How to convert a Word manuscript to EPUB (for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo)

Short answer: Import the .docx into PodoLay (dashboard Import › Word (docx), or File › Import Manuscript in the editor), check that your chapter titles use heading styles, then choose File › Save EPUB, fill in the title, author and ISBN, pick a cover and click Create EPUB. PodoLay builds a reflowable EPUB 3 in the browser — chapters, a reader table of contents, pop-up footnotes, linked endnotes and images — and the server checks it with epubcheck, the validator Apple Books requires. EPUB export is free on every plan, including Free. You get one EPUB file that Amazon KDP, Apple Books, Kobo and IngramSpark all accept.

Before you start: what the stores require

Summarized from each store's help pages (October 2026):

A reflowable EPUB has no fixed pages: text reflows to the reader's screen and text size, so page numbers, running headers and page layout don't carry over — only the order and formatting of the text.

What you need in PodoLay

• A free PodoLay account. EPUB export is free and unlimited on every plan and doesn't count toward the monthly PDF limit.
• The per-layout page limit still applies (Free 30 pages, Starter 120, Pro 600). The import window estimates your manuscript's page count and warns when it may exceed your plan. See pricing.
• A Word file saved as .docx. Old .doc files and password-protected files must be saved as .docx in Word first. Google Docs and Pages can export .docx too.

Step 1 — Import the Word manuscript

1. On the dashboard click Import and choose Word (docx). PodoLay reads the manuscript's page setup and creates a layout with a primary text frame; click Create.
2. The editor opens with the import window. Leave Formatting on Keep Word styles and formatting, and under Include keep Footnote, Endnotes, Images and Table on.
3. Optional: Convert straight quotes to typographer's quotes and Collapse consecutive empty paragraphs (useful when blank lines were used for spacing).
4. Click Import. The text flows through the primary text frame, adding pages, and a report lists what was imported, changed or left out. One ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z undoes the whole import.

Already have a layout? Use File › Import Manuscript (⌘D / Ctrl+D) or drag the .docx onto the canvas. See Text › Importing a Word manuscript.

What comes across: Word paragraph and character styles (with their based-on chain), bold, italics, headings, lists, footnotes, endnotes, tables, images (floating images become inline images in their paragraph), page and section breaks and keep options. Not imported: Word's own table of contents, headers and footers, comments, equations, charts and EMF/WMF images; tracked changes come in as accepted.

Step 2 — Check chapters and the table of contents

The EPUB's chapters and the reader's table of contents come from heading paragraph styles.

1. Make sure every chapter title uses a heading style. Without table of contents settings, PodoLay uses styles named like Heading 1 or Heading 2 — Word's built-in headings come in with those names.
2. To choose the heading styles yourself, right-click an empty text frame › Table of Contents..., add your chapter style as level 1 (and section styles as level 2…) and click Create Table of Contents. Those styles become h1–h6 headings and the EPUB navigation. The contents frame itself isn't exported — the reader's own table of contents replaces it.
3. A new chapter file starts at each level-1 heading, page break character or paragraph set to start on a page.

See Styles › Creating a table of contents.

Step 3 — Images, language and fonts

• Images must be in the text. Images, shapes and tables placed on the page outside the text flow have no place in an EPUB and are left out. Anchor them in the text (copy the object, put the caret in the text, paste). Imported Word images are already inline.
• Language: set Layout Setup › Language › Layout language to the book's language. It becomes the EPUB's language and controls hyphenation and quotes.
• Fonts: choose them freely. The EPUB uses them only if you turn on font embedding in Step 4.

Step 4 — Save the EPUB

1. Choose File › Save EPUB.
2. Book details: Title and Author start from the layout; add a Subtitle, Publisher, ISBN and Description if you have them. Without an ISBN, PodoLay creates a unique identifier and keeps it, so later exports are recognized as the same book.
3. Cover Image: pick an image from the layout's Media Gallery, click Upload, or — if you made the print cover in PodoLay as a Cover (KDP) or Cover (general) layout — click From Cover to capture just its front cover. The cover is stored as a JPEG up to 2,560 px on the long side.
4. Text to Export: Automatic — body (primary text frame) and endnotes is right for a manuscript import. Use Choose to add other stories.
5. Add a title page — title, author and publisher after the cover is on by default.
6. Embed fonts — only the characters used: turn it on to keep your typefaces. Each font is subset to the characters the book uses (tens of KB each), and a setting telling Apple Books to use the embedded fonts is included. Check that your own uploaded fonts' licenses allow ebook embedding; PodoLay's built-in fonts (Noto and other OFL fonts) do.
7. Click Create EPUB. The file downloads right away.

