Amazon October 2020 File Ingestion Requirement

[jhowell]

Starting on October 27 Amazon is introducing stricter requirements for published Kindle books to support Enhanced Typesetting.

Coming October 2020: File Ingestion Requirement

As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the digital reading experience for our customers, we wanted to share with you that starting October 27, 2020 we will be updating eBook file conversion requirements for large tables and include more checks to ensure eBook manuscripts are formatted correctly. This will allow more books to support Enhanced Typesetting—our advanced typographical and layout features that offer customers a better reading experience. Most books already publish with Enhanced Typesetting support and customers have come to expect this experience with every title.


- For titles already available on Kindle, no action is needed. Your eBooks will continue to be available to customers as they are today.

- For new or resubmitted titles, if you submit a file and it does not meet the new requirements, the actions to fix will now be available for you on your KDP Bookshelf after you upload your manuscript and cover. You may also use Kindle Previewer (KPR) version 3.39 or higher to review your files prior to publication. View the Conversion Log (found in the View Menu in KPR) to find steps to fix any errors related to enhanced typesetting.

To learn more about Enhanced Typesetting:
https://www.amazon.com/b/?node=11516960011

To download Kindle Previewer (KPR):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.ht...cId=1000765261

Refer to our Kindle Publishing Guidelines for how to create reflowable books:
https://kdp.amazon.com/help/topic/GU72M65VRFPH43L6

[Hitch]

Ohhhh, great.

You know, you can always tell when ideas like this are derived by people who don't actually do the damn work, don't know how some files simply won't work.

I mean...fine. Sacrifice accessibility, by using images of tables, rather than real tables? Sure. Freaking perfect.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....gru mble grumble grumble....

Hitch

[binaryhermit]

That seems like it'd be an issue with the Americans with Disabilities Act in the US and potentially any similar laws that exist in other jurisdictions.

[slowsmile]

This is a very interesting change. I read this change as saying "As long as you follow the Enhanced Typsetting standard you'll be fine. But if you deviate from that standard then your ebook will fail when you test it on KP3 and will also fail if you upload to Amazon". The one saving grace from his change is that you can now test your ebook in KP3 and if it fails then you will explicitly be told why it failed in the KP3 log. That's not so bad for techy folks who work with epubs and html. But how are the Word uploaders going to cope with these techy error descriptions?

I hate to say it, but there could also be another good reason why Amazon is now forcing indie authors to follow the Enhanced Typsetting standard. Whenever you create an ebook using Kindle Create you will get a KPF file that will ALWAYS pass the Enhanced Typsetting standard without fail whenever you test or upload. So is Amazon KDP, indirectly and sneakily, now trying to force indie authors to create ebooks using Kindle Create with their new ET policy? Just a thought. Personally, I would always prefer as many upload formatting options as possible.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by slowsmile

This is a very interesting change. I read this change as saying "As long as you follow the Enhanced Typsetting standard you'll be fine. But if you deviate from that standard then your ebook will fail when you test it on KP3 and will also fail if you upload to Amazon".

The description of the change is not clearly worded. I read it as having two parts. Preventing books that contain formatting that is disallowed under Enhanced Typesetting from being published and also setting new requirements for the formatting of large tables.

Originally Posted by slowsmile

The one saving grace from his change is that you can now test your ebook in KP3 and if it fails then you will explicitly be told why it failed in the KP3 log. That's not so bad for techy folks who work with epubs and html. But how are the Word uploaders going to cope with these techy error descriptions?

Yes, the messages are often quite technical. For example "Embedded Images are not supported in Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). Please use our suggested alternative found here ( https://www.amazon.com/en_US/guidance/layoutfeatures/svg_base64_url ) to resolve this issue."

Messages like that one also state "You currently have the option to upload this book without making the correction (more details here ( https://www.amazon.com/en_US/guidance/layoutfeatures/gracefull_period_warning )). Please note Enhanced Typesetting will not be enabled without making the correction." The "gracefull_period" (SP) is what will end later this month.

However there appear to be some loopholes. One of the most common error messages produced by the Kindle Previewer is "Kindle conversion has encountered an internal error while enabling Enhanced Typesetting on this book. We apologize for the inconvenience caused. Amazon is actively working to provide books that are free of internal errors. For now, we recommend to upload this book without Enhanced Typesetting." I assume that means the book will still be allowed to be published even though it will not support Enhanced Typesetting.

Another example is "Pseudo selector counter type is not supported in Enhanced Typesetting. Unfortunately, Kindle does not currently support this markup. Amazon is actively working on this error. For now, we recommend to upload this book without Enhanced Typesetting enabled." That message also appears to explicitly give the publisher a pass on that problem.

In the end I think that this change will provide lots of new business for professional e-book formatters like Hitch.

Originally Posted by slowsmile

I hate to say it, but there could also be another good reason why Amazon is now forcing indie authors to follow the Enhanced Typsetting standard. Whenever you create an ebook using Kindle Create you will get a KPF file that will ALWAYS pass the Enhanced Typsetting standard without fail whenever you test or upload. So is Amazon KDP, indirectly and sneakily, now trying to force indie authors to create ebooks using Kindle Create with their new ET policy? Just a thought. Personally, I would always prefer as many upload formatting options as possible.

