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Proofreading & Formatting

The Part Readers Never Notice — Until It Goes Wrong.

Nobody has ever finished a book and praised the margins. But a cramped gutter, a widowed heading or an eBook that renders as one endless block will end a reading session early and earn a two-star review. We typeset your interior to British trade standards and hand-build your eBook files so neither ever happens.

Get a Formatting Quote See Plans & Pricing
Hand-coded EPUB, not auto-converted KDP and IngramSpark ready Validated on real devices Complex layouts welcome
1–2 wks
Typical Turnaround
6+
Devices Tested On
3
Formats Delivered
0
Rejected Files, Ever
Typeset book pages, a brass rule and proofing tools in a London production studio Typeset, not just formatted

The Service

Typesetting Is Not Choosing a Font.

The difference between a self-published book and a trade-published one is usually visible in ten seconds, and it is almost never the cover. It is the interior: the measure, the leading, the way chapters open, whether the last line of a paragraph is stranded alone at the top of a page.

We typeset in professional page-layout software rather than exporting from a word processor, which is what makes proper control possible. Running heads that change with the chapter. Drop caps that sit on the baseline. Hyphenation and justification settings tuned so the text block has an even colour rather than rivers of white running down it. Widows and orphans hunted page by page.

eBooks get the opposite treatment and it matters just as much. A reflowable EPUB is hand-coded with semantic structure so it adapts properly to any screen size, font choice and accessibility setting a reader throws at it — then validated on real devices, not just in a preview window.

  • Professional page-layout typesetting
  • Widow and orphan control
  • Running heads and folios
  • Hand-coded reflowable EPUB
  • Full front and back matter
  • Print-ready PDF to printer spec

What We Produce

Six Deliverables That Make a Book Look Published.

Take the full set, or just the piece you are missing. Files are supplied to whichever printer or retailer you are using.

01

Professional Proofreading

Before anything is set

A meticulous final read for spelling, punctuation, grammar and consistency — then a second pass on the typeset proofs, where a completely different category of error lives.

  • Manuscript proofread pre-typesetting
  • Second pass on final page proofs
  • UK or US English, applied consistently
02

Paperback Typesetting

Print-ready interior

Your interior set in your chosen trim size with correct gutters, margins calculated for the binding, chapter openers, part titles and a text block that reads comfortably for three hundred pages.

  • Any standard or custom trim size
  • Binding-aware gutter allowance
  • Print-ready PDF with bleed
03

Hardback Typesetting

Case-bound editions

A separate setting for hardback, because the trim size, margins and paper stock differ. Includes endpaper specification, half-title and the front matter conventions readers expect from a case-bound book.

  • Hardback-specific margins and trim
  • Endpapers and half-title pages
  • Dust jacket flap copy layout
04

eBook Conversion

EPUB and Kindle

Hand-coded reflowable EPUB3 with semantic markup, a working navigable table of contents, and a Kindle-compatible file — then tested on actual e-readers, tablets and phones.

  • Validated EPUB3, error-free
  • Kindle, Apple, Kobo compatible
  • Accessibility metadata included
05

Complex & Illustrated Layouts

The awkward books

Cookbooks, textbooks, poetry, photo books, workbooks and anything with tables, footnotes, equations or images that must sit exactly where you put them. Fixed-layout eBooks where reflow would ruin it.

  • Tables, footnotes and equations
  • Poetry with preserved line breaks
  • Fixed-layout eBook where required
06

Front & Back Matter

The pages people forget

Title page, copyright page with correct British imprint wording, dedication, contents, acknowledgements, author biography, index and also-by pages — built properly rather than improvised.

  • Legally correct copyright page
  • Generated, linked contents
  • Index typesetting on request

What You Receive

Files That Upload First Time.

Nothing wastes a launch week like a print file bounced by the printer’s preflight or an EPUB rejected by Kindle Direct Publishing. Every file we deliver is preflighted and validated against the destination’s own specification before it reaches you, and if a retailer ever does reject one, we fix it immediately at no charge.

Send My Manuscript
  • Print-ready PDF, paperback
  • Print-ready PDF, hardback
  • Validated EPUB3 file
  • Kindle-compatible file
  • Editable source file on request
  • Free fixes if a retailer rejects

How It Works

From Word Document to Finished Pages.

One to two weeks for most books, with a full proof to review before anything is finalised.

Manuscript & Specification

You send the final manuscript and we agree the specification: trim size, paper stock, typeface, and which formats you need. We proofread before a single page is set.

Sample Pages

We typeset a chapter opener and a spread of body text for your approval, so the look of the book is agreed before we commit three hundred pages to it.

Full Typeset & Proof

The whole book is set, then read again on the proofs for layout errors. You receive a complete PDF proof to review and mark up at your own pace.

Corrections & Delivery

Your corrections are applied, files are preflighted and validated against each destination’s spec, and the complete package is delivered ready to upload.

Finished hardback and paperback editions of a book on a British desk Checked on real devices

Quality Control

We Read It on the Devices Your Readers Actually Own.

An EPUB that looks perfect in a desktop preview can fall apart on a six-year-old Kindle with the font size cranked up and a serif typeface forced on. That is not a rare edge case — that is a great many readers.

So every eBook we build is opened and read on real hardware: Kindle e-ink and the Kindle app, Apple Books on iPhone and iPad, Kobo, and Google Play Books on Android. We check it at the smallest and largest font settings, in dark mode, and with the publisher font override switched off, because that is where badly built files break.

Print gets the same scrutiny. Files are preflighted for resolution, colour space, embedded fonts and bleed, and we check the gutter against your actual page count — a 480-page paperback needs noticeably more inner margin than a 180-page one, and getting that wrong means text disappearing into the spine.

