I know a lot of people use different software, but today is about a program I use called Calibre. If you work on a Mac you may have better (paid options) but Calibre is free, tried and tested, virus-free and still regularly updated. Nope, I’m not sponsored, I just really like it. There are problems with it, but let me tell you what I like and don’t and how I use it.
There are glitches, embedded images can cause problems, there are lots of complicated options which I’ve never learned, or gave up trying. Those are the downsides (for me). The plus sides… it’s great, it’s fast and there are only three sections I actally need (Edit metadata, Convert and Save, all of which are pretty much self-explanatory and easy). What does it do? With or without a cover you can convert your manuscript into an e-book, either .epub or .mobi, complete with embedded title data etc, check in the inbuilt reader or on your Kindle, and spot those background formatting issues that wouldn’t otherwise show up until you think you’re doing your final upload to the KDP software and find you have to go back to the drawing board. The one thing you need to remember is, before you upload, save your Word document as a webpage (just pick ‘html’ from the ‘save as’ dropdown and use that version.
Not only can I see how it will look when I do my final upload to Amazon (or your other chosen platform) in terms of fonts and spacing, I can spot differences between .e-pub and .mobi, and have self-produced versions to send out to beta-readers or reviewers if they prefer those formats to .pdf. Also, in my own reviewing stages, half-written, I can create versions of my works in progress to read on my Kindle on the train or bus without lugging sheafs of A4 paper around.
It won’t solve all your problems, but it’s a free and easy tool, so why not have a play with it? It might make your life easier!
Stay safe,
Kit