I doubt that will be much of a factor in this situation. Any Enhanced Typesetting problem with a Word document that prevents it from being directly published will also prevent Kindle Create from accepting that document since KC performs the same checks during import.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by jhowell

The description of the change is not clearly worded. I read it as having two parts. Preventing books that contain formatting that is disallowed under Enhanced Typesetting from being published and also setting new requirements for the formatting of large tables.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Yes, the messages are often quite technical. For example "Embedded Images are not supported in Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). Please use our suggested alternative found here ( https://www.amazon.com/en_US/guidanc...svg_base64_url ) to resolve this issue."

Great. I envision that my time-donation factor at KDP is going to expand, and not in a fun way, dammit.

Messages like that one also state "You currently have the option to upload this book without making the correction (more details here ( https://www.amazon.com/en_US/guidanc...period_warning )). Please note Enhanced Typesetting will not be enabled without making the correction." The "gracefull_period" (SP) is what will end later this month.

Yes, in about two weeks, right?

However there appear to be some loopholes. One of the most common error messages produced by the Kindle Previewer is "Kindle conversion has encountered an internal error while enabling Enhanced Typesetting on this book. We apologize for the inconvenience caused. Amazon is actively working to provide books that are free of internal errors. For now, we recommend to upload this book without Enhanced Typesetting." I assume that means the book will still be allowed to be published even though it will not support Enhanced Typesetting.

Great. So you can eat bugs too. (sigh).

Another example is "Pseudo selector counter type is not supported in Enhanced Typesetting. Unfortunately, Kindle does not currently support this markup. Amazon is actively working on this error. For now, we recommend to upload this book without Enhanced Typesetting enabled." That message also appears to explicitly give the publisher a pass on that problem.

Are these the pseudo-selectors that KDP claims that it doesn't support, but which seem to work (other than in ye olden KF7, of course)?

In the end I think that this change will provide lots of new business for professional e-book formatters like Hitch.

Honestly, this is biz I probably don't really want. Not that I don't want customers, don't get me wrong; but the people who come to us, by and large (not all, of course), have made a conscious decision to seek assistance; they've researched it and they've made a conscious decision to spend what they spend with us, versus Fiverrs and the like. (Obviously, being US-owned and operated, we're not as...affordable...as many outsourcing solutions.) But I've found that when people come to me in desperation--their eBooks won't/don't work, some other formatter screwed it up, their print book won't ingest and so forth, our rates always seem to be shocking to them and I've ended up wasting my emails and all that. (sigh).

I doubt that will be much of a factor in this situation. Any Enhanced Typesetting problem with a Word document that prevents it from being directly published will also prevent Kindle Create from accepting that document since KC performs the same checks during import.

Yes, that's my take on it, too.

Hitch

[Quoth]

I'm not switching to Kindle Create.
I upload the SAME epub2 I use everywhere, so far all the KFX versions have supported the so called Enhanced Typesetting. AFIAK, a azw/KF8 or a mobi/KF7 doesn't support it and actually isn't it fictitious, simply different client side rendering of KFX? Seeing as the SAME epub2 file is used BY Amazon to create the azw/KF8, mobi/KF7 and the Enhanced Typesetting KFX?

Are they going to force major publishers to ALSO use Kindle Create? I can't imagine it.

Or am I totally misunderstanding something?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I'm not switching to Kindle Create.

AMEN BROTHER.

I upload the SAME epub2 I use everywhere, so far all the KFX versions have supported the so called Enhanced Typesetting. AFIAK, a azw/KF8 or a mobi/KF7 doesn't support it and actually isn't it fictitious, simply different client side rendering of KFX? Seeing as the SAME epub2 file is used BY Amazon to create the azw/KF8, mobi/KF7 and the Enhanced Typesetting KFX?

It's a type of prestidigitation, IMHO.

Are they going to force major publishers to ALSO use Kindle Create? I can't imagine it.

Or am I totally misunderstanding something?

They're already telling people who upload MOBIs, not to, to use ePUB instead. I'm dealing with customers calling/emailing me in a panic, when they upload the (optimized with mqs) MOBIs that we give them.

It's a right pain in the ass. And if they try to Apple us, I'm really going to lose my s**t.

Hitch

[slowsmile]

@jphowell...

Another example is "Pseudo selector counter type is not supported in Enhanced Typesetting. Unfortunately, Kindle does not currently support this markup. Amazon is actively working on this error. For now, we recommend to upload this book without Enhanced Typesetting enabled." That message also appears to explicitly give the publisher a pass on that problem.

Yes, that sort of error is bound to create confusion for Word doc uploaders for sure. And yup, I reckon professional formatters and Hitch are going to get more business because of it.

