How to Create an EPUB from Word: Publishing Your Own Ebook

From Word Document to Published Ebook

Microsoft Word is where most books begin. Whether you are a novelist finishing your manuscript, a business author publishing a professional guide, or a freelancer creating an ebook lead magnet, Word is the starting point for the vast majority of published ebooks worldwide.

The challenge is getting from a Word document to a properly structured EPUB file that looks good on every ebook reader. Word is a word processor, designed for printed pages. EPUB is a web-based format, designed for screens of all sizes. Bridging that gap requires understanding how both formats work and where they diverge.

This guide walks you through the entire process, from preparing your Word document for clean conversion to validating and distributing your finished EPUB.

Step 1: Prepare Your Word Document

The single most important factor in EPUB quality is how well your Word document is structured before conversion. A document that relies on manual formatting (bold text for headings, manual page breaks, tab characters for indentation) will produce a poorly formatted ebook. A document that uses Word's built-in styles will convert cleanly.

Use Heading Styles Consistently

Headings define the structure of your ebook. They determine chapter breaks, table of contents entries, and navigation landmarks. You must use Word's built-in heading styles:

• Heading 1 — Book title or part titles
• Heading 2 — Chapter titles
• Heading 3 — Section headings within chapters
• Heading 4 — Subsection headings

Never create "fake headings" by making text bold and large. EPUB readers use the heading hierarchy for navigation. Fake headings are invisible to the navigation system and will not appear in the table of contents.

Apply Body Text Styles

Use the Normal style for body paragraphs. Do not override Normal with manual font or size changes. Instead, modify the Normal style itself if you want different formatting during writing.

For special paragraph types, use or create named styles:

• Block Quote — For extended quotations
• List Paragraph — For bulleted and numbered lists
• Code or Code Block — For code listings (use a monospaced font)
• Caption — For image and table captions

Clean Up Manual Formatting

Before conversion, search for and remove these common issues:

Remove Headers, Footers, and Page Numbers

Word headers, footers, and page numbers do not convert to EPUB because ebooks do not have fixed pages. The reader device controls pagination dynamically. Remove all headers and footers before conversion to avoid garbled text appearing at the beginning of chapters.

Step 2: Optimize Images for Ebooks

Images are the most common source of ebook problems. Too large and your ebook exceeds platform upload limits or loads slowly. Too small and images look pixelated. Wrong format and some readers cannot display them.

Image Specifications

Image Optimization Workflow

1. Export images from your source at the required dimensions
2. Convert CMYK images to sRGB (ebook readers do not support CMYK)
3. Resize to a maximum of 1600 px width for full-page images
4. Compress using our image compressor to reduce file size without visible quality loss
5. Save as JPEG for photographs, PNG for diagrams, logos, and images requiring transparency

Inserting Images in Word

For clean EPUB conversion:

• Insert images using Insert > Pictures (not copy-paste from other applications)
• Set wrapping to In Line with Text (not floating, square, or tight)
• Add alternative text: right-click the image > Edit Alt Text and write a meaningful description
• Add captions using Insert > Caption (not manually typed text below the image)

Step 3: Set Up the Cover Image

Every ebook needs a cover image. This is both a marketing asset (the thumbnail readers see in store listings) and a technical requirement (platforms reject uploads without covers).

Cover Image Requirements

Cover Image Best Practices

• Use 2560 x 1600 pixels as your standard size (meets all platform requirements)
• Keep the title readable at thumbnail size (100 x 160 px)
• Use high-contrast text over backgrounds
• Test readability at small sizes (store search results display covers at roughly thumbnail size)
• Save as JPEG at 90% quality for photos, PNG for illustrated covers

Do not embed the cover image inside your Word document as a regular image. Most conversion tools have a separate cover image option that places the cover in the correct location within the EPUB package.

Step 4: Convert to EPUB

With your Word document properly prepared, it is time to convert. There are several reliable approaches.

Method 1: Online Conversion with ConvertIntoMP4

The fastest method for most users:

1. Go to our document converter or EPUB converter
2. Upload your .docx file
3. Select EPUB as the output format
4. Click Convert
5. Download your EPUB file

Our converter preserves heading structure, images, links, and table of contents from properly formatted Word documents.

