In this edition of my guide to writing I’ll be concentrating on actually writing for Kindle. As an author that came to Kindle after years of trying to get published in the mainstream, I know how frustrating it is to find that your manuscripts do not work with KDP or Smashwords. Indeed, when I first sat down to upload a book to Amazon, I felt lost and never thought I’d be able to figure it out.

Turns out that it’s relatively simple. Microsoft Word is the problem, them and their mind boggling formatting. Best thing to do is Nuke your files. DO not take them to an Atom bomb testing site. Just edit- find tabs- and remove them all, then select and copy your entire manuscript and special paste it into a note document. Paste it as unformatted. Then select all, and copy and paste into a new word document. Select all again- go to format- style and select ‘normal’. And that should clear all that hidden formatting.

When you’ve come to grips with being a fully paid up member of the Kindle writing gang, then you can write all your books in Word, but do not use Tabs. Just set first line indent instead. From then on you can write without a worry. Anyway, it works for me. Drop me a line if you have any problems, or just can’t understand me. My girlfriend says it’s my London accent.

Thanks again for reading.

2 Replies

  1. Hi Mark:

    First of all, I read all your writing tips–very interesting and funny! I love to read and like to try different authors–mostly mystery–sometimes history.

    I was looking through Amazon’s kindle mystery book list and found your, “Last Alive”, novel. I ordered it and just finished it–I liked it a lot. It was a little bloody, however, that’s what kept me from putting it down. I have never been to England, but learned some British curse words and British phrases that I would have never known. So, for me, it was also a learning experience.

    I will definitely read your other works.

    Sincerely,
    Pat Kenney
    Rochester Hills, Michigan USA

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