I haven't yet used amazon since I was using CreateSpace however I'm hoping it is all the same.
I always use word files and I format them to the page size that I'm requesting and generally have been able to format them the way I find easiest to create a proper header and footer and chapter headings and such.
I've never had trouble with format errors; so once again I hope that their interface is similar to that used in CreateSpace.
I used the same word file to create the kindle edition with amazon and once again that didn't create any format errors. ( Of course to confirm that you have to go through the whole book for each the kindle edition and the paper edition.) I sometimes wonder when finding gross errors in kindle books if those authors check the edition after publishing.
You should probably use their suggested formatting and margins when you can. I admit that the last one I did went outside their suggestions because they are a bit over conservative and that tends to create more pages than necessary.
I would almost guess that you have either missed something in their suggested format guidelines or you have the wrong page size formatted for the end book size you chose. However I won't really know that until I do the next book through Amazon.
Good luck with it. And as mentioned an alternative is to do the pdf file and see how that works. You will still have to be formatted to the page size you chose or things won't work out quite right.
I've been trying to convert my manuscript (currently in Word) into the format used to make paper copies. Copying and pasting it into Amazon's template leads to odd gaps appearing at the bottom of a lot of pages. They don't seem to be related to the existing formatting.
Does anyone know why this happens, and what can be done to prevent them? Thanks!
Oh: also if you are pasting into the template then you might want to check the styles they have used because there is an option that can be checked that requires keeping a paragraph together--not allowing breaking it up from one page to the next--and I would almost bet that that is set for some reason in that template.
I never use the template, I just change my current document to match their formatting.
I use styles: however I keep them simple. There is one style for all paragraphs and then I alter the first paragraph for no intent as a new style. That way I can alter all the first paragraphs at the same time and the indented paragraph I can alter separately. There might be a few other styles for the front and back material; however I try to stick to the initial two when working on things--the fewer styles used the better.
Also it is best to try to limit font sizes to two or three. Front pages(aka titles) might be the largest font and the chapters the next and the paragraphs the smallest font. Limit font types or styles to one or two for the cleanest results.