Method 2: Calibre (Desktop Application)

Calibre is a free, open-source ebook management application with powerful conversion capabilities:

1. Download and install Calibre from calibre-ebook.com
2. Click Add Books and select your DOCX file
3. Click Convert Books (or press C)
4. Set Output Format to EPUB
5. Configure options:
   • Look & Feel: Set base font size, disable font size rescaling if your document is well-styled
   • EPUB Output: Select EPUB version (EPUB 3 recommended)
   • Table of Contents: Choose "Use heading structure" or customize detection rules
   • Search & Replace: Remove unwanted patterns (headers, page numbers that leaked through)
6. Click OK to convert

Method 3: Pandoc (Command Line)

For developers and technical users, Pandoc provides precise control:

pandoc input.docx -o output.epub \
  --epub-cover-image=cover.jpg \
  --toc \
  --toc-depth=2 \
  --epub-chapter-level=2 \
  --metadata title="My Book Title" \
  --metadata author="Author Name" \
  --metadata lang="en" \
  --css=ebook-styles.css

Key flags:

• --epub-cover-image: Sets the cover (does not embed it as a regular page)
• --toc: Generates a table of contents
• --epub-chapter-level=2: Splits the EPUB into separate files at Heading 2 level (improving reader performance)
• --css: Applies custom CSS for typography and layout

Method 4: Sigil (EPUB Editor)

Sigil is a dedicated EPUB editor that can import Word documents (via a plugin) and gives you direct access to the EPUB's internal HTML, CSS, and metadata:

1. Install the Sigil application and the DOCX import plugin
2. Open your DOCX file in Sigil
3. Edit the HTML content, CSS styles, and metadata directly
4. Add or modify the table of contents
5. Save as EPUB

Sigil is the best option when you need fine-grained control over the EPUB output, particularly for fixing conversion issues that other tools cannot handle.

Step 5: Add Metadata

Ebook metadata determines how your book appears in store listings, library catalogs, and reader apps. Complete metadata improves discoverability and professionalism.

Essential Metadata Fields

Adding Metadata in Calibre

1. Select your book in Calibre's library
2. Click Edit Metadata (or press E)
3. Fill in all fields, especially Title, Author, Tags, and Description
4. Click Download metadata to pull information from online databases (if your book has an ISBN)
5. Click OK to save

Adding Metadata in Pandoc

Create a YAML metadata file (metadata.yaml):

---
title: "The Developer's Guide to APIs"
author: "Jane Smith"
date: "2026-02-19"
lang: "en"
publisher: "Tech Press LLC"
rights: "Copyright 2026 Jane Smith. All rights reserved."
description: |
  A comprehensive guide to designing, building, and consuming
  REST and GraphQL APIs. Covers authentication, rate limiting,
  versioning, and best practices for production deployments.
---

Then reference it in your conversion command:

pandoc metadata.yaml input.docx -o output.epub \
  --epub-cover-image=cover.jpg \
  --toc

Step 6: Generate the Table of Contents

A well-structured table of contents is essential for ebook navigation. There are two types of TOC in an EPUB:

HTML TOC (In-Book)

This is a visible page within the ebook that readers can navigate to. It should list all chapters and major sections with clickable links. Most conversion tools generate this automatically from your heading structure.

NCX/Navigation TOC

This is a machine-readable navigation file used by the reader device to populate its built-in navigation panel (the panel that appears when you press the "Go To" or "Table of Contents" button on a Kindle or e-reader). EPUB 3 uses a nav element in XHTML; older EPUB 2 uses a separate NCX file.

Both TOC types should be generated automatically if your Word document uses proper heading styles. If they are not, your heading structure has problems that need to be fixed before conversion.

Step 7: Validate Your EPUB

Before submitting to any platform, validate your EPUB to catch errors that would cause rejection or rendering problems.

Using EPUBCheck

EPUBCheck is the official EPUB validation tool, maintained by the W3C:

# Install (requires Java)
# Download from github.com/w3c/epubcheck/releases

# Run validation
java -jar epubcheck.jar your-book.epub

EPUBCheck reports three severity levels:

• FATAL/ERROR: Must be fixed. Platforms will reject the file.
• WARNING: Should be fixed. May cause rendering issues on some devices.
• INFO: Informational. Usually safe to ignore.

