New to self-publishing? Why your book needs a preflight check before you upload

Updated October 28, 2026 · For first-time self-publishers

You finished your book. Now Amazon KDP or IngramSpark wants a cover file and a pages file that follow their print rules exactly. Here's what that means, what your options cost, and how to get it right the first time.

What is preflight?

Before a printer prints your book, a machine checks your files. If one thing is off, the book is sent back to you. Preflight means checking your files yourself before you upload, so that doesn't happen.

The printer checks things most new authors have never heard of:

• Bleed: your cover art must run a little past the edge, because the printer trims the edge off.
• Colors: screens make color with light (RGB). Printers use ink (CMYK). Too much ink in one spot (over 240% at IngramSpark) gets rejected.
• Sharp pictures: pictures need about 300 DPI or they print blurry.
• Margins: text too close to the edge or the spine fold gets cut off or lost.
• Spine width: it depends on your page count and paper, and every printer has its own number.
• Fonts: every font must be built into the PDF.

Option 1: Hire freelancers

Most first-time authors hire a cover designer and a formatter. Reedsy's vetted professionals charge a median of about $930 for a cover and about $800 on average for interior formatting (Reedsy's figures). That's about $1,730 for both.

• Time: you work on their schedule. Finding someone, waiting for drafts and asking for changes usually takes days per round, and often weeks in total.
• Risk: a file that looks great can still be rejected. Not every freelancer checks bleed, the ink limit or the spine for your exact printer. If it's rejected, you go back, wait again and sometimes pay again.
• Changes later: a typo, a new page count or a new price on the back means another request.

A good designer is worth it if you want original, hand-made artwork. Just know what you're paying for.

Option 2: Do it yourself with free tools

Word and Canva cost nothing, but they don't check printer rules for you. A beginner can't safely fix the 240% ink limit or bleed by hand, and you usually find out only when the rejection email arrives.

Option 3: SparkPrep

SparkPrep was built by an author whose own book failed to print 18 times. It does the preflight for you:

• Design free: Cover Studio and Interior Studio are free, sized to your printer's rules.
• Checks everything: your whole cover and every page, against the exact rules of Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble Press or Lulu.
• Explains in plain English what's wrong and where.
• Fixes it for you in minutes, then gives you print-ready files.

The bottom line: price and time

Freelancer prices are Reedsy's own published figures (source). A great designer is worth it for original artwork. If you just need your files right for the printer, you don't need to pay designer prices.

Quick answers

What is preflight in self-publishing?

Preflight means checking your book's cover and interior files against the printer's rules (bleed, colors, picture sharpness, margins, spine width and fonts) before you upload, so KDP or IngramSpark doesn't reject them.

How much does it cost to hire someone to make my book print-ready?

Reedsy's figures put a professional cover at a median of about $930 and interior formatting at about $800 on average, roughly $1,730 for both.

Do I need preflight if I use KDP?

Yes. Amazon KDP checks every file for size, bleed, margins and picture quality, and sends back files that don't pass. Checking first saves you the back-and-forth.

More guides

• Should you hire a freelancer to format your book? Cost, speed and risk compared
• SparkPrep vs hiring on Reedsy: what it really costs and how long it takes
• SparkPrep vs Vellum vs Atticus: which one gets your book printed?
• All guides

SparkPrep is an independent tool and is not affiliated with Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble Press or Lulu.