. You will notice that the file will end with the suffix .doc. (not .docx, which is the XML version). Of course, if you have already completed your novel on the earlier version of Word, there is no need to do this.

Common Formatting Errors with Kindle

A note of caution here. If you have saved your novel as an XML and then save it as the earlier version, and then notice some formatting issues, for instance, the new paragraphs are not indented enough, and then you correct this issue on the earlier version of the Word file, you might find this problem persists when you view the book on Amazon’s pseudo-Kindle previewer (to be explained in a moment). This is because as mentioned before, the XML supersedes this earlier version of word, and some commands cannot be computed. The only solution is to delete the .doc file, correct this issue on the XML file and save it again as a .doc.

The Perfect Kindle Novel

Kindle recommends the following to be avoided either because they will cause formatting problems or will not translate onto the Kindle device:

• Bullet points.
• Dropped caps (Big fancy capitals at the beginning of each chapter.)
• Fancy fonts.
• Fancy graphics.

Again, make sure these issues are dealt with if working on the XML file before saving it as Word 1997-2003. Bold, italics and headings are fine.

Step by Step Guide to Kindle Formatting

Now you have saved your novel as a .doc (not .docx) it is time to format.

Go through the novel and backspace any superfluous spaces, particularly at the end of each chapter. Insert a page break at the end of every chapter, or you may find consecutive chapters running one after the other on the Kindle previewer. This might be painstaking work, but it is worth it. You will need a title page, copyright matter, and perhaps other elements, such as a dedication page a contents page and backmatter. In all cases, begin the font at the top of the page rather than in the middle. Centre the wording on the page.

Use a basic font, such as Times New Roman or Aerial. I use 12 or 10 point. It doesn’t really matter, as the Kindle device enables the reader to magnify the font one, two or three times the size anyway. Some fancy fonts may not translate on the Kindle.

Inserting Bookmarks to your Novel

Bookmarks can be inserted into the novel to enable the reader to jump to any chapter without having to scroll through the novel to the chapter desired. Bookmarks are really hyperlinks that provide shortcuts just like a link, only within a document. This requires a little explaining, so I have dedicated a separate article on how to insert bookmarks into an enovel, as well as inserting a table to format a list of chapters.

You don’t need to insert page numbers on an ebook, as the Kindle will do this automatically, and having two separate systems of page numbering can be distracting for the reader.

Uploading the Enovel

With everything ready, it is time to upload the novel. Sign into your account on DTP Amazon and navigate to “upload your book file.” (You will need to fill in the other boxes, book title, description. keywords, and book cover but these matters have been covered in other articles on this blog.)

Navigate to the box “upload you book file.” Browse to the file you want and click on the novel. Uploading may take a minute or two. Once the novel has been uploaded, you can view it on a pseudo-Kindle previewer (mentioned earlier). This enables you to see how the novel looks. I click on every page to make sure there are no unwanted spaces, chapters running after another or unwanted formatting problems. It may be necessary to correct the original file and upload again if such a formatting problem shows up.

If all is well, click on save and continue, which moves on to matters of pricing and royalties,which is pretty self-explanatory. The novel will take around 2 to 3 days to show up on the Amazon Kindle store. You can upload a free Kindle for PC previewer (not the same as the pseudo-Kindle previewer on DTP Amazon). You can then send yourself a free sample of your own book and see it how it really looks, colour and all. If the pseudo Kindle previewer shows no problems, neither should the Kindle for PC.

My step by step guide on formatting your kindle book with pictures may compliment this guide.
Plus an UPDATE: Learn how to make the table of contents of your Kindle book to go live by converting your book into an Epub before uploading onto KDP.

Links to my Other Writing Sites

Practical advice on completing a novel
Secrets of writing crime fiction
What won't help your books to sell
Books on writing novels
Basic guide on using Callibre for Epub conversion

A Hard Lesson by Charles Jay Harwood: Games of Teacher and Pupil

A teacher finds herself tutoring a nightmare pupil. Up against a legacy of countless teachers who could not face up to the challenge, this meek fledgling teacher does not fare her chances well. But the trials he throws at her are just the beginning.

Kindle Thriller on Dyslexia

Buy Kindle Edition

A Hard Lesson, now available on audio as well as Kindle, tells the story of, Sarah who is haunted by the memory of her dead brother. She encounters her prospective pupil, Josh, through her then boyfriend, Frank on a routine visit. Sarah falls into the trap of tutoring this ‘obnoxious grunge.' The ensuing scenes describe how he makes things very difficult for Sarah by employing his selection-box of games of Teacher and Pupil, such as Blackmail a Teacher, Compromise a Teacher’s Personal Life and Make a Teacher Grovel. This made the scenes fun to write, but poor Sarah soon realises it doesn’t end with his games.

Download from Audible

Idea for A Hard Lesson

Sarah discovers that there is more to Josh’s family than meets the eye. His mother tenaciously upholds that her son is not dyslexic but merely lazy, and routinely enrols him on literacy courses in the belief he will achieve good grades and move on from his dead-end job. Sarah also finds herself getting drawn into the inner workings of her boyfriend’s tightly-knit gang headed by psychopathic but charismatic, Kurt.

What may at first appear to be separate worlds begin to exhibit connections Sarah didn’t foresee. The story unfolds, testing the callibre of each character to the limit and causing the tension to unfold with gathering momentum. Sarah ultimately must face her greatest fear, not least Kurt himself.

A poignant scene within this novel consists of when Josh becomes a suspect to a stabbing, and Sarah employs kinaesthetic exercises (guiding his hands through the air) to help with his letter-orientation.

The prologue and epilogue of the story gives Frank’s point of view. The main story is told from Sarah’s. Now available as an audiobook,

Take a listen to the opening sequence of the prologue.

A Hard Lesson Story Development

I wrote A Hard Lesson before The Shuttered Room, but published the latter first. A Hard Lesson is a plot idea that had been buzzing around my head since I was a teenager. It began as a short story, evolving into a full length novel. I wanted to explore the idea of a seemingly small and insignificant event having huge consequences upon what would appear to be an unbeatable system. Namely Sarah up against Josh, and ultimately Kurt.

Everything would seem to be up against Sarah: her guilt about her dead brother, her inexperience in teaching a dyslexic pupil, the dark secrets of his family and Frank’s commitment to his cause within Kurt’s criminal gang.

Thankfully, my brief term teaching has never yielded such a horrendous pupil, but my imagination took relish from trying out different scenarios with the object of testing the heroine to the limit.

A Hard Lesson is my second book between the Shuttered Room and Falling Awake.
Read an overview of Charles Jay Harwood novels. Paperback measures 8x5in and 262 pages. Also available in large print.

Note: since publishing this, A Hard Lesson can be found within a four in one thriller bundle book, Eclipse Quartet, 4 Psychological Thrillers, which is a little cheaper than purchasing my four novels singly.

Related links on my author website

How the family dynamics and the hierarchial gang
Stories with taboo themes