Ebook Formatting Mistakes That Make Your Book Look Unprofessional
The ebook mistakes that make a book look amateur are almost all about fighting the format instead of working with it: using manual tabs and spaces instead of proper styles, hard-coding fonts and sizes that break when text reflows, a table of contents that doesn't click, low-resolution or full-width images that don't fit small screens, and never testing on an actual device. An ebook isn't a fixed page — it reflows — so anything you position by hand falls apart on someone else's screen. The fix is clean, style-based formatting and validating the file before you publish. Here are the mistakes and how to avoid each.
Print formatting errors get your file rejected. Ebook errors are sneakier — the file uploads fine, but it looks broken on the reader's device, and you never see it. Because an ebook reflows to fit any screen, anything you force by hand comes apart. Here are the most common mistakes and how to fix them.
1. Manual spacing instead of styles
The single biggest tell of an amateur ebook: using tabs, multiple spaces, and blank lines to position text. On a reflowing screen these create random gaps, broken indents and stranded lines. Fix: use proper paragraph styles — first-line indents set in the style, not by tab; scene breaks as a centered element; chapter headings as heading styles. Let the EPUB handle spacing.
2. Hard-coded fonts and sizes
Forcing a specific font and point size fights the reader's device — and readers expect to change the font to suit their eyes. Hard-coded formatting can override that, or look wrong when it can't. Fix: let body text inherit the reader's settings; use styling sparingly and only where it's meaningful (like a chapter title).
3. A table of contents that doesn't click
A plain text list of chapters with page numbers is a print habit that's useless in an ebook — there are no fixed page numbers, and the entries don't jump anywhere. Fix: build a clickable/linked TOC where each entry navigates to that chapter, and make sure the ebook's built-in (“go to”) navigation works too.
4. Images that don't fit small screens
- Low resolution — an image that looked fine on your monitor turns blurry on a high-res phone. Use good-quality images.
- Full-width or oversized images that overflow a small screen or force awkward scrolling.
- Text baked into images — it can't be resized or read by screen readers; keep real text as text.
- Fix: size images sensibly, center them, and add alt text for accessibility.
5. Broken or missing metadata and cover
An ebook with no embedded cover, a wrong title in the file's metadata, or a missing author name looks unfinished in a library view. Fix: embed the front-cover image in the EPUB and set the title, author and language metadata correctly.
6. Never testing on a real device
The most avoidable mistake of all: publishing without ever opening the ebook on a phone or e-reader. What looks fine in your formatting software can break on an actual Kindle or Kobo. Fix: preview on at least one real device (and the KDP previewer), checking chapter breaks, the TOC, images and scene breaks.
7. Skipping EPUB validation
A file that hasn't been validated can contain errors that cause a rocky reading experience or get flagged by stores. Fix: run the EPUB through validation (EPUBCheck) before uploading, so it meets the technical standard every major store expects.
The clean-ebook checklist
- Styles, not manual spacing — no tabs, no stacked blank lines.
- Reflowable body text that respects the reader's font settings.
- A clickable, working table of contents.
- Sensible, good-quality images with alt text; no text baked into images.
- Embedded cover and correct metadata.
- Previewed on a real device and validated before publishing.