Step 5 — Read the check and test

1. The result window shows the number of chapters, images and notes, and the epubcheck result with any warnings. EPUB Check also counts objects left out because they weren't in the text and warns when there are no heading styles, no cover or no ISBN.
2. Test before you upload: open the file in Kindle Previewer for KDP, in Apple Books, and on a Kobo app or device.
3. Upload the EPUB to each store, plus the separate cover image the store asks for. For a PodoLay cover layout, Save ebook cover (JPEG) under Cover in the layout inspector saves the front cover as an RGB JPEG 2,560 px on the long side.

See Saving an EPUB.

What the EPUB contains

• Styles → CSS: paragraph and character styles become CSS classes; only formatting that differs from the style goes on the text. Sizes are relative to the body text (1em), so they follow the reader's text size. Black text color is left out so night mode stays readable.
• Lists: bulleted and numbered paragraphs become lists.
• Footnotes become pop-up notes at the end of the chapter; endnotes go into an endnotes chapter; the numbers link both ways.
• Index: if you built one, it becomes an index chapter linked to the marked places in the text instead of page numbers.
• Tables stay tables (header rows included); anchored shapes and groups become PNG images.
• Left out: page numbers, last-page and running-header variables, and the page layout itself.

Common problems

• No table of contents in the reader: chapter titles are typed as bold body text. Apply a heading style (or set the styles in Table of Contents...) and export again.
• A picture is missing: it sits on the page instead of in the text. Anchor it in the text.
• Fonts look different on the device: turn on Embed fonts. Some readers still let people choose their own font — that's expected.
• Store rejects large images: Apple Books allows up to 4 million pixels per image and IngramSpark 3.2 million. Crop or scale down very large pictures before exporting.
• "Many EPUB exports are running right now": wait a moment and click Create EPUB again. If the server check can't run, the downloaded file can still be used.
• Image descriptions: PodoLay doesn't yet write alternative text for images. Apple asks for accessibility descriptions of images, so add them with an EPUB editor if your book depends on pictures.

FAQ

How do I convert a Word document to EPUB for free?

Import the .docx into PodoLay and choose File › Save EPUB. EPUB export is free and unlimited on every plan, including Free; only the per-layout page limit applies (30 pages on Free).

Can I upload an EPUB to Amazon KDP?

Yes. KDP lists EPUB among its recommended eBook formats, next to Word and KPF. Check the file in Kindle Previewer before you upload, and upload the marketing cover separately (ideally 2,560 × 1,600 px).

Does my EPUB need to pass epubcheck?

For Apple Books, yes: every EPUB must pass the most recent version of EPUBCheck. Kobo blocks publishing on critical validation errors, and OverDrive accepts only files without errors. PodoLay runs epubcheck on the server after every export and shows the result.

Will my Word styles, footnotes and endnotes survive?

Yes. Word styles come in as PodoLay paragraph and character styles of the same name, footnotes become pop-up notes in the EPUB and endnotes an endnotes chapter, with links both ways.

Is the EPUB reflowable or fixed layout?

Reflowable EPUB 3: text reflows to the screen and the reader's text size. PodoLay doesn't export fixed-layout EPUBs.

Can I make the print book from the same file?

Yes. The same layout can be exported as a print PDF (Starter plan and up) — see How to make a KDP paperback interior PDF.

Related

• How to make a KDP paperback interior PDF in your browser
• PodoLay vs Adobe InDesign
• PodoLay pricing

Sources (checked October 2026)

• KDP Help — Supported eBook formats and Cover image guidelines for Kindle eBooks (checked October 30, 2026)
• Apple Books Partner Support — Prepare your book (checked October 30, 2026)
• Kobo Writing Life Help — File Types & Sizes and Validating and Testing Your eBooks (checked October 30, 2026)
• IngramSpark — File Creation Guide, EBook section (version dated 8.24.26; checked October 30, 2026)
• PodoLay user guide: Text, Styles, PDF export › Saving an EPUB

Amazon, Kindle and Kindle Direct Publishing are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. Apple Books is a trademark of Apple Inc. Kobo is a trademark of Rakuten Kobo Inc. PodoLay is not affiliated with any of them.

Updated October 30, 2026