Common Validation Errors

Testing on Real Devices

Validation catches technical errors but not visual problems. Always test your EPUB on actual reading devices or their official previewing tools:

• Kindle Previewer: Amazon's desktop tool renders your ebook exactly as it appears on Kindle devices
• Apple Books: Open the EPUB directly on a Mac to preview Apple Books rendering
• Calibre's built-in viewer: Quick preview with basic EPUB rendering
• Thorium Reader: Open-source EPUB 3 reader with excellent standards compliance

Test at multiple font sizes, in both light and dark mode, and on different screen sizes to catch layout issues.

Common Conversion Problems and Solutions

Problem: Garbled Characters or Missing Symbols

Cause: Character encoding mismatch. Your Word document may use special characters (curly quotes, em dashes, non-Latin characters) that are not properly encoded during conversion.

Fix: Ensure your Word document is saved as .docx (not .doc). The older .doc format uses a different encoding that is more error-prone. If characters are still garbled, open the EPUB in Sigil and set the content encoding to UTF-8.

Problem: Images Are Missing or Broken

Cause: Images were not embedded in the Word document (they were linked to external files) or they were inserted as floating objects instead of inline.

Fix: In Word, select each image and set wrapping to In Line with Text. If images are linked, right-click and choose Save as Picture, then reinsert them as embedded images.

Problem: Fonts Look Different on Every Reader

Cause: Custom fonts from your Word document were not embedded in the EPUB, so each reader substitutes its default font.

Fix: Embed fonts in the EPUB using Sigil or Calibre's font embedding option. Note that font licensing may restrict embedding. Use freely licensed fonts (Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts with web embedding rights) to avoid legal issues.

Problem: Table of Contents is Empty or Wrong

Cause: Heading styles were not used, or headings were applied inconsistently.

Fix: Go back to your Word document and apply proper heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) to all chapter titles and section headings. Then reconvert.

Problem: Large File Size

Cause: High-resolution images, embedded fonts, or unnecessary media.

Fix: Optimize images before conversion (see Step 2). Subset fonts to include only used characters. Remove any embedded audio, video, or unused images. Our guide on image compression without quality loss covers image optimization techniques.

Advanced Formatting with CSS

For authors who want precise control over ebook typography, custom CSS lets you style every element:

/* Base typography */
body {
  font-family: "Georgia", "Times New Roman", serif;
  line-height: 1.5;
  margin: 1em;
}

/* Chapter titles */
h1,
h2 {
  font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Arial", sans-serif;
  text-align: center;
  margin-top: 3em;
  margin-bottom: 1.5em;
  page-break-before: always;
}

/* First paragraph of chapter (no indent, drop cap) */
h2 + p {
  text-indent: 0;
}

h2 + p::first-letter {
  font-size: 3em;
  float: left;
  line-height: 1;
  padding-right: 0.1em;
}

/* Body paragraphs */
p {
  text-indent: 1.5em;
  margin: 0;
}

/* Block quotes */
blockquote {
  margin: 1em 2em;
  font-style: italic;
  border-left: 3px solid #ccc;
  padding-left: 1em;
}

/* Images */
img {
  max-width: 100%;
  height: auto;
}

Apply this CSS in Calibre's conversion settings (under Look & Feel > Styling), as a --css file in Pandoc, or by editing the EPUB's stylesheet directly in Sigil.

Distribution Checklist

Before uploading to publishing platforms, verify:

• EPUBCheck passes with zero errors
• Cover image meets platform size requirements (2560 x 1600 px recommended)
• All images have alt text for accessibility
• Table of contents navigates correctly
• Metadata is complete (title, author, language, description, ISBN if applicable)
• Font sizes and styles render correctly at different reader settings
• Links work (both internal cross-references and external URLs)
• No header/footer artifacts from the Word document
• File size is within platform limits
• Tested on Kindle Previewer and at least one EPUB reader

For a broader understanding of ebook format choices, see our best ebook format guide. If you need to convert your EPUB to PDF for a different distribution channel, our guide on converting EPUB to PDF covers that process. And for detailed format comparisons, our EPUB vs PDF analysis helps you decide which format to prioritize for your audience.