How to create your own ebook: from document to EPUB in 2026

Creating your own ebook is easier than you think. You don’t need expensive software or a design degree — free tools like Calibre and Sigil handle everything from conversion to cover design and table of contents. Here’s the full workflow.

Method 1: Calibre (Best for Document Conversion)

Calibre is the fastest way to turn an existing document into an ebook. Write in Markdown, Word, or HTML, and Calibre converts it to EPUB in seconds.

Workflow:

Add your source file to Calibre via “Add Books”
Edit metadata immediately: title, author, tags, description (this is your store blurb)
Convert: set output to EPUB. Pay attention to Structure Detection — Calibre auto-detects chapters from H1/H2 headings, so your TOC builds itself.
Enable both Level 1 and Level 2 TOC for navigation sidebar support on Kindle and Kobo.

What works best: Markdown converts cleanly without formatting artifacts. Word DOCX is fine but can carry over invisible formatting that produces odd spacing. Avoid PDF as source — PDF to EPUB conversion is lossy and will require manual cleanup.

Cover design: Calibre can generate covers from metadata, but for anything you plan to share, use Canva or a dedicated image editor. Covers should be 1600×2400 pixels minimum. Calibre embeds the cover automatically if you select it in metadata before conversion.

Method 2: Sigil (Best for Hand-Crafted EPUBs)

Sigil is a WYSIWYG EPUB editor — think of it as a word processor for ebooks. Unlike Calibre’s hands-off approach, Sigil gives you complete control over the EPUB’s internal structure.

What Sigil can do:

Edit HTML/CSS directly inside the EPUB
Build a table of contents with drag-and-drop
Validate EPUB structure with built-in EPUBCheck
Add metadata (title, author, language, cover)
Export finished EPUB ready for any store or device

When to use Sigil: When you need fine typography control, when Calibre’s conversion introduces formatting issues that need manual fixes, or when you’re building an EPUB from scratch rather than converting an existing document.

The companion tool PageEdit handles WYSIWYG editing within Sigil’s workflow. For step-by-step setup, see the Sigil guide.

Fixed-Layout EPUBs (Children’s Books, Cookbooks)

Fixed-layout preserves exact page positions — images and text stay locked in place regardless of screen size. Essential for children’s picture books, cookbooks, and photo books.

Setup in Sigil:

Create new blank EPUB
Add these meta tags in content.opf:

<meta property="rendition:layout">pre-paginated</meta>
<meta property="rendition:orientation">auto</meta>

Image dimensions: Use 1224×1632 pixels (3:4 ratio) for 7-inch e-readers. For Apple Books, use 1536×2048. JPEG at 85% quality balances visual fidelity and file size — a 32-page book at 1224×1632 lands around 15-25 MB.

Each page’s XHTML needs a viewport in <head>:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=1224, height=1632"/>

Reflowable EPUBs (Novels, Most Books)

Reflowable EPUBs adapt text to any screen size. This is the standard format for novels, non-fiction, and most published ebooks.

Starting from scratch in Sigil, create a chapter-by-chapter structure. Each chapter is its own XHTML file. The table of contents (NCX) is generated automatically from headings, but you can also build it manually.

Avoid these common mistakes:

Using <br> for spacing (use CSS margin-bottom instead)
Leaving empty paragraphs (they create awkward gaps)
Using absolute font sizes (use relative sizing like em instead)
Embedding low-resolution images (1600×2400 minimum for covers)

Publishing Options

For personal use: Drop the finished EPUB on your Kobo, Boox, or PocketBook via USB. For Kindle, use Send to Kindle or convert to AZW3 in Calibre first.

For distribution: Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) accepts EPUB uploads and converts them for the Kindle store. Kobo Writing Life accepts EPUB directly. Draft2Digital distributes to multiple stores from a single EPUB upload.

Always validate with EPUBCheck before publishing — Calibre has it built in, or use the online validator. A failed validation means your book gets rejected from stores or displays incorrectly on devices.