I doubt that will be much of a factor in this situation. Any Enhanced Typesetting problem with a Word document that prevents it from being directly published will also prevent Kindle Create from accepting that document since KC performs the same checks during import.
Today 12:25 PM

Sorry, I don't agree with you here. When you ask why Enhanced Typesetting has been introduced and so fiercely pushed for Amazon ebooks then the answer has to be "To create higher quality ebook features and internals." As you say, this also applies to all upload formats -- including Word docs, epubs and KFX. But the easiest way for any indie author(without any epub or html knowledge) to achieve ET is just to create an ebook using either Word on it's own or Word/KC(which allows more useful options for better interior styling). I would have to also say that Kindle's proprietary fixed format(as KFX) is, frankly, godawful and still poorly supported by Amazon developers. With way too many painful downsides to ever be deemed as a useful format. Perhaps that's also deliberate Amazon policy to force authors to use the reflowable format instead. That's not such a bad policy I suppose but who really knows?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by slowsmile

When you ask why Enhanced Typesetting has been introduced and so fiercely pushed for Amazon ebooks then the answer has to be "To create higher quality ebook features and internals."

No, it's to push the KFX which has DRM even when the publisher has asked for DRM free.
And Amazon told me that epub2 was the best format to upload. The Docx isn't as good. All our epub2 ebooks have the so called Enhanced Typesetting, if you download a KFX version, which is just client side rendering that could be added to azw/FK8 rendering on any Kindle that supports KFX.

It's quite a subtle rendering difference to KF8/Azw and nothing to do with internals, the same things they don't like for KFX/Enhanced Typesetting are bad without it.

This too is fantasy:

With the latest release of Kindle Create, you can now upload your Kindle Create file to KDP as both an eBook and paperback of any trim size, creating both digital and print versions of your book simultaneously!

Routine but challenging paperback tasks like margins, page numbers, left/right side page layouts, widow/orphan treatment, and table of contents creation are also handled automatically.

Part of a recent email from Amazon.

Depending on font size and judgement/experience and print quality a paper edition of a book may want different fonts to an ebook.
Also you may want to swap some spaces for half spaces. Perhaps between digits and units or at en dashs, though some style guides don't space en dashes used for asides.

Likely you also want to change various spacings of different paragraph styles.You may also want different front and rear matter.
A paper book also needs a different cover design.
Images will be higher resolution and an absolute size for paper, but a percent of screen width for ebooks.
Tables may be done differently.
You can use real small caps, if you think you must (not assured on ebooks).
You have true WYSIWYG of a PDF proof and absolute fixed layout on paper. Not on real ebooks.

It seems like a bonkers idea to me, but then I what do I know?

(P.S. Doing DTP for paper since 1986 and electronic documents since 1979, multimedia since 1994 and real ebooks before the Kindle existed. I'd admit sometimes I'm inept and clueless).

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Yes, in about two weeks, right?

Yes, it will be interesting to see how many self-publishers are affected by this change.

Originally Posted by Hitch

Are these the pseudo-selectors that KDP claims that it doesn't support, but which seem to work (other than in ye olden KF7, of course)?

Amazon's documentation for publishers is not anywhere near as clear or accurate as it should be.

Originally Posted by Quoth

Are they going to force major publishers to ALSO use Kindle Create? I can't imagine it.

This change is about blocking books that use HTML/CSS features that Amazon does not support from publication. That unfortunately includes some things that work in KF8, but are not allowed under Enhanced Typesetting (KFX).

I have not seen any indication that any publisher will be forced to use KC. For reflowable books KC is intended to aid novice publishers in getting simple books published. It largely fails at that mission in my opinion.

Originally Posted by slowsmile

Sorry, I don't agree with you here. When you ask why Enhanced Typesetting has been introduced and so fiercely pushed for Amazon ebooks then the answer has to be "To create higher quality ebook features and internals."

I see the purpose of KFX to be mainly about giving Amazon full control over the Kindle ecosystem and reading experience. I believe that they were unhappy with how the relative openness of KF8 worked out, with its renderer based on Webkit.

The fact that Amazon has aggressively locked down KFX DRM while at the same time allowing the long-broken DRM of MOBI/KF8 to continue unchanged makes me suspect that their long-term goal is to move to KFX only, at least for newly published books. This month's change is a step in that direction.

Their desire to avoid obsoleting older Kindle devices is currently holding them back, but as those slowly go out of service Amazon may be able to justify it, especially if they offer a generous trade-in allowance.

[binaryhermit]

How far back does KFX support go on Kindles and/or (Kindle) Fire Tablets?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by binaryhermit

How far back does KFX support go on Kindles and/or (Kindle) Fire Tablets?

Post fw 5.6ish on e-ink kindles.

[JSWolf]

Is there anything in the current version of KFX that can display on current firmware but not on older firmware that supports KFX (but will never be updated)?

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by binaryhermit

How far back does KFX support go on Kindles and/or (Kindle) Fire Tablets?

The oldest Kindles that support KFX are the PW2 (6th gen) released in 2013 and Basic Kindle (7th gen) released in 2014. Both can run Kindle firmware version 5.12.2. All newer models can run the latest Kindle firmware.

I don't know about Fire tablets.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Is there anything in the current version of KFX that can display on current firmware but not on older firmware that supports KFX (but will never be updated)?

Firmware 5.12.2 was released about a year ago (September 2019). Not much has changed in the KFX renderer since then. Possibly support for some features used in Japanese language books.