Generating and Publishing

Proofing and Uploading to Stores

A few careful checks before you publish save you from fixing typos after readers have found them. This article lists what Fleuron can check for you, adds some general advice for checking your files outside Fleuron, and explains which file goes to which store.

#What Fleuron checks for you

Work through these in Fleuron before you generate your final files.

Look at every page in the preview

The preview shows your book as readers will see it, on real devices and as printed spreads.

1. Choose a device from Preview ▸ Device: Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Nook, a generic e-reader, or Print for your paperback.
2. Page through with Preview ▸ Next Page (⌘]) and Preview ▸ Previous Page (⌘[).
3. Check each kind of device you sell on. A phone and an e-reader show the same book quite differently.

For the paperback, the print preview shows two-page spreads, your page count and running heads. Look for chapters that start on the wrong side, short last lines at the top of a page, and pictures that look too small or too large. See Previewing Your Book.

Check your import

If your book came from Word or another file, choose File ▸ Check Import…. Check Your Import finds missed chapter breaks, very long or very short chapters, typed list numbers, blank lines between paragraphs, double spaces, straight quotes and more, with one-click fixes. See Importing Your Manuscript.

Run the Manuscript Health Check

Choose Edit ▸ Manuscript Health Check… to find overused words, repeated phrases, very long sentences and more. Click any item to jump to it in your text. See Manuscript Health Check.

Check spelling

Make sure Edit ▸ Spelling and Grammar ▸ Check Spelling While Typing is ticked. Words your Mac doesn't know are underlined in the editor.

Listen to your book

Your ears catch mistakes your eyes skip over, like a missing word or the same word twice. Choose Edit ▸ Speech ▸ Start Reading Aloud (⌥⌘R), or select a passage and right-click it to hear just that part. See Read Aloud.

Review tracked changes and comments

Choose Edit ▸ Track Changes ▸ Changes & Comments… and accept or reject every change. If any are left when you generate, Fleuron asks first, because generated books read as if every change were accepted. Comments never appear in your book. See Track Changes and Comments.

Check your pictures and cover

• A picture that is too small to print or display sharply at its size is marked ⚠ Low resolution in the editor, with the size it needs. See Pictures.
• In Title Info ▸ Ebook Cover, Fleuron shows your cover's size in pixels and says whether it meets every store's size. It asks for a cover at least 2560 pixels high.

Check a large print edition

If you're making a large print edition, choose File ▸ Large Print Check…. See Creating a Large Print Edition.

Tip: Fleuron has no AI and doesn't rewrite anything for you. Every fix is your choice, one at a time or all at once.

#Checking your files outside Fleuron

Fleuron's preview is a close match, but the stores and reading apps have the final say. Before you publish, check the files themselves:

• Kindle: open the Kindle ebook in Kindle Previewer, Amazon's free app for authors. It shows how your book looks on Kindle devices and apps.
• Apple Books: on a Mac, open the Apple Books ebook in the Books app and page through it.
• Other stores: open the EPUB in any reading app you have, or use the preview the store offers after you upload.
• Print: always order a printed proof copy before you publish a paperback. Paper shows things a screen hides: margins that feel tight, text that is too small or large, colours that print darker than expected.

If something looks wrong, fix it in Fleuron, generate again and check the new file.

Note: If a store's upload page reports a problem with your file, note the exact message. Most problems come from the book itself, such as a very large picture, and can be fixed in Fleuron.

#Which file goes where

When you generate, Fleuron makes one file per store (see Generating Books). Upload each store's own file:

Fleuron makes the inside of your paperback. The paperback's full wrap-around cover (back, spine and front) comes from your designer or your own design software. File ▸ Print Cover Template… gives you the exact size to work to. See Print Cover Template.

Each store's dashboard changes from time to time, so the steps below are kept general. Follow the store's own help pages for the details.

#Uploading to Amazon KDP

1. In KDP, create a new Kindle eBook (or paperback).
2. Fill in the book's details. Fleuron's Publishing tab in Title Info lists everything KDP asks for, in the order KDP asks, with a Copy button for each answer. See Store Listing and Royalty Calculator.
3. For the ebook, upload the Kindle EPUB as your manuscript and the Kindle cover JPEG as your cover.
4. For the paperback, upload the print PDF as your manuscript and your cover PDF as the cover, choosing the same trim size you used in Fleuron.
5. Use KDP's own previewer to check the book before you publish.

#Uploading to Apple Books

Sign in to Apple's publishing tools for Apple Books, add a new book, and upload the Apple Books EPUB and its cover. Apple checks the file after you upload and tells you if anything needs fixing.

#Uploading to Kobo

In Kobo Writing Life, add a new ebook and upload the Kobo file Fleuron made. It's a kepub, the kind of EPUB Kobo's readers use for their reading features. If the upload page won't take it, upload the Generic EPUB instead.

#Uploading to Google Play Books

In the Google Play Books Partner Center, add your book and upload the Google Play EPUB and its cover.

#Uploading to Barnes & Noble

In Barnes & Noble Press, create a new ebook and upload the Nook EPUB and its cover. If you also sell a paperback there, upload the print PDF and your cover PDF.

#Uploading to IngramSpark

IngramSpark prints and distributes paperbacks to bookshops and libraries, and also distributes ebooks.

• For a paperback, upload the print PDF and your cover PDF. Choose the same trim size you used in Fleuron.
• For an ebook, upload the Generic EPUB.

IngramSpark checks your files after you upload. If its checker reports a problem, read its message carefully and check IngramSpark's current file requirements.

Tip: Selling through a distributor that reaches many stores at once? Use the Generic EPUB. If the distributor asks for an older format, set Generic ebook format to EPUB 2 in Book Settings under Generation.

#After you publish

• Mark the book Published so your Library and Release Plan stay up to date. See Book Status and Release Plan.
• Add the book's store IDs in Title Info, under In the stores, so your other books' Also By pages link to it. See Author Profiles and Back Matter.
• Found a typo after publishing? Fix it in Fleuron, generate again, and upload the new file to each store.