Publish Setup · Draft2Digital Topic 2 of 6
Uploading Your Ebook File to Draft2Digital
What to do
Upload your manuscript to Draft2Digital for the ebook edition. D2D accepts a plain Word document and converts and formats it into an ebook for you, so you do not need to manually create an ePub file yourself.
Why it matters
This is one of the more beginner-friendly parts of Draft2Digital compared to some other ebook routes: you don't need any special ebook-formatting software or technical ePub knowledge to get a working ebook file out of it. D2D's own conversion tool does that formatting step for you from an ordinary manuscript file.
Step-by-step
- Upload your manuscript in Word format (.doc or .docx), this is the most common upload and the format D2D specifically calls out as its most popular option. D2D also accepts RTF, ODT, and plain TXT files, so whatever word processor you used to write and format your manuscript earlier in this app's Formatting stage will very likely work as-is.
- If you already have a properly-formatted ePub file of your own (for example, if you used ebook-specific software), you can upload that directly instead. D2D accepts pre-made ePub files too. But for most authors coming from a Word document, there's no need to create one yourself; D2D's conversion tool builds the ebook file for you.
- After uploading, D2D runs your file through its own automatic conversion and formatting process, then shows you an online preview so you can see how the converted ebook will actually look before you publish. Look through it the same way you looked through KDP's and IngramSpark's own online previewers earlier in this stage, check chapter breaks, headings, and any images landed where you expect.
- If your file fails D2D's ebook validity check (it runs an automated check called Epubcheck) and can't be automatically repaired, D2D will show a warning. You can still publish, but the book won't be sent to every retailer in D2D's network until the issue is resolved. Apple Books, Amazon (via a related D2D service), Tolino, OverDrive, Hoopla, cloudLibrary, and a few others specifically require a fully valid file.
More information
Click a heading to expand more information.
Quick refresher: what's an EPUB, and why doesn't D2D need one from you?
- An ebook file (EPUB) is "reflowable": unlike a fixed print page, the text resizes and rearranges itself to fit whatever screen size or font setting the reader is using. That's different from a plain Word document or a PDF, neither of which is built to reflow that way on its own.
- Draft2Digital's whole reason for existing includes doing that conversion step for you. You upload an ordinary manuscript file, and D2D's own system builds a properly structured EPUB behind the scenes, checks it against the EPUB standard, and distributes the result. You never have to touch EPUB formatting directly if you don't want to.
Last verified: August 2026
Getting your file ready, and exactly where it goes
- Whatever program you formatted your manuscript in during this app's Formatting stage (Word, Google Docs, or Atticus), save or export it as a .docx, .doc, .rtf, .odt, or .txt file, D2D reads all of these. Note the folder you saved it to.
- If you used Atticus and specifically want to hand D2D a real EPUB you built yourself instead of letting D2D convert from Word, use Atticus's built-in Export EPUB button (Formatting tab, underneath the live Previewer panel) and save that .epub file instead.
- Sign in to Draft2Digital and start (or open) your book's setup. On the manuscript upload step, click to upload your file and browse to whichever file you prepared above, either the Word/RTF/ODT/TXT manuscript (D2D converts it) or your own .epub file (D2D uses it directly).
Last verified: August 2026
What to check to confirm it worked
- After upload, D2D shows you an online preview of the converted ebook, this is your version of KDP's Kindle Previewer or IngramSpark's file review. Page through it and check: each chapter starts on its own page, headings look right, and any images landed where you expect.
- D2D also runs your file through EpubCheck automatically. If it can't be automatically repaired, you'll see a warning, and the book won't reach every retailer in D2D's network (Apple Books, Amazon via D2D's related service, Tolino, OverDrive, Hoopla, cloudLibrary, and a few others specifically require a fully valid file) until it's resolved.
Last verified: August 2026
Common mistakes
- Assuming you need to build your own EPUB before using D2D at all, for most authors starting from a plain Word document, that's an unnecessary extra step, D2D's conversion tool does it for you.
- Skipping D2D's online preview and publishing without checking that the automatic conversion actually looks right.
- Leftover print-manuscript habits that break in reflow: manual line-break "page breaks," typed-in page numbers, or a non-standard font, all of these behave badly once the text reflows on a screen instead of staying on a fixed printed page.
Last verified: August 2026
What if mine doesn't look right?
- If D2D's preview shows a chapter break in the wrong place or odd spacing, check the source Word document for inconsistent heading styles, manual tabs, or stray page breaks, fix those and re-upload rather than trying to edit the converted ebook file directly.
- Still stuck? Ask Step One (the assistant panel on every page) or browse the Troubleshooting hub for more.
Last verified: August 2026
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming you need to build or buy a separate ePub file before you can use Draft2Digital, for the vast majority of authors, a plain Word document is genuinely enough; D2D does the conversion.
- Skipping the online preview after conversion and publishing without checking that the automatic formatting actually looks right.
- Ignoring a file-validity warning and assuming the book is reaching every retailer anyway, some retailers and library platforms specifically won't accept a file that fails validation.
- Skipping D2D's keyword/category fields (part of the same book-info step covered here) or stuffing them with unrelated terms, see the Keywords and Categories topic's Show me how section for D2D's specific approach to this.
Completion checklist
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Troubleshooting
Do I need to learn ePub formatting to use Draft2Digital?
No. That's a big part of what D2D is for, you upload an ordinary manuscript file (most commonly a Word document) and its conversion tool builds a properly formatted ebook file for you. You only need your own ePub file if you specifically already have one from other software and prefer to use it directly.
What if the automatic conversion doesn't look right in the preview?
Go back and check your manuscript formatting, issues like inconsistent heading styles, manual tabs used for indents, or stray page breaks in the Word document are common causes of a conversion looking off, the same kinds of formatting habits the Formatting stage earlier in this app warns about. Fix the source Word document and re-upload rather than trying to fix the converted ebook file directly.