Why KDP rejects a puzzle book, and how to fix it

In short

two checks

Print Previewer when you upload, then a person after you submit

interior

page size, margins, embedded fonts, 7 pt text, 0.75 pt lines, at most 4 blank pages in a row (10 at the end)

cover

one page at the full size with bleed, text inside the safe zone, spine text only from 79 pages

details

title, author and the rest exactly the same on the files as in your book details

content

no puzzles copied from the web, nothing repeated across your books

review

up to 3 business days; back in Draft means KDP found something and sent you an email

1 of 6

How KDP checks a book

Twice. Print Previewer checks the files when you upload them and shows the errors before you can submit, and a person checks them again after you submit:

“After you submit your book, we manually check your interior and cover files. If we find any issues, you’ll receive an email with direct links to the specific errors in Print Previewer and instructions on how to fix them.”

KDP help · Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues

Print Previewer also tries to fix some problems itself, by scaling or reflowing text to fit the margins. A puzzle page should not be rescaled: a grid shrunk to fit can end up with type under 7 pt and lines under 0.75 pt, the two limits below. Fix the file instead.

2 of 6

The interior file

page size

Every page the trim size, or with bleed 0.125 in wider and 0.25 in taller. A 6 × 9 in book with bleed has pages of 6.125 × 9.25 in.

margins

At least 0.25 in at the top, bottom and outside edge (0.375 in with bleed) and an inside margin that grows with the page count: 0.375 in up to 150 pages, 0.5 in to 300, 0.625 in to 500, 0.75 in to 700, 0.875 in above. A large print grid stretched toward the page edge breaks this easily.

fonts

Every font embedded in the PDF, the font of the grid digits too.

small text

7 pt or larger, and not cut off, covered or lost in the background. In a puzzle book look at the small print: cage totals, clue numbers and the answer key.

thin lines

0.75 pt or heavier, the thin lines inside a grid included.

blank pages

No more than 4 in a row at the start or in the middle, 10 at the end.

page numbers

In order, with even numbers on left pages.

template text

No placeholder left from a bought interior, such as “Book title” or “Insert text here”.

images

300 DPI or more is KDP’s recommendation, and layers and transparency flattened.

KDP’s wording for the three that catch puzzle books most easily:

“We do not allow text to bleed off the page, so all text should appear within the margins.”

KDP help · Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues

“If your book contains lines (i.e., a chart, table or graphic element), give the lines a minimum thickness/weight of 0.75 point or 0.01″ (0.3 mm).”

KDP help · Paperback Submission Guidelines

“To protect the reader experience, we allow no more than 4 consecutive blank pages at the beginning or middle of a manuscript file, and/or 10 consecutive blank pages at the end.”

KDP help · Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues

3 of 6

The cover file

size

Back, spine and front on one PDF page at the full size with 0.125 in of bleed on every outside edge, with no white border or crop marks. The spine width comes from the page count, so a cover made for another page count is the wrong size.

one page

Not a front and a back on two pages.

safe zone

All text inside it, at least 0.125 in inside the trim.

spine text

None on a book of fewer than 79 pages. KDP’s cover page also says “more than 79”, so 80 pages meets both readings.

barcode

KDP places one on the back cover if yours has none, so keep the lower right corner of the back clear.

“Your cover file should be a PDF sized with bleed and no surrounding white space or crop marks.”

KDP help · Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues

The cover size pages give the full size for every trim and page count and draw a guide with the spine and the safe zone as a PDF.

4 of 6

The book details

“Make sure the information in your interior and cover files exactly matches the book details (e.g., title, author name, ISBN, Imprint, language) you entered during title setup.”

KDP help · Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues

Exactly means exactly: KDP’s own example of a mismatch is “John T. Smith” in the book details and “J.T. Smith” on the title page. Check the title page, the copyright page, any running heads, the front cover and the spine. The title has to be on the cover, on the front or the spine.

The title field itself has rules of its own. KDP’s metadata guidelines bar, among other things, repeated generic words such as “notebook”, “journal”, “gifts” or “books”, an unauthorized reference to a trademarked term, sales rank claims such as “bestselling” and promotions such as “free”. Some puzzle names are trademarks; the generic name is the safe one.

“Covers that may be misleading because they closely resemble another book’s layout, color scheme, fonts and/or images aren’t allowed.”

KDP help · Metadata Guidelines for Books

5 of 6

The puzzles themselves

KDP’s content guidelines turn away content copied from the web, and its list of content that disappoints customers covers books that repeat each other:

“We will not accept content under copyright that is freely available on the web unless it’s provided by the owner of the copyright.”

KDP help · Content Guidelines

• “Content that is not significantly different from content in another book available in the Kindle Store”
• “Content that is excessively reused, recycled, or repeated within or across books”

For a puzzle book that means puzzles of your own, made for this book: not grids from a free site, not the same grids again in volume two, not the same puzzle twice in one book. KDP also asks whether a book holds AI-generated content, which it defines as “text, images, or translations created by an AI-based tool”; read the definition and answer for your own book.

And skip the Kindle eBook. KDP’s guide to Kindle content names “Puzzle books” first among the books not suited to Kindle, which “may be rejected upon submission or removed from sale”.

6 of 6

After a rejection

“If your book was In Review and is back in Draft, it means we found some things that need to be updated. Check your email for more details from our team.”

KDP help · Book Status

Fix the problem in the program that made the file, export a new PDF and upload it again; KDP’s help says to correct the original file, not the PDF. Then resubmit. The review starts over, takes up to 3 business days and cannot be sped up, and you cannot change the book while it is in review.

Check a PDF before KDP does

vøiddo’s free file check reads an interior PDF, and its cover if you add it (up to 10 MB together, no key needed), against KDP’s published paperback specs and names the pages that fail: page size, page count, embedded fonts, text and drawings inside the margins and gutter, 7 pt text, 0.75 pt lines, runs of blank pages, image resolution, transparency, cover size, spine text and the barcode corner. It cannot judge content or your book details; those are yours to compare.

Every puzzle book vøiddo makes passes the same check before you can download it, with a signed report. If KDP still rejects the files within 30 days, the book’s credits come back.