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Kindle Publishing Guidelines

The document provides guidelines for publishers on creating Kindle books with fixed layouts, including metadata requirements and best practices for text formatting. Key points include: 1) Metadata like layout, resolution, and orientation can be specified to define the book format and page display. 2) Text can be inserted as live HTML or invisible overlays to ensure searchability and dictionary lookup while maintaining the visual design. 3) Additional guidelines cover adding audio and video to books, though certain Kindle features are not currently supported in that format.

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Alojaa
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52 views4 pages

Kindle Publishing Guidelines

The document provides guidelines for publishers on creating Kindle books with fixed layouts, including metadata requirements and best practices for text formatting. Key points include: 1) Metadata like layout, resolution, and orientation can be specified to define the book format and page display. 2) Text can be inserted as live HTML or invisible overlays to ensure searchability and dictionary lookup while maintaining the visual design. 3) Additional guidelines cover adding audio and video to books, though certain Kindle features are not currently supported in that format.

Uploaded by

Alojaa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Publishing on Kindle: Guidelines for Publishers

Metadata Description

Layout can be specified using one of the following Required. Identifies the book as having a fixed
metadata fields: layout.

1) <meta Valid values for rendition:layout metadata are


property="rendition:layout">pre- reflowable or pre-paginated. The default
paginated</meta> value is reflowable.
2) <meta name="fixed-layout" Valid values for fixed-layout metadata are
content="true"/>
true or false. The default value is false.

<meta name="original-resolution" Required. Identifies the original design resolution of


content="1024x600"/> the content . The
pixel dimensions can have any positive integer
value. These values must be in proportion to the
overall aspect ratio of the original content.

Orientation can be specified using one of the Optional.


following metadata fields:
Valid values for rendition:layout metadata are
1) <meta portrait, landscape, or auto. Locks the
property="rendition:orientation">lands orientation of the book to either portrait or
cape</meta> landscape. If the value is auto, both portrait and
landscape modes are supported. The default value
2) <meta name="orientation-lock"
is auto.
content="landscape"/>
Valid values for orientation-lock metadata are
portrait, landscape or none. Locks the
orientation of the content to either portrait or
landscape. If the value is none, both portrait and
landscape modes are supported. The default value
is none.

Amazon recommends only unlocking orientation


when text is readable in both portrait and
landscape.

<meta name="primary-writing-mode" Optional. Defines page rendering order, reading


content="horizontal-rl"/> mode, and reader navigation (including Kindle Text
Pop-Up, Kindle Panel View, and Kindle Virtual
Panels). Valid values are horizontal-lr,
horizontal-rl, vertical-lr, and vertical-
rl. The default value is horizontal-lr.

Kindle Publishing Guidelines Amazon.com 62


Publishing on Kindle: Guidelines for Publishers

12.2 Text Guidelines


In this format, each page contains a background image that is larger than the screen size, so that the
page renders a high-quality, readable image. The text can then be created with either of the two following
methods and both methods can be used in the same book. With either method, capital letters in body text
must be at least 2mm high in non-children's content and 4mm high on tablet
device.

Live HTML Text

In this method, the background image is stripped of text and the majority of text in the book is rendered as
live HTML text. The text can be repositioned as needed for a good eBook experience. This method also
allows search and dictionary functionality.

HTML:

<div class="page" id="p3">

<div class="pimg" id="img_003"/>

<p id="p3_2" class="ptxt">Sometimes I go outside

<br />to investigate. I check everything.

<br/>I sniff rocks. I bite leaves. You

<br />never know.

<br/>I must always be on guard.<br/></p>

</div>

</div>

CSS:

.ptxt{

font-family: "billy";

font-size: 450%;

line-height: 95%;

position: absolute;

top: 0%;

Kindle Publishing Guidelines Amazon.com 63


Publishing on Kindle: Guidelines for Publishers

left: 2.35%; }

Invisible Text Overlay

For text that is part of an image, or is irregularly sized, angled, or curved, you can capture that text as part
of the background and use invisible overlay text (using the opacity:0 property in the CSS file) to
enable selection, dictionary lookup, and search. The invisible overlay text should be positioned directly
over the corresponding text in the base image, and should be sized so that the highlight area of the
invisible text corresponds to the text in the base image.

HTML:

<div class="page" id="p3">

<div class="overlay" id="o3_1">Hi,</div>

<div class="overlay" id="o3_2">my</div>

<div class="overlay" id="o3_3">name</div>

<div class="overlay" id="o3_4">is</div>

<div class="overlay" id="o3_5">Honey!</div>

</div>

Due to the angled text, every word must be positioned individually so that the invisible HTML text overlays
the correct word.

CSS:

.overlay{

Kindle Publishing Guidelines Amazon.com 64


Publishing on Kindle: Guidelines for Publishers

position: absolute;

font-family: "billy";

opacity: 0;

color: red;

font-size: 500%;

line-height: 107%;

text-align: center;

#o3_1{top: 39.5%; left: 6.7%; font-size: 450%; }

#o3_2{top: 41.5%; left: 15.5%; font-size: 450%; }

#o3_3{top: 44.2%; left: 24.5%; font-size: 500%; }

#o3_4{top: 44.1%; left: 4.2%; font-size: 450%; }

#o3_5{top: 46.6%; left: 9.9%; font-size: 500%; }

13 Creating Kindle Edition with Audio/Video Content


Currently, Kindle Edition with Audio/Video content is available on Fire tablets (2nd generation and later),
iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Audio and video content is not supported on Kindle E-reader devices
(customers can read the book, but any audio or video is replaced with a message that it is not supported
on this device).

KF8 features are not currently supported in Kindle Edition with Audio/Video content (see sections 13.5
and 13.6 for details). The file delivered to Amazon should be a Mobi 7 EPUB with self-contained audio
and video or a Mobi 7 .prc file with self-contained audio and video. Publishers should use the latest
version of KindleGen to create a .prc file. KindleGen is available at www.amazon.com/kindleformat.

Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing Platform (KDP) does not currently accept Kindle Edition with
Audio/Video content. This format does not currently support Enhanced Typesetting.

Amazon does not currently accept any audio or video books with embedded audio that acts as read-along
content, which is defined as someone reading the full text or multiple pages of text from the book in either
audio or video format.

When testing Kindle Edition with Audio/Video content, the audio and video cannot be previewed on Kindle
Previewer or on Kindle devices and applications. To add audio and/or video content to your Kindle book,
follow the guidelines and examples below.

13.1 Audio Requirements


Amazon recommends using stereo channels in the MP3 source where possible, because Kindle supports
playing back audio in stereo. Use as high a bit rate as you need to hear the audio content appropriately;

Kindle Publishing Guidelines Amazon.com 65

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