  • Kindle e-ink and app tested
  • Apple Books, iPhone and iPad
  • Kobo and Google Play Books
  • Smallest and largest font sizes
  • Dark mode and font override
  • Print preflight and gutter check

The Kingswell Difference

Why UK Authors Choose Kingswell.

We are a British publishing services company, not a rights-taking publisher. That single distinction shapes everything below.

You Keep Every Right and Every Royalty

Copyright stays registered in your name and retailer accounts are opened in your name. We take no commission and no revenue share — one hundred per cent of what your book earns is paid straight to you.

One Named Project Manager

No ticket queues and no being passed between departments. A single publishing consultant coordinates every specialist on your book and stays your point of contact from first call to launch day.

Genre-Matched Specialists

A thriller needs different instincts to a memoir, and a business book different rigour to a children’s picture book. Your project is staffed by people with a track record in your specific genre.

Honest Scoping, Fixed Quotes

We tell you what your book genuinely needs and what it does not. Every quote is agreed in writing before work begins, so there are no mid-project surprises and no upselling.

Confidential by Default

Your manuscript is only ever seen by the specialists working on it. NDAs come as standard and your identity, your story and your ideas are never shared or reused.

British Publishing Standards

Based in Fitzrovia, London. We work in UK English by default, price in pounds sterling, and typeset to the trade standards British readers and booksellers expect.

Author Reviews

Loved by Authors,
Trusted With Their Stories.

Every review below is a real, unedited review left by an author on our public Trustpilot profile — nothing written by us.

Trustpilot See Our Reviews on Trustpilot Read what authors say on our public Trustpilot profile Open Trustpilot

Even though the project had a tight deadline, the designer delivered a creative book cover on time.

H
Harrison Vida Book Cover Design · 17 July 2026

I had many concerns, but the consultation answered all of them and gave me confidence to move forward with publishing.

E
Eliza Caldwell Verified Publishing Consultation · 16 June 2026

Whenever I had questions about the marketing process, the support team responded promptly with the helpful explanations. and their professionalism reassured me because they clearly valued my goals as an author.

D
Dani Lucas Book Marketing · 22 June 2026

Their staff treated me with genuine care and respect.

I
Isabella Lopez Verified Published Author · 2 July 2026

The quality of their work met my expectations and I appreciate the effort they put into helping me bring my book to publication. I would recommend them to anyone lookin' for reliable publisher.

A
Alina Michelle Published Author · 13 July 2026

Common Questions

Formatting & Proofreading FAQs.

Formats, trim sizes, turnaround, corrections and what happens if a retailer rejects a file.

What is the difference between proofreading and copy editing?
Copy editing improves the text — grammar, consistency, style, clarity — and happens while the manuscript is still a Word document. Proofreading is the final quality gate: it catches remaining errors and, crucially, errors introduced by the typesetting itself, such as bad line breaks, dropped italics, misaligned headings and stray spacing. They are different jobs at different stages, and a book really needs both. If your manuscript has not been copy edited, our book editing service covers that.
Which trim size should I choose?
It depends on genre and where you want the book sold. UK fiction commonly uses B-format at 198 × 129mm, while 216 × 140mm suits non-fiction and memoir. Business and self-help often go larger. We recommend a size based on your genre, page count and printer, and we will tell you if your choice will make the book unusually thick, expensive to print or awkward on a shelf beside its competitors.
How long does formatting take?
One to two weeks for a standard prose book of any normal length, including your proof review time. Illustrated books, cookbooks, textbooks and anything with heavy tables or footnotes take longer — typically two to four weeks — because each page needs individual attention rather than flowing automatically.
Can I make changes after the book is typeset?
Yes, and one full round of corrections is included after you review the proof. Beyond that, small fixes are usually free and substantial rewrites are quoted, because changing a sentence in chapter two can reflow the next two hundred pages and shift the spine width. This is why we proofread thoroughly before typesetting rather than after.
Do you supply files for Amazon KDP and IngramSpark?
Yes, and their requirements genuinely differ — different bleed handling, different margin minimums, different preferred file structures. We build to whichever platforms you are using, including both simultaneously, which is the most common setup for authors who want Amazon reach plus bookshop and library orderability through Ingram.
What happens if a retailer rejects my file?
We fix it immediately at no cost to you. Files are preflighted and validated against each destination’s specification before delivery, so rejections are rare, but platforms do change their requirements without much notice. If that happens even months later, send us the rejection message and we will resupply corrected files.
Can you format poetry, cookbooks or books with lots of images?
Yes — these are the books that most need proper typesetting rather than a template. Poetry needs line breaks and stanza spacing preserved exactly, including in the eBook, which usually means specific coding rather than standard reflow. Cookbooks and illustrated titles often warrant a fixed-layout eBook so the design survives. We will advise which approach suits your book before quoting.
Do I get an editable file at the end?
On request, at no charge. Most authors only need the final PDFs and eBook files, but if you want the layout source file so another designer could pick it up later, it is yours. We also archive every project, so a reprint or a corrected edition in a few years does not mean starting from scratch.

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Ready When You Are

A Free 30-Minute Consultation, No Obligation.

Tell us where your book stands and what you want it to do. A senior publishing consultant will give you an honest read on what it needs, how long it will take and what it will cost — even if the answer is that you do not need us yet.

Book My Consultation See Plans & Pricing Toll free 0800 066 8048

Make the Inside As Good As the Cover.

Send us the manuscript and tell us which formats you need. We will quote a fixed price and a delivery date you can plan a launch around.

Get My Formatting Quote
Fixed price Proof before final Reply within 24h